Arc-ventures across the multiverse
by Alvaaron
Summary: RWBY and friends gather to watch the adventures of Jaune across the multiverse. A collection of crossovers and one shot ideas for your reading pleasure. Enjoy
1. Chapter 1: Bloody evolution

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Hello and welcome to my first fic. Inspired by all the multiverse fics like Arcs of the multiverse, endless possibilities etc and here's my take on it. A collection of ideas that's been floating around in my head for a while. Leave a review if you enjoyed it. Once more welcome and enjoy your stay.**

**Chapter 1: Bloody evolution**

**Inspiration: Bloodborne**

Pain.

That one word summed up Ruby's current existence. One moment she was busy doing maintenance on her pride and joy Crescent Rose and the next she was near the bottom of a pile of bodies. Pained groans came from the others stacked above her, Yang, Blake and team JNPR sans their fearless leader.

"Get… off me… you DOLTS!" A muffled scream came from her unfortunate partner at the very bottom of the stack. Ruby's only response was a small 'oof' as Yang's elbow jabbed into her side during her own attempt to escape.

With some difficulty the seven managed to extricate themselves from the mess of limbs and bodies. Rising to their feet, they found themselves standing in an empty theatre with a blank screen.

"My pancakes! Where'd they go? RENNY! MY PANCAKES HAVE BEEN KIDNAPPED! WE NEED TO GET THEM BACK!" Nora grabbed Ren by the shoulders and started shaking him violently, the delicious steaming pile of pancakes she was about to devour conspicuously missing in action.

"Nora no. We can get more pancakes later. Where are we anyway?" Ren booped Nora on the nose to calm her down before looking around. "I don't see any exits, and where's Jaune? He was with us before… before whatever happened to bring us here."

"Your friend is indisposed at the moment but fear not, he's perfectly fine." A white orb sprang into existence in front of them. "He might join you later or he might not, it all depends on the boss."

"Gah! Who are you!?" Yang readied Ember Celica only to watch in shock as they crumbled into dust before her.

"There will be no violence in this place… unless I decide that it has entertainment value, you will get your weapons back when you leave. Haven't had a proper name in centuries but you can address me as Blank, I am the caretaker of this establishment."

"Hmmph so why have you brought us here exactly?" Weiss questioned the orb as her hands grasped for a missing Myrtenaster.

"Oh you're all here because I'm bored."

"E-excuse me!?"

"This place doesn't get many visitors nowadays and watching movies alone on the big screen is fun the first couple of times but it gets stale real fast. So I thought I'd bring in an audience just for laughs. Relax, time is frozen outside this space, once you return, everything will be exactly as you left it."

RWBY and NPR exchanged unsure glances but decided to take their seats anyway, without a clear way home and in the presence of some kind of reality warper, it was best to just play along for now.

"So… what are we watching exactly?" Pyrrha asked, doing her best not to fret about her missing teammate and not so secret crush.

"So glad you asked, it'll be a collection of adventures of Jaune Arc across the multiverse. Every film takes place in one of three things, a completely separate universe, a possible future or an alternate reality." Blank replied as the lights began to dim.

"Heh? The adventures of vomit boy eh, might be worth a couple of laughs if nothing else. So you got any- oh I guess you do." The blonde brawler began munching on popcorn as a bucket magically appeared in her arms. The others did their best to make themselves comfortable as the screen came to life.

"**Oh yes Paleblood… you've come to the right place." An old man wearing a top hat spoke as he wheeled his chair over to a figure lying on the table. "Yharnam is the home of blood ministration."**

**A wet cough came from the figure and a familiar voice spoke up. "Gah… I don't have much time left, can this cure my illness?" A round of coughing wracked Jaune's body and his hands came away bloody when he wiped his mouth.**

"**But of course, you only need unravel its mystery. But where's an outsider like you to begin? Easy, with a bit of Yharnam blood of your own. But first you'll need a contract."**

"Wait, what's wrong with Jaune-Jaune?" A look of worry crossed Nora's face as she watched her leader sign a contract while fighting back another round of coughs.

"The Jaune Arc of this universe is dying from a terminal illness, Paleblood is the only thing capable of curing it. Blood ministration will suppress the effects of the illness until he can be cured but… well you'll just have to watch."

"**Good, all signed and sealed. Now, let's begin the transfusion. Oh don't you worry, whatever happens, you may think it all a mere bad dream." The old man began to laugh as Jaune's vision started to fade. Iv drips feeding the vaunted 'Yharnam Blood' into his system. Unable to hold on to consciousness any longer, the unyielding grasp of slumber took him.**

**An indeterminate amount of time later, Jaune returned to the waking world. The old doctor was nowhere to be found and the clinic was shrouded in darkness. Letting out a small groan, his attention was drawn to his left by a strange sound.**

**Lacking the strength to get up he could only watch on in muted horror as a beast emerged from a rapidly widening pool of blood. The giant blood drenched wolf began pacing over to him slowly, claws raking long furrows into the ground, leaving little to the imagination about his imminent fate.**

"Come on, come on, get up you dunce." Weiss muttered under her breath, she didn't have the best impression of the Arc but that didn't mean she just wanted to sit around and watch someone she knew get slaughtered by a monster.

The audience watched with bated breath as the wolf lifted its claws and reached for the incapacitated Jaune before exhaling a collective sigh of relief when the beast spontaneously caught fire and fell back.

**Jaune watched as the beast thrashed about, flailing its burning limbs as the rest of its body was enveloped in the all-consuming fire. The wolf fell to the ground and twitched several times before being reduced to ashes and Jaune relaxed slightly when the fire didn't spread to the rest of the room and no new monster came to menace him.**

**His breath hitched when he saw a tiny hand grasp the side of the table he was lying on and an ugly imp like creature pulled itself into view. Still unable to move his limbs, Jaune struggled weakly as more of the imps began crawling up. His vision started to fade again and the last thing he saw before the darkness claimed him once more was one of the creatures directly overhead, its mouth open and a maw filled with too much teeth.**

Ruby 'eeped' and pulled her hood over her eyes, unable to watch any further. The others weren't in much better condition, a green tint colouring several of their faces.

"**Aha, so you've found yourself a hunter." A musical voice intoned and Jaune snapped awake clutching at his chest in panic.**

"**I'm… alive?" His breathing slightly ragged, the blonde patted himself down and found nothing amiss. There was no sign of the pool of blood, the ashes of the giant beast or any of those… things left lying around.**

**With a small grunt, he slipped off the table and took a few tentative steps around the room, a small smile grew on his face as he felt the energy coursing his veins. "I… I feel alive. The sickness… it's gone? Ah… hahhahaha… hahahhahah!"**

**Unable to contain his mirth, Jaune started laughing, feeling better than he ever had in the past. Even before he came down with his illness, he didn't recall ever feeling this good.**

"Wait that was just a dream? Booo! What kind of horror movie is this!" Yang complained and chucked a handful of popcorn at the screen, watching in mild amusement as the snack evaporated into thin air before it could connect with anything.

"W-well it's fine isn't it, Jaune's safe and he's cured… right?" Pyrrha said, unsure of what to make of things.

"heh heh, not quite." Blank chuckled and replied.

**Looking around the deserted clinic, Jaune picked up a small note covered in near illegible scrawls. "Seek Paleblood to transcend the hunt? What does tha- ahh!" Jaune clutched his head as a spike of pain shot through it.**

**Stumbling down the stairs, the initial euphoria of being alive had faded, leaving behind only a vague sense of wrongness. "My… my memories, what did… ugh…"**

**Jaune filed it away as a possible side effect of the treatment process but his mind felt clouded as though he was still dreaming. He could recall his name, and the fact that he was here for a cure to his illness… what was his illness again?**

"**Can't remember… I am… oh shit." Jaune's thoughts came to a screeching halt as he reached the floor below, there in the corner was one of the massive wolf beasts feasting on a corpse.**

**Taking a step back in panic, he winced when he heard glass crunch underfoot. The wolf stopped munching and turned to regard the shaking interloper, a growl exiting its throat as it shifted its bulk to face its new prey.**

**Sheer terror giving him a burst of strength, Jaune sprinted for the exit, desperate to make it to the safety that would hopefully be on the other side. Ducking as the wolf sailed overhead and smashed into a wooden cabinet, turning the furniture into kindling with one blow.**

**Running out into the streets, he barrelled out the main gate of the property and started screaming for help with the beast hot on his tails. Rounding a corner, he encountered two strangely deformed humans, one wielding a sickle and another molotov cocktails.**

**With a snarl, the man with the molotovs hurled them at the beast. Jaune winced again as the inhuman roars of the burning beast hurt his ears. Breathing a sigh of relief as the beast turned and ran, he approached the duo to thank them for their assistance.**

"**T-thanks for the assist. What the hell is going on heurk!" His question was cut off as a sickle buried itself in his throat before being violently ripped out. Sinking to his knees clutching his throat in a futile attempt to stem the flow of his precious lifegiving fluid.**

**A second strike rent open his back and planted him in the ground, lying in a slowly expanding pool of his own blood. As darkness claimed him yet again, the last thing he could make out was one of the men screaming how it was all his fault.**

The audience watched on in shocked silence as their friend was brutally butchered for no reason at all. Ruby was hugging her knees and shaking in her seat while Yang tried to comfort her. Pyrrha was grabbing for a non-existent weapon while Nora began raving about breaking legs and then breaking everything else. Ren himself watched on with a blank expression but the hands tightly balled into fists spoke volumes. Weiss and Blake were relatively better off but even they wore an expression of distaste.

"This… is foul. To be murdered after being cured of a disease? Is this some kind of joke? What's the point of that!" The Schnee heiress questioned the floating orb.

"The world isn't fair miss Schnee, there aren't always happy endings, I think you of all people would know this. But relax, this story isn't over yet, far from it in fact." The screen began to brighten again and drew the attention of the audience.

**Cold. **

**That was the first thing Jaune felt as he lifted his face from the floor. He found himself standing in a garden of sorts, several tombstones lined the path he had awoken on and a cozy little house sat at the end of it.**

"**I… died… is this the afterlife?" Jaune questioned as he looked around. A giant full moon hung overhead and beyond the garden, the world was shrouded in mist. He could make out several pillars reaching for the heavens in the distance but that was it.**

**His eyes were then drawn towards a doll propped up against a wall. Dressed in a simple outfit with long flowing white hair, it appeared for all intentions and purposes nothing more than a simple doll someone had left outside. There was an itch at the back of his mind telling him that the doll was more than it appeared, that he was missing something in plain sight.**

"I'm a doll?" Weiss stared incredulously at the screen as Yang stifled a small giggle at the unexpected sight. Jaune was 'alive' and poking fun at Weiss's expense was preferable to recalling Jaune's earlier execution.

"Not quite. You are… elsewhere in this universe. This is just a construct in your image."

**Ignoring the doll for now, Jaune followed the path towards the building since standing around wasn't doing anything and there really wasn't anywhere else to go.**

**He stepped back in shock as the cobblestone floor began to bubble and those imps from his dream emerged from the ground. Their tiny hands raised towards him as they offered up a silver cane and a pistol.**

**Gingerly picking up the proffered items, a brief burst of clarity cut through the fog in his mind as the knowledge on how to use the weapons came to him. Taking a few practice swings with the cane as the imps disappeared back into the ground, he flipped a switch on the cane mid swing, converting it into a serrated whip that cracked through the air.**

**Hitting the switch again and slamming it to the floor, Jaune returned it to its cane form and hummed in satisfaction. He was pretty sure he'd never used a… 'trick weapon'… in his life despite his clouded memories but the weapons felt right in his hands.**

**The threaded cane and hunter's pistol, the names floated into his thoughts the same way he knew the cane was a trick weapon, whatever the heck that meant.**

Ruby narrowed her eyes in thought as she inspected the weapon on screen. "A cane that changes into a whip? It's not crescent rose but I suppose it gets a pass. But what kind of gun is that, it's so… old fashioned… and not in a good way."

"The technology of this world is twisted as is most other things in it. On the one hand you have guns that are centuries out of date and on the other you have the trick weapons which are something of a midpoint between traditional weapons and the mechashift weapons of today." If Blank had arms he would have shrugged, but incomprehensible as it was, it added to the charm.

"**Hello?" Jaune called out as he stepped into the building. A man in a tattered green suit and cloak sat hunched in a wheelchair as though awaiting his arrival.**

"**Ah-hah, you must be the new hunter. Welcome to the Hunter's Dream. This will be your home, for now. I am... Ozpin, friend to you hunters." **

**The man chuckled and sat up straighter. "You're sure to be in a fine haze about now, but don't think too hard about all of this. Just go out and kill a few beasts. It's for your own good. You know, it's just what hunters do! You'll get used to it..."**

"Professor Ozpin? Huh. I guess even in another world he's still guiding the next generation of hunters." Ren muttered under his breath as he made comparisons between this Ozpin and the one back in Beacon, noting the similarities. "I wonder what secrets you're hiding."

"**O…kay? What is this place anyway? And… what the hell is going on with me? I… died I-I mean I remember dying at least and why is my memory a mess?" Jaune shuffled nervously as he fired off a barrage of questions.**

"**My, my, you're a curious one, aren't you? Well this was once a safe haven for hunters. A workshop where hunters used blood to enhance their weapons and flesh. We don't have as many tools as we once did, but... You're welcome to use whatever you find. ...Even the doll, should it please you…"**

Weiss blanched at Ozpins' statement. "N-no. The headmaster did not just suggest…"

Yang cracked up in laughter at the sheer audacity of Ozpin's words. "Makes you wonder doesn't it, if our Ozpin has a doll like that for his own-"

"Xiao Long!" Weiss roared in fury as her face coloured a vibrant shade of red, whether from embarrassment or anger it was impossible to tell. "Don't you dare finish that sentence!"

"Kidding! Kidding." Yang held up her hands in mock surrender as a Cheshire grin spread across her face. "But Ozpin isn't the one to worry about here is he. Wonder what vomit boy will do now that he has his own snow angel doll."

The deathly pallor returned to the heiress' face as she stared wide eyed at the screen. Thoughts on how to mangle Jaune Arc if he so much as looked at the doll in an indecent manner ran through her mind, each more violent than the last.

"You're a dead man Arc. A dead man."

"**Okay… I'm… just going to ignore that last bit. What do you mean enhance weapons and… flesh…"**

**Ozpin chuckled again before replying. "There is power in the blood young hunter. Every kill you make, every drop of blood you spill, they add to your strength. Return here, to the hunters' dream to convert the echoes into true power. You'll know what to do when the time comes."**

"**Kill!? I don't want to kill anything!" Jaune recoiled in shock, he came to Yharnam in search of life not to become some kind of murderer.**

"**Heheheh… you don't have a choice young hunter. The moon's blessing is upon you, your soul is now bound to this place and only by completing the hunt will you be set free. Such is the price of using the old blood."**

"**Old blood? What old blood!? You're not making any sense!"**

"**The blood that now flows in your veins. You did just have a transfusion did you not?"**

"**I… I… that was just… I was just trying to cure my illness!"**

"**What you sought the old blood for is irrelevant. Some come in search of power, others like you come in search of a panacea. It all ends the same way. Either you become a beast or you become a hunter of beasts. You've seen it haven't you? Both the middle and final stages of the blood curse?"**

**Jaune bit back a retort as he recalled the two wolves that nearly killed him and the insane misshapen humans that actually did. His right hand rose unbidden to rub his throat where it was torn out.**

"**I could set you free from your bond, but that way lies beasthood. Then it falls to some other hunter to finish you off. Your choice young hunter." Ozpin casually shrugged and spoke as though he were discussing the weather instead of a life altering decision for Jaune. As though he'd had the same conversation many, many times in the past, and Jaune had the sinking suspicion that that was the case.**

"**What kind of choice is that? I become a monster either way." Jaune bitterly spat out.**

"**Well, in one of those choices you retain your mind. It's not that bad really. Out on the streets of Yharnam nearly everyone is infected with the scourge of the beast. You'd be doing them a favour really, freedom from a cursed existence." Ozpin's lips curled in distaste, either at the fate of the men turned beasts or perhaps something more…**

**Shaking his head to ward away old memories and regrets, Ozpin continued his little speech to Jaune. "Besides, once you've completed the hunt you'll be released from your bond and free to return a normal human again. And all this will simply fade away like a bad dream with the ray of dawn."**

"**And just how do I complete this hunt? When I've killed every beast in this land?"**

"**No, no. Beasts are a curse and a curse is a symptom. End the one responsible for the outbreak to finish the hunt. You'll know what to do when the time comes… but that's a long way off. You lack the strength and skill to even reach it let alone kill it. Go, return to Yharnam, kill a few beasts and grow strong with the blood of your prey."**

"**And… what if I'm not strong enough, what if I die?" Jaune mumbled as he thought back to his death. Sure, he'd somehow cheated death once but that didn't mean-**

"**Oh you are beyond death now young hunter. When you die you simply awaken again from the dream. There are only two ways this ends, you give in and yield to the scourge, become yet another mindless monster to be exterminated. Or…"**

"**Or?"**

"**Or you persevere and crush your enemies with your ability to ignore death and learn from every failure. The streets will drown in an ocean of blood, it's up to you if you wish to ride the tide to freedom or be swallowed by it."**

**Jaune's face scrunched up in a bitter smile. "I suppose I don't have a choice do I. My mind… the blood and this place is messing with my mind isn't it. I can use weapons I've never held before and… a part of me is demanding I go out and start slaughtering prey."**

"**All the better to make you a hunter young one. You always have a choice, even if you don't like the consequences. It's a question on whether you can live with yourself after making that choice. One last thing, you are resistant to the scourge, not immune. Never forget that."**

**Jaune didn't bother dignifying the old man with a reply as he turned his back on Ozpin and marched out of the workshop. Weapons clutched in white knuckle grips, he acted on more of the knowledge that flowed into his mind and knelt before one of the tombstones he'd passed on the way up before reaching a hand out.**

**The world rippled around him and his vision faded away again, a familiar darkness rushing to claim him as the ground seemed to just fall away.**

"That's… disturbing. I can't imagine what that must be like for Jaune, it's like… like…" Blake struggled to find the words to describe what she just watched.

"It's like being condemned to be a huntsman until all the Grimm on Remnant have been eradicated, unable to even die permanently to be free from the duty. And if he gives up…" Ren grimaced and quietly gave thanks that huntsmen of Remnant actually had the option of retirement… even if most retirements were of a more final sort.

"If he gives up, he becomes a Grimm to be killed by his former comrades. This… this is damnation. It's a living hell. I… destiny cannot be so cruel, it cannot." Pyrrha stared blankly at the screen, this wasn't a fate she'd wish on anyone, to see it happen to her crush physically hurt her.

"Wait if fearless leader grows stronger with the blood of his enemies, does that make him a vampire?" Nora asked curiously in an attempt to lift the heavy atmosphere with some humour.

"No he isn't… actually now that I think about it, he is kind of a vampire. Not vampire classic though, he doesn't drink blood if that's what your curious about, more… inject it directly into his system. And he doesn't turn to dust under the sunlight either."

The noise died down as the screen came back to life, showing Jaune waking up on the same table he was lying on in the beginning.

**Jaune sat up and stared at the objects in hand, a pistol and a transforming cane. "Not a dream. Damn." **

**Getting to his feet, he switched the cane to whip form for greater range and crowd control before heading down the stairs, taking great care to place his feet where they wouldn't break anything.**

**Sure enough, at the bottom of the stairs sat the wolf. Aside from several large patches of bloody flesh where the fur had been burned off, the wolf was very much intact. Tending to its wounds, the beast hadn't noticed its former prey had returned as a hunter with murder in his eyes.**

**Raising his cane whip, Jaune let his strike fly, the serrated blades on it tearing through the wolf's fur and flesh with minimal resistance, ripping large chunks of it free and drenching the surroundings in blood.**

**The pained roar no longer grated on his ears but were now glorious music to his triumph. Striking again and again and again, Jaune continued to inflict damage on the beast.**

**Quickstepping out of the way of a frenzied lunge, the hunter felt a sense of clarity descend on him as the world sharpened in hyper focus. It was like he could see everything happen in slow motion, dodge, strike, dodge again, counter. The moves simply flowed without much need for conscious thought.**

**Seeing an opening to finish things, the blonde took it instantly. Firing his pistol while the wolf was mid lunge, the quicksilver round impacted and burrowed into flesh, searing and poisoning the immediate area and sending the beast rearing into the air in shock at the sudden agony.**

**Dropping his whip, Jaune stepped forward and stabbed his right arm into the beast, old blood enhanced strength and flesh easily punched through the weakened body of the wolf. Twisting his hand inside the wound, Jaune felt a pulse of energy rush through his body, down the arm and into the beast. Ripping his arm out, he was rewarded with a spray of blood as the wolf's insides exploded outwards, the blood in the body violently seeking escape courtesy of Jaune's technique and ripping its way free of the body, shredding everything in its path.**

**Jaune took several deep breaths as he watched the remains flop onto the floor lifelessly. He'd done it, his first kill. It was glorious, the rush of victory, the taste of power from the blood. He wanted, no he needed-**

**Jaune's fist introduced itself to his right cheek and he spat out a small wad of blood. The pain quickly clearing up his muddle thoughts before fading away and for that he was thankful. That bloodlust he felt at the end, instinct told him that led down a road he did not want to go.**

**A small shudder wracked his frame as he recalled Ozpins' last warning, about being resistant and not immune. "I have to resist this all the way?" Jaune gulped and took a few moments to steady himself before moving off.**

"Damn, vomit boy can fight." Yang commented as she watched Jaune start slaughtering a path through deranged infected citizens of the city, fluid dodging allowed him to avoid gunfire even at point blank range.

"I don't like this." Ruby said as she continued to hide behind her hood. Her expression alternating between wanting to cheer for her fellow team leader and trying not to throw up from the senseless violence.

It was disturbing watching her friend straight up ignoring lethal blows to continue fighting on, fatal injuries including being shot through the eye, having his throat opened again or being stabbed through the heart. None of those put the hunter down as long as he didn't pass an unknown damage threshold.

And those wounds simply knit together or shimmered and returned to its original state as he fought on and inflicted damage to his opponents. When too much time passed between sustaining damage and counterattacking though, the wounds stopped healing and that was when Jaune would inject himself with a vial of old blood, regenerating or erasing the damage sustained.

Ruby winced again as she watched Jaune sail through the air when he wound up blindsided by a hammer blow from a giant hunchback only to get up and walk off the damage. One violent blood explosion later and there was no sign Jaune was ever injured aside from being soaked in blood.

**Jaune spat at the corpse on the floor before climbing the ladder in front of him. Pausing midway to stare at the sun hanging just above the horizon, he frowned at it. "Something's screwy with this place, I've been doing this for hours now and the sun still hasn't set. I don't think it's moved at all actually."**

**Shaking his head to clear away his idle thoughts, he resumed the climb and found himself standing at a locked gate he'd passed by earlier. Humming as he grabbed the lever, he yanked it back and unlocked it, just as he was about to pass through, a voice drew his attention.**

"**Who… are you? I don't know your voice, but I know that smell… Are you a hunter? Then please, will you look for my mom? Daddy never came back from the hunt and she went to find him, but now she's gone too I'm afraid. I'm all alone, and scared, the incense is running out too." **

**Jaune looked up and noticed a young girl in a red hood staring at him through the window. Unlike every other human he'd fought and killed in the streets of Yharnam, the girl wasn't deformed nor was she completely insane and it felt good seeing a friendly face for the first time in forever. Ozpin and the doll didn't count.**

"Hey! Look Rubes it's you. Awww you look adorable!" Yang hugged her sister and began kneading her knuckles into the poor girl's head.

"Ah hey! Cut it out Yang!" The hooded reaper struggled valiantly against the stronger girl to no avail.

"**Your dad's a hunter too? Yeah I can keep an eye out for them."**

"**Really? Oh, thank you! My m-mom wears a white hood and she has a red jewelled brooch. It's so big and… and beautiful. You won't miss it. Oh, I mustn't forget... If you find my mom, give her this music box. It plays one of daddy's favourite songs. And when daddy forgets us, we play it for him so he remembers. Mom's so silly, running off without it!"**

"**Sure thing kid. I won't let you down."**

"**I'm not a kid! My name's Ruby and I'm almost ten years old now!" The young Ruby pouted at Jaune and the hunter couldn't resist giving a small laugh and reaching through the window to give her a head pat.**

"**Of course, of course. I'll look for your parents, stay inside the house. Streets aren't safe anymore."**

"**Okay mister hunter. I'll be good I promise."**

"**Name's Jaune Arc, short sweet and rolls right off the tongue. Just sit tight and I'll be back before you know it." Jaune waved goodbye to the nice little girl and continued his journey, music box safely secured inside his… wherever the hell his equipment disappeared to until he needed them.**

While team RWBY was busy cooing and sniggering over young Ruby, Nora was frowning at the screen as Jaune continued his bloody crusade. "I have a bad feeling about this."

**Groaning in slight pain as he was sent flying through several barrels and out a window. Jaune leapt up in time and grappled with the almost completely turned monster. Unable to resist its inhuman strength for much longer, the hunter inhaled deeply before giving in entirely.**

**Propelled forwards by its own momentum, the beast found itself being flipped overhead by Jaune and sent tumbling over the edge of the roof. Jaune winced lightly with every meaty 'thwack' as the body bounced of the walls and ledges before ending with a splat at the very bottom.**

**Soft clapping made him aware that he wasn't as alone as he initially thought. A woman dressed in a variant of a plague doctor's outfit was leaning against the far wall.**

"**Oh, a hunter, are ya? And an outsider? What a mess you've been caught up in. And tonight, of all nights. Prepare yourself for the worst. There are no humans left. They're all flesh-hungry beasts now."**

"It's professor Goodwitch, I wonder if all of us are going to make an appearance in it soon." Blake quietly muttered.

**Noticing Jaune hadn't made a move to leave yet, Goodwitch chuckled and raised her head to regard the new hunter. "Still lingering about? What's wrong? A hunter, unnerved by a few beasts perhaps? Heh heh... No matter, without fear in our hearts, we're little different from the beasts themselves. But enough trembling in your boots. A hunter must hunt."**

**Having said her piece, the veteran hunter leapt over the edge and when Jaune rushed over to check, there was no trace of her to be found anywhere. "Well that was… interesting, still she's not wrong I suppose. The sooner I get back to hunting, the sooner I can be free of this accursed place. I… damn, forgot to ask about Ruby's parents. Never mind, that's two sane people I've met so far, my luck must be picking up."**

"Oh I have a really bad feeling about this." If binge watching all those horror movies in the past had taught Nora anything, it was that things would always get worse, actual happy endings were practically unicorns.

"**Nope nope nope." Jaune sprinted past a massive pig in the sewers. What the hell a pig was doing there and how the hell it became big enough to occupy half the drainage system wasn't something he was interested in finding out. All he knew was there was no way in hell he was fighting that thing in an enclosed space again, as far as deaths went, being squashed to death was one of the less pleasant ways to go. he'd be back when he was stronger, damn pig had already cost him too many blood echoes when it caught him off guard the first time.**

**Dashing up the ladder at the end several rungs at a time, he gave the pig the finger as it smashed into the wall and failed to dislodge him. "I'll be back for you later jackass!"**

**Sneaking behind one of the hunchbacks and a lone shield wielding infected human, Jaune assassinated both with back stabs and gave a massive ball soaked in oil and pitch a light push. The ball erupted into a blazing inferno as it caught fire courtesy of a fallen torch and the flaming ball bowled over the unsuspecting people at the other end of the bridge.**

**Feeling the familiar rush of power from the kills, Jaune elected to punch himself in the face again to ward off the bloodlust. It felt like he was getting better at pushing it out of mind, whether that was a good thing or not remained to be seen.**

**Ascending the stairs and executing several beasts unfortunate enough to stand in his path, he could hear the sound of tearing flesh growing louder. "Are the beasts fighting each other or is it another hunter?"**

**Emerging from the alleyway, he was greeted by the sight of a hunter hacking the head off one of the beast infected with an axe in the middle of a cemetery. A dozen corpses lay scattered around him, each one chopped to pieces as well.**

"**Beasts all over the shop. You'll be one of them, sooner or later." Taiyang Xiao Long ceased his butchering to regard Jaune. The teen gulped as the other hunter towered over him by a good half metre at least.**

"Dad? Damn what happened to him." Yang asked as she took in the sight of her father. He looked too much like the deformed humans Jaune had been mowing down on his way here.

"Well… at least he's alive?" Ruby ventured.

"Don't say that! Now you've gone and jinxed it!" Nora shouted and pointed a finger accusingly at Ruby.

"**Woah woah, I'm not turning into a beast any time soon. You're a hunter right? Do you know a… ah shit I forgot to ask for a name." Jaune face palmed as he realised he forgot to ask Ruby for the names of her parents.**

"**Heh, it doesn't matter anymore." Taiyang listed to one side with a far off look in his eyes.**

"**Uh sorry? I'm not sure what you meAN!" Jaune screamed out as he barely dodged a sudden swing from the axe. Eyes widening at the sudden offensive, he threw himself to the side as Taiyang raised his pistol and pulled the trigger.**

**Instead of a single bullet like every other gun he'd encountered in the mad city so far, a spray of shotgun pellets burst out instead and the blast sent him flying.**

**Hacking out a bloody cough, Jaune stabbed a blood vial into himself to heal his injuries as he hurried to stand. "What the hell are you doing!? I'm a hunter like you! Why are you attacking me!?"**

"**Hunter? Hunter. HUNTER!" Taiyang leapt forwards with a snarl, his axe elongated mid swing and once again caught Jaune off guard, the axe blade bit deep and sent him sailing through the air and several tombstones.**

**Injecting himself with blood again, Jaune backed up the stone steps in a bid to put some distance between him and the clearly insane man. "I don't want to fight you! I'm just trying to find Ruby's parents!"**

"**R-ruby?" Taiyang grabbed his head in pain and swayed on his feet before roaring again and rushing towards Jaune, the light of insanity burning bright in his eyes. "I… ahhhragghhh!"**

"**Shit. Damn it all!" Jaune opened fire with his own pistol and bit back a curse when Taiyang merely shrugged off the impact instead of being staggered like everything else he'd faced so far.**

**Striking with his cane, Jaune did his best to survive the relentless onslaught and counterattack where he could. He didn't want to hurt the man but his opponent sure as hell wasn't making it easy for him.**

**A mistimed dodge saw him take the axe to the chest again and as the air was forced out of his lungs, he was sent flying again, this time over the edge of the platform and onto a lower one.**

**Opening his eyes once the pain subsided, he found the glassy eyes of a woman's corpse staring back at him. But that wasn't what caught his attention. His breath froze and a small whine was all that he could muster when he saw the white hood and red brooch.**

"**No."**

**A vertical line down her chest from where a bladed object had introduced itself and subsequently cut through the clothes and the organs behind it left no doubt as to the cause of death. No mistake, he was painfully well acquainted with the weapon that did it after all, the same one that just sent him over the edge.**

"M-mom?" Ruby gasped out upon seeing the broken form of her mother Summer Rose lying in the dirt. She was only dimly aware or Yang pulling her into a tight hug saying that things would be okay. This was too painful to watch, even if it wasn't 'real'. A small sniffle later and Ruby sank deeper into Yang's embrace before the tears could fall.

"**You- R-ruby's mom…" Jaune's eyes flashed red as he stared at the hunter that leapt down to meet him with a raised axe. "I'll kill you… I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! YOU HEAR ME!"**

**Cane in hand, Jaune charged Taiyang with an inarticulate roar. The two hunters duelled on the outcrop, a space far too small for such an encounter, neither giving ground as they sought to beat each other into the dirt. One driven by beast induced madness and the other by white hot rage of failing his first and only friend in this god forsaken city. **

**Shooting Taiyang's hand with his pistol to stun the veteran hunter, Jaune shoulder tackled him over the edge before leaping downwards with his cane stabbing in for an execution strike.**

**Winded from the blow and the fall, Taiyang was unable to react in time to stop Jaune from burying the silver cane in his stomach and nailing him to the floor. Eyes still blazing red, Jaune channelled the power in his blood to his fists and began raining hammer blows onto the downed hunter, seeking to bash his skull in.**

**Grievously wounded as he was, Taiyang refused to just roll over and die. Grabbing hold of one of Jaune's bloody fists, the man tossed the younger hunter away with one swing, the scourge granting him ever increasing strength as more of his humanity was stripped away.**

**With one final inhuman roar, Taiyang forced himself to rise, pulling his body straight through the cane nailing him into the floor. Soaked in the blood of his enemies and himself, the man grabbed his head and shuddered, yellow bands of light forming around him.**

**Jaune snarled and emerged from the pile of shattered tombstones he landed in ready for round two. Fuelled by his anger, he didn't even flinch when Taiyang's body exploded in a shower of blood and gore and a giant werewolf emerged, wearing the tattered remains of his hunter's outfit.**

"**Damn beast, it's all your fault! Die! Die! Die! Die! DIEEEEE!" Jaune rushed forwards and began pummelling the former hunter with his bare hands, the adrenaline in him forcing out the pain of Taiyang's counterattacks.**

**Their struggle wrecked the already damaged graveyard to a point where it was impossible to tell what it was prior to the fight. Every gravestone had been reduced to rubble and every tree either uprooted or turned to splinters.**

**And still the two fought on.**

**In their blood fuelled rampage, the duo were evenly matched at first but slowly Jaune began to get the upper hand as Taiyang couldn't keep up the Jaune's ability to heal through combat or blood injections, lacking both of those things as it were.**

**Finally things came to an end when Jaune was too slow in dodging a claw swipe. The blow ripped through his chest and sent him crashing into a wall, leaving a spiderweb of cracks behind. Raising his head with a bloody grin, Jaune extracted a Molotov cocktail from and hurled it straight into Taiyang's open maw.**

**The bottle burst when the werewolf chomped down on the foreign object, spreading the burning liquid all over its body and down its throat.**

"**F-filthy beast, you're weak to fire aren't you!?" Jaune roared and emptied his supply of molotovs, hurling everything at the mutated hunter to finish it off.**

**Injecting his last vial of blood to heal, Jaune staggered over to where his cane was still planted in the ground. With a mighty wrench, he pulled the weapon out and strode over to the burning body of the werewolf, undeterred by the heat or the stench of burning flesh.**

"**This one's for Ruby." Lifting his weapon overhead, Taiyang let out one last mournful howl as he stared up at his executioner. It sounded very much like a cry of 'I'm sorry' to his ears but the hunter was beyond caring at this point. Whatever man the beast used to be was gone, all that was left was to put it down like a rabid dog and put his ghost to rest.**

**Bringing the weapon down in one final two handed blow, Jaune drove the cane through the skull of the beast, pulping it and bringing the monster down for the last time.**

**As the rush of power signifying a kill arrived, it brought nothing but bitterness this time. He failed, what the hell was he supposed to tell Ruby now. Poor girl's mom wasn't coming home anymore, and he never found her father either.**

**Walking over to the corpse of Summer Rose, Jaune retrieved the pendant and resolved to deliver it to Ruby. He cursed his inability to do anything more and the 'victory' tasted of ashes.**

RWBY and NPR were silent as the movie continued playing. Hunters in training they might have been, this was a level of brutality none of them had ever seen before. Ruby was still shaking quietly while Yang herself wasn't much better off despite her brave front.

In this universe, her dad just butchered her mom and turned into a monster only to be put down by a friend. Her emotions were running haywire now and she didn't like it in the least.

**Continuing past the graveyard into Cathedral ward proper, he found the caretaker seated in a corner surrounded by burning incense that warded off the beasts of Yharnam. After confirming that the place would serve as a safe haven for the uninfected, Jaune turned back to return to Ruby. He couldn't save her mom, but perhaps he could still protect her. **

**Jaune sighed and closed his eyes, focusing inwards to return to the hunter's dream. When he opened them again, he was standing in the ever familiar scenery of the garden lined with tombstones.**

"**Ah, welcome home good hunter, what is it you desire." The Weiss doll greeted him as he approached, if it noticed the bitter expression on his face it made no mention of it.**

"**I need more strength… I have the damned echoes for it." Jaune said and then remained silent as the doll raised its hand to work its magic. A rush of strength shot through his body as he felt the well of power stored up inside him diminish, becoming part of his physical strength instead.**

"**It is done, may you find your worth in the waking world good hunter." Bidding the doll farewell as he stormed up towards the workshop, he found Ozpin in his wheelchair with the ever present smirk that Jaune wanted nothing more than to wipe away.**

"**Ah welcome back young hunter, how fares the hunt?"**

**Jaune initially ignored the old man to focus on repairing his weapons, the cane having taken a severe beating in his fight against Taiyang.**

"**You never said anything about rogue hunters turning into beasts."**

"**Did I have to? I believe I already mentioned it, there are only two ways to leave the role of a hunter, either complete the hunt or become a beast. And if you turn, another hunter will be there to free you from the curse. Resistance isn't immunity."**

**Jaune fixed Ozpin with a baleful glare before sighing and returning to his work. Much as he despised it, the old man was telling the truth. He did mention that at the beginning, he just didn't think he'd get a first hand view of it in person.**

"**Why? Why does it have to be this way?" Jaune complained aloud and was moderately surprised Ozpin gave a straight answer, or as straight as he would ever get from the old man anyway.**

"**We are born of the blood, made men by the blood, undone by the blood. The old blood removes the feeble limitations of humanity, it allows us to evolve beyond what we are. Good becomes great but…"**

"**Bad becomes worse, right?"**

"**Indeed. Without petty limitations, the inner beasthood of mankind is left to run wild. The old blood merely sets the beast within free and changes your form to match that beast. You could say it's the truest reflection of humanity there is."**

"**And the cure?"**

"**Death… or the loss of your humanity. Once, I believed humanity could move past its baser instincts, to evolve into a higher lifeform, time and time again I've been proven wrong. Nothing has changed, nothing ever changes. Do try your best to succeed before you lose yourself as well young hunter."**

**Jaune remained silent before grabbing the repaired cane and heading out, intending to return to Yharnam and… find some way to break the bad news to Ruby.**

"W-well at least Ruby will be safe now right?" Weiss asked nervously and gulped when Blank remained silent.

**The blonde hunter made it back to Ruby's house and hesitated to knock on the door, unable to muster the courage needed to face her. But, the decision on whether to knock or not was taken out of his hands when Ruby herself opened the door.**

"**Ah mister hunter, I thought I recognised that smell. H-have you found my mom and that yet?"**

"**I… no. Not yet, but I'll keep looking." Jaune's eyes fell when he looked upon Ruby's wide smile, he couldn't do it. He couldn't dash her hopes. The jewelled brooch inside his pocket weighing heavily on his soul.**

"**Oh… okay. I can wait, but isn't there something I can do? Maybe mom and dad are stuck out there waiting for me to find them. What do you think Jaune?" Ruby asked with an innocent smile on her face and Jaune's heart cracked upon recalling the poor woman he couldn't save in time. And her father might have been among the people slaughtered by that insane hunter as well…**

"**I… I don't think it's a good idea to try and find them. I… you're running out of incense right? Umm… in the cathedral ward, we… we can go there, you'll be safe there and… and if I find your parents I'll direct them there okay?"**

"**Okay mister hunter. I know the way there myself, I'll just collect my things and be on my way." Ruby rushed back into the house to gather her stuff as Jaune remained waiting outside, a look of pain on his face.**

"**Yeah… just take your time Ruby, I'll be waiting for you here." Completely absorbed into his own thoughts of failure, Jaune failed to notice a scourge infected dog sneaking up on him until the beast had its fangs buried in the back of his neck.**

"**Arg get… off… me!" Unable to reach the dog with his weapons, Jaune struggled with his sudden passenger as spots clouded his vision from the pain and his air supply being cut off. Flailing around like a drunk, the first indication he made a horrible mistake was when his feet found air and both him and the dog fell over the ladder he had to climb to reach the house in the first place.**

**Smashing into the ground several stories below with a sickening crunch, both hunter and dog died on impact.**

**After a few seconds of darkness that accompanied every death, Jaune woke again fully refreshed and healed. Cursing his lack of awareness, he became acutely aware that he just died and left Ruby alone in her home, a Ruby that had already made her intention to travel to Cathedral ward on her own… through the beast infested streets.**

"**RUBY!"**

**Rushing off towards her house screaming her name, his worst fears were confirmed when he found the house empty and the incense burner extinguished.**

**Panic started to set in even through the haze in his mind and he started searching for clues on which direction the young girl had taken.**

**Dashing from place to place and only pausing to slaughter beasts foolish enough to stand in his path, he desperately searched the area for any sign on the red hooded girl only to come up short.**

**He cursed when he was blindsided by one of the giant hunchbacks and had a half brick smashed into his face. Yelling in pain and anger, he stabbed his arm into the hunchback and hurled the man overhead, riding the body down into the sewers and smashing it to pulp when it acted as a cushion.**

**A monstrous grunt announced the arrival of the same giant pig he'd avoided earlier. "I DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR THIS, GET OUTTA MY WAY!"**

**Hurling himself onto the massive beast, his flailing whip and point blank blasting of the pistol ripped the monster's hide to shreds as he vented his frustration.**

**Pain flooded his system when the pig bit down on his left arm, shattering the bones within instantly and forcing him to drop his gun. Snarling incoherently, Jaune dropped the cane and arranged the fingers of his good arm into a wedge before ramming it into the pig's left eye.**

**Firing a wave of energy, the pig's skull burst in a shower of grey goop and the rest of the beast fell onto its side. Panting from the exertion, Jaune felt his left arm reset from the damage dealt and watched as the pig's body began melting away into sludge instead of retaining its form like the other beasts he killed so far.**

**Several half-digested corpses and articles of clothing were left behind as the pig dissolved, the remains of the pig's earlier victims.**

**Jaune was about to move on when one item in particular caught his eye. A bloody tattered red hood still wrapped around a corpse far too small to be an adult.**

"**No… no… nononononononono… this, this is my fault? I… I didn't kill the pig earlier… I… I…" Jaune sunk to his knees and cradled his head in his hands, eyes wide open and unblinking.**

**For a moment he simply knelt there in frozen silence.**

**Then the screaming started.**

"**I… Ahhhh… ahhh… AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

With that last shot the screen went dark and the lights came back on. Weiss and Pyrrha were busy voiding their stomachs into buckets that magically appeared in front of them. Yang's hair was blazing and her eyes were pure red, she was hugging Ruby with every bit of force she could muster to make sure her sister was still with them.

Nora was bawling and Ren was gripping his seats hard enough that the armrests were starting to deform.

Blake was the only one who could speak and immediately directed her ire towards Blank. "What, exactly was the point of that movie? Did you bring us here just to torment us?"

"Nothing of the sort, I'm just a caretaker, I have no control over what happens in those universes. Some are good, some are bad, happy endings not guaranteed. Feel free to take it as a lesson if you will, you can't save everyone no matter how hard you try. Past mistakes have a habit of catching up with you eventually, but then you don't need me to tell you that now do you miss Belladonna?"

Blake snapped her mouth shut with an audible click as her past with the white fang was raised again.

"We'll take a short break, feel free to refresh yourselves. Washrooms are at the back of the theatre and feel free to ask for any thing you want to eat or drink. Next movie will play once you're all back."

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as the hunter

Ozpin as Gehrman the first hunter

Weiss as the doll

Taiyang as Father Gascoigne

Summer as Gascoigne's wife

Ruby as Young Yharnam Girl

Glynda Goodwitch as Eileen the crow


	2. Chapter 2: A sword's purpose

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 2: A sword's purpose**

**Inspiration: Rurouni Kenshin (The Movie)**

Once RWBY and NPR had returned to their seats, there was a flash of light and Ozpin, Goodwitch and Qrow were standing in front of them. The headmaster looked unperturbed as he sipped his coffee while Goodwitch irately tapped her foot on the floor at the sudden interruption to her day's work.

Qrow blinked several times at the sight of Ruby and Yang seated in the audience and stared hard at his whiskey flask. "How much have I been drinking? I shouldn't be drunk enough for hallucinations yet."

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby exclaimed and tackled the man in a hug.

"Oof. Easy now little red, what's going on here anyway. Last thing I remember was freezing my ass off in Atlas." Qrow gently ruffled his niece's hair while taking another swig from his flask.

"Language uncle Qrow!" Ruby held out a swear jar she pulled from somewhere and her uncle grumbled a bit before fishing out a lien card and slotting it in.

"But seriously, where are we and what's going on?"

(One explanation from Blank later)

"Well, so we get to watch Mr Arc hmm… this should be interesting, always knew the boy had potential." Ozpin said in between sips of coffee.

"I do hope whichever Mr Arc we're watching is at least more capable at combat than the one we know. I'll admit he's come a long way from initiation but he has a lot of room to improve." Glynda commented before scolding Qrow for propping his feet up on a chair in front of him in a bid for more comfort.

"Eh whatever, let's just get on with the show already, I've been seeing the same fu- _nice_ snow scenery for weeks now, about time I get something more interesting." Swapping out a word at the last minute at the ominous shake of the swear jar, Qrow nervously adjusted his collar and whistled innocently.

"Very well, I trust you're all comfortable. Then let the show begin." Blank's shine flickered and the lights dimmed while the screen came on.

**Jaune Arc trudged through the ankle-deep snow as his tired visage surveyed the surroundings, his once radiant gold and silver plate armour now scuffed and blackened by months of never ending battle. On any other day, the forest would have been picturesque, but today of all days, it was tainted with choking black smog even as fresh snow continued to fall.**

"Oh come on! I just got out of Atlas, what happened to new sights!? I've had enough snow for a lifetime already." Qrow grumbled in frustration.

"Patience, we're just getting started. Would you be interested in a bottle of Valean 40? There's an unlimited supply of whatever alcohol you desire in this place." Blank replied and a bottle of premium wine materialised in front of Qrow.

"Oooohhhh this is good stuff, don't mind if I do." Ditching the flask, he elected to chug it straight from the bottle, drawing looks of condemnation from Glynda and a look of envy from Yang. The man simply laughed at his niece's complaints about reality benders who refuse to aid and abet underage drinking and stingy uncles who refuse to share.

**Jaune continued walking aimlessly through the snow-covered forest, the staccato of gunfire and the booming of distant cannons barely registering. Lifting his eyes when he heard several hostile shouts directed towards him, he watched as several soldiers dressed in the dull garb of the royalists rushed towards him swords in hand.**

**Tired expression never changing once, he held Crocea Mors in a relaxed grip while waiting for the soldiers to close the distance. Once they did, the silver blade flashed in the moonlight as he struck all of them down with swift precise slashes, leaving the bodies to stain the snow red.**

"Woah. I'm sorry, you said this guy is supposed to be a terrible fighter? He's a stone-cold killer here." Qrow muttered as he watched one of his nieces' classmates carve a path through the enemy lines without breaking a sweat.

"Oh no, please don't tell me this is another Jaune kills the world universe." Pyrrha complained, drawing the attention of the adults.

"Care to elaborate Ms Nikos?" Glynda questioned.

"Ah… um, the last universe we saw was… bloody, very bloody." Pyrrha shifted in her seat uncomfortably as she tried to blank out the memories of the last universe and its gruesome ending.

"Hmm, those uniforms and weapons are ancient, I believe they're from the days of the old nobility. Given Mr Arc's attire, I'd say this story takes place during the great war." Ozpin supplied.

"Indeed, this one is more of a historical piece with modern actors than anything else, a retelling of the legend of Julius Arc, Jaune Arc's great-great-grandfather and one of his key inspirations in becoming a hunter in the first place." Blank filled them in to a chorus of oohs and ahh.

Pyrrha in particular was greatly interested, she'd heard that her crush descended from a line of heroes but never managed to dig much deeper into it, school and various incidents keeping her curiosity a side project at the very best.

**Jaune sighed in exhaustion, how long had he been doing this now? He lost track of time long ago, the drudgery of battle and the smog blanketed sky ripped away the sense of time from him.**

**The battle was won, the royalists had lost… no they'd been defeated for weeks now, why they continued to resist the inevitable was beyond him. Some twisted sense of pride, the desire to take as many revolutionaries down with them as possible maybe?**

**Completely irrelevant, if they wanted to die so badly for a lost cause then he'd indulge them. Or if he didn't, then the Grimm surely wouldn't mind stepping up.**

**Ripping the blade free from the sternum of an unfortunate soldier, Jaune swung it in a wide arc, decapitating two beowolves that tried to leap on him. As the corpses began to disintegrate, he trudged onwards, ignoring the chaos around him as the unit that tried ambushing him found themselves being overrun by the Grimm their hatred and pain attracted.**

**Stopping only to strike down the beings who dared stand in his path, Jaune found himself completely spent and exhausted to the core. His aura was still well in the green but a deep-seated tiredness ate at him from the inside.**

**After serving as a blade of the revolution for so many long years, he was sick and tired of it all. How much blood had he already spilled in the name of a cause he no longer believed in? At what point did the idealistic revolutionary become just another cog in the war machine? He didn't know, didn't notice until it was too late.**

Blake swallowed hard at that, it was hitting a little too close to home. 'Would I have become like this if I didn't leave the white fang when I did?'

Shaking aside her doubts, she resolved herself to continue doing what she could in her capacity as a beacon student and huntress in training to make the world a better place and hopefully reform the white fang. Unlike the Jaune in the movie, she hadn't broken yet.

**Another tired sigh left his lips as the last beowolf crumbled to dust, leaving him the only thing still standing in the area. The guns had fallen silent at long last and he could hear his comrades' cheers of victory in the distance. "It's done, a new age has arrived at last. With this Mantle is finished forever, long live Atlas."**

**With a half-hearted cheer and a bitter smile, Jaune stabbed Crocea Mors into the ground. After this all that remained was the systematic purge of the old government and their supporters to legitimise the military junta.**

**Undoubtably high command would request his services in suppressing any armed resistance that might result. His unique set of skills and perfect mission record would guarantee nothing less.**

"**Crocea Mors!" A shout full of hate reached his ears and Jaune glanced up towards a ridge in the distance. He knew that voice anywhere, Pyrrha Nikos of the Mistralian Sentinels, the ever-present thorn in his side. A royalist too loyal to a dying regime for her own good, they'd clashed several times over the course of the war when she was bodyguard to one of various Mantle or Mistralian officials slated for assassination.**

Pyrrha froze in her seat in shock as she stared at her counterpart on the screen. "I-I'm Jaune's enemy here? No…"

"There, there, it's just a movie P-money, no need to take it so seriously, sides that's not really you. Didn't the shiny ball already say this is a story about Jaune's ancestor?" Yang gave the stunned spartan several pats on the back to comfort her. "Still isn't Crocea Mors the name of the sword? Why is P-money calling vomit boy that?"

"Ah, it's the other way around actually. The sword is named after the man. Back then, Julius Arc was a member of the military's greatest assassination unit, the Hitokiris or manslayers. Think of them as the precursor to Atlas's current specialist system, except completely focused on killing. Every member was trained from childhood to be a weapon of Mantle, they didn't even have actual names, only titles associated with the way they operated. Julius had the title of the yellow death due to being the only blonde Hitokiri and his fighting style." Blank helpfully supplied.

"Wait, if they didn't have names then where did 'Julius' come from?"

"Julius is a name he picked for himself after the war, to symbolise his devotion to the gods and his vow to never kill again. Arc on the other hand came later when he married his wife and took her surname as his own."

"Aaah…" Yang nodded and returned her attention to the movie.

"**Where do you think you're going!? Stand and fight!" Pyrrha roared as Jaune made to leave. Jaune looked back with a look of pity and shook his head.**

"**I'm done. No more." The knight bowed his head and walked off into the distance, leaving his sword behind and never looking back once.**

**Pyrrha couldn't hear what he said but the meaning was impossible to miss. One doesn't just leave their weapon behind in the middle of a warzone without good reason. "H-he's deserting? Now!?" rage blossomed in her heart as she watched the man who butchered scores of her soldiers without a second thought just walk away into the night.**

"**Ma'am, the rebels are almost here! We need to leave now!" The sentinel snarled and shook her arm free from the grip of one of her panicking soldiers. Much as she wished to hunt down Jaune Arc and bury a feet or two of cold steel in his blackened heart, the needs of her men came first, if they stayed any longer the rebels would catch up and cut them to ribbons.**

"**Fine! Get the message to whatever units are still active, this battle is lost. Anyone still alive is to make a full retreat to the border, the rebel scum won't follow us across, they don't have the supply lines for that." Giving her orders and shoving her resentment into a dark corner of her heart, she spared Jaune's diminishing figure one last hate filled glare.**

"**This isn't over Crocea, not by a long shot."**

The camera panned away from the group and lingered on the silver blade sticking up in the snow for a few seconds before the screen faded to black. The lights didn't come back on so the audience assumed it was just a small break before a transition to the next scene

"Well… that was intense. So what, we gonna watch those two slug it out for the rest of the movie?" Qrow questioned as he finished off his bottle and enjoyed the buzz that came with it.

"Not quite. Those two will never be friends but they do eventually gain some respect for each other and become comrades of a sort. Historically, Julius Arc and Athena Nikos were mortal enemies in the war but became allies out of necessity later on in life. They simply walked different paths from then on, Athena the undyingly loyal protector of the nation and Julius the wandering do gooder swordsman… at least until he settled down."

"Athena Nikos?" Pyrrha asked as the name was familiar to her but she couldn't recall where she heard it from, a distant ancestor perhaps?

"That would be your great-great-Aunt, a hero of the great war in her own right but ultimately buried by history due to being on the losing side of it. She never married or had children of her own since she was pretty much married to the job. But eh, she was happy with her lot."

"Oooh… well P-money you better make your move soon before you end up like her then. Need any tips? We can always get Blakey here to give you some from her books." Yang cackled with an evil smile as the spartan blushed a brilliant red and the cat faunus scowled.

"It's not smut, it's adult literature." She growled in annoyance.

"Ah ah ah, I never said anything about smut, that's all you my dear… anything we should know about?" Yang grinned as Blake's scowl deepened and the screen came back to life.

**Spring had arrived early this year and Jaune smiled as he stepped off the boat, glad to back on dry land. His stomach rumbled as he fought down the urge to hurl his breakfast over the side. When his stomach settled slightly, he let out a shaky breath and cursed his motion sickness for the thousandth time.**

"**You okay son? You don't look so good." The boatman questioned as he beheld Jaune's pale face when he collected his fare.**

"**No, no, I'm fine. Motion sickness is a lot more common than most people think, I'll be fine in a bit." Jaune waved away the man's concern as he laughed self-deprecatingly. A veteran of a thousand battlefields laid low by motion sickness, oh if his old comrades could see him now, they'd probably laugh themselves to death. How do you beat the great Crocea Mors? Stick him on a boat and have a good laugh that's how.**

**Well, things might be changing soon though. The tech heads back at Atlas led by Dr Polendina had made some kind of technological breakthrough a while back, something about dust powered flight. While there were many who were enraptured by the idea of claiming the heavens, there were plenty who were sceptical as well, if man was meant to fly, we'd be born with wings they said.**

**Only time would tell which side was correct, but needless to say, Jaune was firmly in the first camp. If flight became possible in a safe and affordable manner, that would mean he would never need to take an Oumdamned boat ever again and he'd be free from his curse forever.**

**Scratching a cross shaped scar on his left cheek, Jaune let his imagination run wild at the idea of flying everywhere and never being reduced to that pathetic mess ever again. "Can't wait for the future to arrive."**

"Hnrk… oh the irony is rich." Yang did her best to hold in her sniggers as she recalled with perfect clarity what dust powered flight actually meant for the Arc. The name vomit boy had to come from somewhere after all and even after so long, that was one aspect of Jaune that never showed any improvement.

"Sis… be nice." Ruby pouted at Yang as she knew exactly what was going through the blonde's mind at the moment.

"Aw you know you find this funny as well too Rubes, don't deny it. Still gotta say, vomit boy does look good with that scar of his. Wonder what it feels like…" Yang trailed off as a black aura started to form around Pyrrha and wisely chose to remain silent.

**Jaune smiled as he watched children decked out in all kinds of colours and fancy dress run around playing in the streets. The town of Gallia he was in was all prettied up for the upcoming celebration and there was an infectious mood in the air.**

**Hard to believe they were celebrating the fifth anniversary of the end of the great war now, had it been so long already? He didn't mind, this was the world he fought for all those years ago, a far cry from the land of endless grey Mantle used to be.**

**The freedom to be oneself, the freedom to be more than just a cog in an unfeeling machine, it was intoxicating. After the final battle, he'd been drifting from place to place, helping out in the reconstruction effort wherever he could and keeping the dark forces of the Grimm at bay.**

**Humanity was damaged but it would bounce back as it always did. This celebration was living proof of it after all. With enough time, the scars of the great war would fade away entirely, leaving behind a stronger people for it all. He'd heard rumours that the great warrior king of Vale was stepping down soon, handing power over to a council while he focused on erecting four huntsmen academies, one in each kingdom.**

**What a huntsman was Jaune had no idea, but word on the street was that it was a new initiative to train a new generation of fighters to beat back the Grimm instead of relying solely on the army. Jaune didn't know what to make of it but he did suppose it was a clever way of promoting peace through disarmament.**

**If a large standing army was no longer needed for fighting the Grimm incursions then the military could be reduced, manpower and budget allocated to rebuilding or expansion efforts. And if small squads of huntsmen really would be superior to entire companies of rank and file infantry, it would cut down the body count as well.**

**Again though, only time would tell if it would succeed, and until that day arrived, Jaune would continue to do what he could to protect the fragile peace so many died for.**

"This Mr Arc is an interesting individual. Tis a shame I can't meet him, I think I would have enjoyed conversing with him." Ozpin commented as he downed his fifth cup of coffee.

"He's… different from the one we know. If our Arc could grow into that with our guidance then I think we would have done a good job." Glynda concurred with her boss.

**Walking through the streets and trying out the various local delights and celebrating along with the locals, he was in heaven. Sadly, it couldn't last, try as he might, he couldn't ignore the invisible tension hanging in the air.**

**The civilians didn't feel it yet but the eyes of the local law enforcement and militia held the truth. The fear and suspicion in them when he walked past was palpable yet it wasn't directed at him. They were afraid of something _and_ suspicious of him in a time of celebration.**

'**Oum damnit, why couldn't it have been Grimm.' Jaune polished off the last piece of chicken on a skewer before heading for the local constable office, there would probably be some inkling of the threat these people faced.**

"Wait, I don't understand, how does Jaune-Jaune know it's not the Grimm?" The orange haired Valkyrie questioned when the screen transitioned again and to everyone's surprise, it was Qrow who answered.

"Hng, if it was Grimm they wouldn't be that suspicious of him. hell, kid's walking around with a sword, if anything, they'd probably ask for his help in dealing with the Grimm since every little bit counts. No, they're probably dealing with bandits or some kind of criminal element and they think our boy here is part of the problem. Whatever it is, is way out of their paygrade and they're scared shitless, otherwise they'd probably have taken him in for questioning by now." Qrow finished and took another swig from a fresh bottle of brandy.

"Jaune isn't a criminal, he helps people." Ruby protested her friend's innocence.

"Sure, you know that, I know that but they don't know that."

"**So much talk about ideals and creating a better future for humanity. Haaah… there are three things in this world that can regress a man into the beast he truly is. Their self-interest, money and… pleasure." Roman Torchwick puffed on his cigar as he reclined in his chair, waiting for his employees to file in one at a time.**

"Torchwick grrr." Ruby growled as the criminal came into view and she recalled all the trouble this one man had caused them. At least he was sitting in a jail cell somewhere now.

**Several faunus filed in and a cat faunus dressed in a purple kimono brought up the rear. Standing in line, they held their breath as they waited for their boss to react to their latest breakthrough. After three years of work and hundreds of thousands of lien overrun, they had finally succeeded.**

"**Excellent work Dr Belladonna, with this new type of opium, men will gladly turn into beasts and tear one another apart for more. Very well done all of you, please show yourselves out, my associates will handle your rewards."**

Blake blinked in surprise before frowning. "I work for that prick in this universe? And I'm part of a drug syndicate!?"

"Language Ms Belladonna, as unpleasant as this is to watch, please mind yourself." Glynda reprimanded her student.

**The faunus regarded one another in confusion before exiting Torchwick's office. To be called all the way out here from the labs only to be dismissed almost immediately? The boss was an eccentric one but this was a bit much even for him.**

**The first sign things were awry was when Neo raised her parasol to stop the last two members of the group from exiting with the rest, Blake and Tukson remained behind and shared a confused glance while the pint-sized assassin shut the doors.**

**Noticing that two of their number hadn't exited the office despite their dismissal, one of the faunus rapped on the door to see if something was wrong. They received no answer, instead several masked figures emerged from the end of the hallway with weapons drawn.**

**Backing away in fear, they tried running towards the other end of the corridor but that path was blocked by one more armed individual. Fear coloured their faces as they backed up against each other, all routes of escape sealed off.**

**Blake and Tukson could only watch from behind frosted glass windows and listen to the screams of the dying as the assassins butchered their unresisting victims without mercy. Both took a step back in fear as a bloody sword punched through the door before being slowly withdrawn.**

**Smirking, Neo unlocked the door and opened it, allowing a bloody corpse to fall through and land at their feet. Thoroughly relishing in the shock and terror on Blake and Tukson's faces, she sniggered silently as the duo stared at their boss in horror.**

"W-why!? Why'd he kill them!? They were working for him! H-he just said they'd be rewarded!" Ruby asked with a quivering voice.

"No honour amongst thieves kiddo, you heard what Torchwick said, they succeeded at making whatever new super drug he wanted. After that he no longer has any use for them, just tying up loose ends and all that." Qrow nonchalantly answered and took another swig of his brandy, ugly business was what it was and he'd seen enough of it back in the Branwen tribe for a lifetime.

"**Ah it's nothing personal I assure you. It's just… I only need one person who knows the formula. Can't have anyone joining the competition after all." Roman said, smiling cruelly towards the two faunus, one of them was going to die and they both knew it.**

"**Now how do we settle this though? Both of you are the best I have, your skills and contributions equal in almost all aspects. Well, I suppose we'll just have to let the coin decide your fates then." The criminal mastermind pulled out a coin and held it up for them to see.**

"**Heads you live Dr Belladonna, tails Tukson gets to see another sunrise." The faunus gulped as Roman continued playing with the coin in his hands. Smile never leaving his face once, Torchwick flipped the coin into the air and caught it in his palms.**

**Deliberately drawing it out, he made a show out of slowly opening his fingers one at a time as panic built in his captive audience. "Oh, well. Today is your lucky day after all… for one of you at least. Heads it is, congratulations on your continued employment doctor. As for you Tukson, consider your contract… _terminated._"**

**His hands snapped shut as Tukson paled considerably. "Y-you! You'll pay for this!" Tukson made a mad dash towards Torchwick, before deviating at the last second and jumping through the window instead and landing on his feet two stories below.**

**Neo made to give chase before being halted by Roman. "Leave him. Let Crocea Mors handle it. He's likes it when his prey runs. As for you my dear, no need to worry…" Roman lifted the coin again and revealed that it was a two-headed trick coin.**

"**I knew Tukson was a rat working with the cops from the very beginning, you'd be surprised by how many friends in high places you can buy. Money, drugs, women… so predictable. He was going to sell us out tomorrow morning too, what a shame we caught him first eh? hahahaha!"**

**Blake remained rooted to the spot as Roman's dark laughter filled the room and the screen faded to black for another transition.**

"Wait what!? But, but Jaune-Jaune isn't killing anymore! What's going on?"

"Calm down Nora, we'll just have to wait and see." Ren sighed as he tried to calm down his overly excited partner.

**Gravel crunched underfoot as Pyrrha approached Tukson's bloody corpse, mouth set in a thin line as she inspected the scene of the crime and one of the attending cops rand up to her. "Report."**

"**Ma'am, victim goes by the name Tukson, no last name, he was an undercover cop infiltrating Torchwick's operations. He was supposed to report in yesterday morning but never appeared, from what we can gather, he was killed before he could make it to the safehouse. We didn't find anything on him except for this, killer must have planted it."**

**The officer handed over a letter to the former sentinel. On it was bloody handprint as well a written warning to the police to expect further bloodshed if they continued poking their noses where they don't belong.**

"**It's that damned Crocea Mors again, it's not enough that he's butchering our men like pigs he has to leave us this mocking letters as well." The officer spat on the floor as he shook with barely supressed rage.**

"**It's not him."**

"**Ma'am?"**

**Pyrrha sighed and crushed the letter in her hands. "It's not Crocea, just some copycat who can't even do their research right. This note details why Tukson was killed, it isn't his way. The real Crocea wouldn't leave notes, the trail of bodies is all the message he needs."**

**Elsewhere, Jaune strolled down the street with a frown on his face. The trip to the constable office had yielded little, the chief was a pompous old fool who wanted to hog the glory to himself in the hopes of securing a promotion out of this town in the middle of nowhere. But he did have a point though, Jaune was just an ex-soldier and a civilian now, there really wasn't a reason for the man to share details of an important case with a drifter.**

**Outside of some snippets about a powerful business mogul with shady connections and some serial killer running around, his investigations had mostly come up blank… until he passed the local bounty board.**

"**Hitokiri Crocea Mors, wanted dead or alive for the murder of several citizens and members of the police. Heavily armed and very dangerous, citizens are reminded not to engage him and report to the police if they spot him… what the actual hell?"**

**The former Hitokiri was drawn out of his musings when he found a shotgun being shoved into his face. "Woah woah, easy now. I'll hand over my money, please don't shoot me." Jaune raised his hands into the air as he slowly backed away from his very, very angry blonde assailant. Lilac eyes filled with anger bored into his own and Yang jabbed the shotgun into his face again.**

"Hey! It's me this time, looks like I'm about to kick vomit boy's ass." Yang crowed as she saw herself appear.

"Given his skill in the war, I find that to be unlikely Ms Xiao Long." Ozpin commented

"**You, you're blonde."**

"**Uh… yes? So are you?"**

"**And you're carrying around a sword with no gun."**

"**Uh yes?"**

"**You're that damned Crocea Mors aren't you!?" Yang roared and Jaune started sweating inside. 'What. The. Hell. How the hell does she know that? Damn does she know me from back in th- shit!'**

**Jaune ducked and used his hands to slap the shotgun away as Yang squeezed the trigger, sending a spray of buckshot into the tree behind him. "Whoa whoa hold up, I already said I'll hand over my money! Are you seriously going to kill a man for some spare change!?"**

**Bob and weave Jaune bob and weave, the perplexed ex-assassin did his best to stay away from the business end of the shotgun. A point-blank blast would hurt aura or not and he wasn't a fan of standing around to serve as target practice, at least this little farce wouldn't last much longer.**

'**A Mantle type 12 semi auto shotgun, modified with an assault mag? Twelve or thirteen shots before a reload, seve- eight shots down, just a few more.' Jaune counted down the rounds as he did his best to limit collateral damage by staying away from any buildings, better random trees than someone's house.**

"**Grrr… hold still so I can kill you murderer!"**

"**What murderer!? I haven't done anything! I'm innocent I swear!"**

"**Tell it to Oum when you meet him!"**

"**Woah!" Jaune dodged the last shot and fell into a nearby stream, getting soaked in the process. Ignoring the cold, he shot back to his feet as Yang's gun clicked empty. Before the girl could react, he'd swiped her feet out from under her with a kick and planted his sword's scabbard across her throat pinning her to the ground.**

"**Can we please calm down now? I feel there's some kind of misunderstanding going on here. If I was a murderer, don't you think I'd have killed you by now?" Jaune waited for Yang to nod before removing his weapon and allowing her to stand up, he held on to her shotgun just in case.**

"**You… you're really not the Hitokiri?" Yang questioned slowly as Jaune gave her a bright smile.**

"**Yeaaah… I just arrived a few days ago and this sword of mine? It's just a training blade." Jaune pulled the sword out of its sheath and handed it over for inspection. Yang held it close and marvelled at its construction despite herself.**

**It was a work of art, perfectly balanced and very well made, save the fact that it had no cutting edge. Even the tip was blunted, as a weapon of war the sword would be better suited to being used as a club instead of a cutting instrument.**

"**I… huh. Um… I'm sorry, I might have overreacted a little!" Yang bowed in apology as she returned the sword.**

'**Overreacted a little? No kidding.' Jaune let none of his inner thoughts show as he gave Yang another smile. Mistaken identity and attempted murder aside, he was perfectly fine if freezing a little from his dip in the stream. No harm no foul right?**

"Oh come on! This is character assassination! I'd never do something like that without proof!" Yang whined in protest as her team gave her looks of disbelief.

"What? Like I'd ever behave so irresponsibly!"

"Sis… you wrecked a nightclub days before initiation." Ruby responded with a flat tone.

"Th-they had it coming, it was a bad guy bar Rubes!"

"You have no proof of that. And what about the time you punched Cardin across the room during combat class because you thought he shot a spit ball into your hair? Or the time you threw Weiss out the window because you thought she used your shampoo?"

"That was umm err… I deny everything!" The brawler pouted and folded her arms, drawing giggles from the rest of the audience and a frown from Weiss as she recalled that particular incident.

"**So about this Crocea Mors you thought I was… what's the deal with that?"**

"**No one knows much about him but he appeared six months ago and started killing people, leaving behind messages detailing why the victims needed to die. The mayor and the chief of police have kept it on the downlow so far but more victims keep turning up every week." Yang sighed and shook her head to banish the unpleasant memories.**

"**They say he used to be a soldier of the revolution, a war hero in fact. Nowadays, he's just another criminal causing problems for the rest of us." Yang spat out bitterly.**

"**Sounds… personal. Did… did he hurt someone you know or something… during the war?" Jaune breathed a small sigh of relief when she shook his head. Enough sins weighed on him already and he hoped that hurting this girl wasn't one of them.**

"**No, no. It's just, all everyone knows is that Crocea Mors fought against the regime, only wielded a sword and had blonde hair. Unfortunately, my old man fits all those criteria… nobody's done anything yet but it's… problematic. Ah it's nothing you need to worry about, where are my manners anyway, I'm Yang, Yang Arc, it's uh nice to meet you." The blonde laughed sheepishly as she held out her hand for a shake.**

"Hold up. Yang… Arc? Blank, didn't you say historically, Julius took his wife's last name?" Weiss asked, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"That he did." The floating orb confirmed.

"Well, well, well, I think we all know where this is going. Anything to add Yang?" Weiss snickered at the blush on the brawler's face. Any response Yang was going to give died in her throat when several creaking noises came from Pyrrha and the black aura returned.

"Yes Yang, anything to add? Maybe you would be interested in a spar after this?" The spartan spoke in a sweet tone, too sweet in fact and cold sweat trickled down the back of Yang's neck.

"Ah… hahaha… yeah…" Trailing of into silence, she did her best to shrink into her seat as the attention focused on her. Fortunately for her, salvation came in the form of her disgruntled uncle.

"So… this Arc kid, where can I find him? I need to ki-_have a_ _nice_ _chat_ with the boy." The veteran hunter lowered his bottle and glared at the screen, bloodshot eyes screaming bloody murder.

"**I'm Jaune… just Jaune." Smiling and accepting the handshake as the peace offering it was, he dusted himself off and shivered lightly in the cold wind. Spring was here but some vestiges of winter yet lingered.**

"**Very well then _just Jaune_, my home isn't that far away and I should have some of my dad's spare clothes lying around. Not sure about the fit but they'll be better than remaining soaked at least. Um, again I'm sorry about earlier."**

"**It's fine, I've been through worse. No harm done, are you sure you should be inviting a stranger over? Not that I'm going to do anything of course!" Jaune hurriedly sought to assure her that he had zero untoward motives.**

"**My dad always said that strangers are just friends you haven't met yet. Now come on, just let me make up for earlier yeah?" Yang grabbed his arm and pulled him along, not giving him the chance to say no. Jaune shrugged and went along with it, there were worse ways to spend his day than getting know a very attractive woman. Especially one whose… generous assets were currently pressed against… nope, not thinking about it.**

Yang could only laugh nervously as the scene changed, glad to be out of the spotlight. Still though, this version of Jaune wasn't too bad on the eyes and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't interested in finding out more about this universe's vomit boy.

**Torchwick lazed on his chair as he enjoyed the morning sun. Life was good, production of the new drugs was stepping up and it would be ready for market soon, the leaks were plugged and the police no closer to pinning anything on him. He was drawn out of his reverie when Neo informed him that he had a visitor.**

"**Huh? Can I help you officer?" Putting on a mask of indifference, he schooled his emotions and didn't react to Pyrrha shoving the bloody warning letter in his face.**

"**An undercover officer was murdered a few days ago by someone claiming to be Crocea Mors."**

"**Huh, so you're saying the ghost of an old soldier is back haunting the land of the living as a murderer? Well that's hardly my problem now is it."**

"**What's inside the warehouses on the docks?" Pyrrha ignored the blatant lie and refocused her questioning elsewhere, hoping to catch the man slipping up.**

"**Oh that? Well, originally I wanted to use that as a place to store imported goods, but it didn't work out so well. If you want to search them, be my guest. But, be sure to follow the appropriate procedures yes? Wouldn't want someone of your standing be caught breaking the law, now would we?" Roman chuckled as Pyrrha remained silent, they both knew he was rubbing the fact that permission to search the warehouses would never be granted, not with Roman's 'friends' blocking the way.**

"**It's a new era after all, unlike the old Mantle, even someone of your standing can't just do as they please."**

"**Don't get carried away."**

"**Hmmph, guess the ghosts of some old soldiers can't get the fact that times have changed." Roman rang a small bell and the several shouts reached their ears.**

"**AH! It's time for food!"**

"**Food's here!"**

"**MINE!"**

**Pyrrha watched in barely hidden disgust as several dozen armed men came rushing over towards a pile of food that had been left out for them. Uniform and armour indicating that they were former soldiers of Mantle and Mistral, whatever pride they had had long been stripped away, leaving a bunch of savages behind fighting over food like animals.**

**Roman himself didn't even bother to conceal his low opinion of them. "Look at them mongrels, all former proud soldiers of Mantle and Mistral, abandoned after the end of the war and nothing but common mercenaries now. I showed them mercy and hired them as guards, better than just letting them roam the lands as bandits wouldn't you say? Hungry dogs would take a bite out of anything they can after all."**

**Pyrrha kept her mouth shut at the scene even as her hands clenched tightly into fists, that some of these rabble wore the colours of the defunct Sentinels was still a major insult. "Come to think of it, didn't you use to be one of them Sentinels too?"**

"**I still am."**

"**And that is why we'll never get along. You are a relic of a bygone age, do us all a favour and be buried by history please? The only power that matters in this age is money."**

"**Hmmph, watch yourself. The police may need evidence to act. I do not." Pyrrha spared the sorry sight one last pitying glance before leaving.**

"The soldiers were just thrown away after the war? I find that a little hard to believe." Ren said as he found it hard to believe any nation would just toss aside their own soldiers with the Grimm being an omnipresent threat.

"I'm afraid it's true. After the war there was a push for disarmament as a sign of commitment to peace. Through cooperation and the new Huntsmen initiative, it was decided that the standing armies of each kingdom would be reduced to a more manageable size. And since the soldiers of Mantle were on the losing side, they were the one's let go, Atlas was just coming into its own at the time and they couldn't trust members of the old regime to not try and reinstate the old order." Ozpin sighed as he dredged up the old memories of one of his past incarnations. A lot of good had come out of the end of the great war, the foundation of the academies being chief among them, but plenty of evil had festered as well.

"Yeah, most of those guys were career soldiers, once the need for them died out, a lot of the poor sods didn't have any other employable skills, they either became common mercenaries or turned to banditry." Qrow added on with a bitter smile, the Branwen clan had been around for a long time, but they really only became something more than a collection of petty thieves after the war.

**Torchwick puffed on a cigar as he returned to his office, mood thoroughly spoiled by the Sentinel's visit earlier. His mood took another nose dive when one of his underlings came rushing towards him, bad news on his lips.**

"**Sir! Dr Belladonna ran away!"**

"**What!? What do you mean she ran away!?"**

"**The information come from one of the cops on our payroll." One of the masked assassins who killed the faunus drug makers stepped out of the shadows. "He said she ran to the police station by herself seeking asylum."**

**Roman remained silent with a stony look on his face before snarling in frustration and shoving the pile of documents on his desk to the floor. "Damn it!"**

"**Sir it's fine isn't it, the good doctor can't speak about the new opium or she'll be in trouble as well. We can always have our friends on the force bring her back afterwards." One of his men offered up as a suggestion.**

"**You idiot, every moment she remains on the loose is another the recipe might be leaked. And if that infernal Sentinel gets her hands on the doctor, we're finished regardless of how many favours the councillors owe me. Get. Her. Back. Now."**

"**I'll do it." A man hidden in the shadows spoke up and the room quietened instantly from the pressure he was releasing.**

"**Very well." Roman took a moment to consider it before assenting to it, only giving one last piece of instruction before his greatest weapon left the room.**

"**Callows. Don't kill her. She's the only one who knows the purification method. I want her intact Crocea Mors."**

"**And everyone else with her?"**

"**Expendable."**

**The scene transitioned again and displayed Blake sitting alone in an interrogation room. The cat faunus had seen better days, there were dark rings around her eyes from a lack of sleep and her clothes were torn in places from her midnight escape through the forest.**

**She'd handed over everything she knew and witnessed about torchwick's operations including the new type of opium she'd helped create. A lifetime behind bars awaited her for her crimes but she'd take that in a heartbeat over being disposed of once Torchwick no longer had use of her.**

**She sighed and rested her head in her hands, wondering where everything went wrong. When she was younger, all she wanted to do was help people by becoming a doctor. Then the great war broke out and the prices of everything shot up, to continue her medical practice, she'd turned to several shady individuals for help, eventually ending up in Torchwick's employ.**

**Seven years she'd been working for that creep, doing her best to turn a blind eye to the less than legal business practices and her role in them. She'd deluded herself into thinking that her work as a doctor would make up for everything she did in the criminal's employ, as long as she didn't see it in person, that illusion would continue to hold.**

Blake swallowed hard, too many parallels to her time in the white fang there for comfort. Unbidden, her mind went back to her ill-fated final mission when her old mentor decided blowing up an entire train filled with both humans and _faunus_ was a good idea. A small part of her wondered if she could have done more to stop the white fang from descending into the monsters the world knew of today.

**Well that was in the past now. Nothing like having your employer butcher your colleagues in front of you to wake you up from your dreams. Her interrogator had stepped out of the room for a bit to confer with his higherups, with her testimony they'd finally be able to move on Torchwick. The sooner they did the sooner she could breathe easier.**

**Her breath hitched when the sound of gunfire reached her ears. The alarm started blaring almost immediately after and she watched as several armed policemen ran by her room to deal with a problem occurring in the west wing of the station.**

**Getting to her feet, she tried the door and to her surprise found it unlocked. Slipping out, she headed closer to the commotion to see if she could help, she didn't have any combat skills but if there was some kind of conflict going on maybe she could provide medical assistance.**

**That thought died as soon as it came when a bloody corpse crashed through the window, the poor man's neck almost completely severed, head remaining attached only through a small scrap of skin. Covering her mouth with her hands, Blake fought down the urge to hurl and backed away in fright. The fear only increased when she heard the shouts identifying the intruder.**

"**Damn it! You're the bloody Crocea Mors aren't you!? Shit! He's just one man! Surround him! Surround h-ahHH!" The voice cut off in a bloody gurgle and Blake took that as her cue to turn and run, Torchwick had come for her after all.**

**Blood splatter painted the room red as Tyrian carved a bloody path through the hapless police, Crocea Mors in hand. It was almost comical how these fools thought they could stand against him, idiots without aura unlocked planning to stand against him, a veteran of the great war? Ridiculous.**

**Pulling the blade free from where he nailed a man to the wall, the scorpion faunus took a moment to lick the blood of the blade before turning to the remaining cops. Relishing in the fear on their faces, he laughed before charging them, bloody sword glinting in the lamp light.**

**Shrugging off the few bullets that managed to reach him with his unnaturally dense aura, the assassin's blade flashed again and again and again, a new body joining the growing pile of corpses with each swing.**

"**Tell me, have you ever heard of being paralysed by fear?" Tyrian asked the few surviving officers as he stared them down. One brave soul yelled in defiance and tried attacking with his battle-ax only to freeze in place mid-swing, face slowly turning purple as he found himself unable to breathe.**

"**Hurts doesn't it, to be so scared you can't even move or breathe. Every second the terror only increases and you can do nothing." Cruel smirk on his face, Tyrian rested his sword on the man's neck and looked into his eyes.**

"**This isn't magic I assure you, just my semblance. To increase the fear in the hearts of anyone I face as much as I desire… until their own terror locks them in place. The weaker the mind, the easier it is for me to lock them down." Casually running the sword over the man's neck and opening up a red line, he laughed mockingly as the man flopped to the floor in an expanding pool of red.**

"**A semblance completely useless against the Grimm, made entirely for slaughtering humans and faunus. Perfect for a manslayer wouldn't you agree?" Locking down the others as well, Tyrian laughed as he left them behind, lungs paralysed by their own fear, they'd suffocate to death soon enough without any further input on his part.**

"**Come out, come out wherever you are kitty cat! I just want to play a little! Your owner is getting worried, time to go home now!" Calling out into the now empty station, a small insane giggle left his throat as he spotted a broken window with a small shred of purple cloth attached to it, torn off when Blake escaped through it.**

"**Why do they always run?"**

'Tyrian Callows? That name is familiar to me, why is that?' Ozpin frowned as he searched through his memories only to draw a blank.

"T-This, I think I'm going to be sick." Weiss face was an interesting shade of green from the carnage happening on screen and a bucket magically appeared in front of her just in case. Hunter Jaune's rampage in the last universe was bloodier and there was the war scene at the start of this one, but this level of wanton cruelty towards other humans and faunus was on a different level entirely.

"Jeez, that is one hell of a messed-up semblance, even for me." Qrow muttered as he awkwardly tried to pat a shaking Ruby on the back from where he was seating.

**Yang smiled as she walked under a bridge on her way home from picking up some groceries, her new houseguest had been a great help the last two days he'd been there. Having picked up a large number of miscellaneous skills during his travels, he'd helped fix up several problems her old man had been putting off for too long, such as the leaky roof for instance. As thanks for his help and also as an apology, she was putting him up in a spare room and providing his meals.**

**Taiyang was out of town for the next three weeks on a business trip to Vale, his departure coinciding with Jaune's arrival such that they just happened to miss each other. She suppressed a small giggle at the thought of her father's trip being delayed by just one more day and having him meet Jaune. Having the older man go overprotective dad mode was always hilarious and if it came at the expense of her new friend… well that was a sacrifice she was willing to make for him.**

**The blonde was pulled out of her daydreams when she heard a body fall over the side of the bridge and land with a meaty thud, drawing a wince from her. A small amount of fear crept into her heart when she saw the bloody form of a survivor from the police station massacre finally expiring after making it this far.**

**Looking up to where the body fell from, she spotted a scorpion faunus wiping down a bloody sword, yellow dyed hair sticking out like a sore thumb in the evening light. Yang gulped as his very presence triggered every instinct to run away.**

**Swallowing hard, she dropped the grocery bags and drew her shotgun. "Y-you. You're the Hitokiri everyone's been talking about, aren't you?"**

**Tyrian spared the shotgun wielding blonde a disinterested look as he finished wiping down the blade. "And what if I am?"**

"**You. It's your fault my father-" Yang's words were cut off as Tyrian vaulted over the railings and landed just a few feet from her.**

"**And what about your father?"**

"**My father was a soldier in the great war, he fought for Vale, he fought for peace damnit! And now because of you, he's suspected of being a criminal!"**

"**And that is my problem how? Forget it, just die." Tyrian snorted and slashed at Yang with a lightning quick strike before she could pull the trigger. He snorted again when disbelief was written all over her face as she stared at the bisected remains of her weapon.**

**Managing to maintain enough sense left to backpedal quickly, she just barely avoided a fatal blow as Tyrian's next swing came close enough to her neck that it gave her an impromptu haircut. Falling down, she backed away in fright as several locks of long blonde hair scattered on the ground.**

Yang's eye's flashed red as a hiss escaped her throat and she hugged her hair to herself protectively. "No one's touching my hair like that, I'll beat them into next Tuesday if they try. But still, talk about a close shave eh?"

A round of boos from the rest of her team plus Nora and Qrow was all the reaction she got, and the brawler sank back into her seat again. "Geez, everyone's a critic."

"**Seriously, why can't insects like you just lie down and die. Even someone like me gets bored of squashing bugs. Is there no one who can give me a challenge?" Tyrian raised Crocea Mors for the coup de grace before a shift in the wind caused him to jump backwards.**

**Jaune landed feet first as Tyrian dodged out of the way of his kick. Placing himself between Yang and the assassin, his hand drifted towards his sword. "You okay Yang? I had a bad feeling about things so I came to find you. Good thing I got here in time huh?"**

"**Y-Yeah. I-I'm fine. I'll be fine." Yang finished in a small voice as her mind caught up to just how close she'd been to dying. Jaune shot her a worried look before returning his attention to the faunus.**

"**So you're the one calling himself Crocea Mors now huh? I was expecting someone taller."**

"**Oh, that cross shaped scar… and that agility… so you're the legendary…" Tyrian trailed off as he activated his semblance, trying to paralyse Jaune with his own fear. His cruel smirk only widened when the paralysis didn't take and Jaune's hands closed around the hilt of his sword nigh instantly.**

"**It doesn't work on you huh. Hehehe…"**

**Any confrontation between them was cut off when the sound of a whistle split the still air and several dozen more armed members of the force closed in. "We're leaving. Hang on." Jaune didn't wait for a response from Yang as he leapt away from Tyrian while picking her up in a bridal carry in a single fluid motion.**

**Using his aura to enhance his strength and making a superpowered leap away, he left Tyrian behind to face the oncoming police reinforcements. For his part, the insane faunus merely smirked and laughed a little as he waited for his prey to approach him.**

"**Well, this boring life of mine just got interesting." Mocking laughter on his lips, the false Hitokiri swung down towards the nearest officer as the bloodshed resumed.**

"Aww… I wanted to see fearless leader kick butt. Renny! Why'd Jaune-Jaune run away?" Nora started shaking her long-time friend and partner as she awaited an answer.

"That's enough Nora, while it's not like Jaune to run away, I think he's more focused on keeping Yang safe, this version of her doesn't appear to have her Aura unlocked. A crossfire is no place for a civilian." Ren answered and booped Nora on the nose to calm her down.

**Night had fallen and dinner was mostly a silent affair as Jaune became absorbed in his own thoughts once he was sure Yang was fine if a bit shaken up. Once everything had been put away, she was the first to break the silence.**

"**You know, even if you hadn't stepped in I would have been fine."**

"**I'm sure you would." Jaune said with a small sad smile on his face. "If it's all the same, I'd ask if you not go looking for that man in the future, things might go differently next time."**

"**Next time I'll be more prepared and I'll be sure to bring him down." Yang said with false cheer that died when Jaune remained silent.**

"…**He's stronger than you. You know that. Please don't go looking for him again."**

**Yang looked away before walking over to a shelf and picking up an old family photo, one taken back in happier times. Back before the war. Three smiling faces stared back at her, two broad grins and one annoyed one that nonetheless carried a trace of warmth in it.**

**Taiyang, herself and the almost perpetual frowner Raven. She held back a tear as she recalled how her family practically fell apart so long ago. When war had broken out, Taiyang had left for the frontlines in the hopes of securing a brighter future for his family, then the war dragged on and on and on. Medicine was in short supply along with a great deal of other necessities, during one particularly bad winter, Raven had fallen ill and never recovered. Passing on just two months before the end of hostilities.**

**That left Yang all alone, waiting for the war to end and terrified of receiving news that her only remaining family member had fallen in the war as well. When an armistice was declared and Taiyang returned home, both were changed individuals. Hiding the pain behind bright smiles and loud laughter, never letting it show.**

**Was it self-destructive to bury everything and pretend it didn't exist? Perhaps. But that was the only way the both of them knew how to cope with it. Time would wash away even the deepest of wounds after all. But now, this serial killer was running around opening all of her old wounds.**

Abandoned by Raven and then losing Summer on a mission, this version of her wasn't discarded by her birth mother but both of them ended up alone in the end anyway. No, not alone. Yang choked back a small sob and picked up Ruby before placing her sister on her lap and enveloping her in a tight embrace. The red reaper merely let out a small 'eep' from the sudden action before relaxing, knowing what her sister was going through.

"**Did you know my mother used to be a bandit before I was born?" Yang asked after a moment of silence.**

"…**No, I did not."**

"**Back then she followed the philosophy of survival of the fittest. If you had the strength then you could take whatever you wanted, it was the fault of the weak for not being strong enough to hold on to what they have. If they truly valued it then they would have gotten stronger to protect it, if they didn't, then they didn't deserve to have it."**

"…**I see."**

"**Do you? I don't think so." Yang chuckled before continuing with a wistful smile on her face, dragging up the old stories her parents used to tell her about their courtship.**

"**See, when my dad first met her, he was a mercenary hired to guard a caravan that happened to be the next target of my mom and her cohort of bandits. She was a lot stronger than him and kicked his ass before making off with the loot, giving her whole speech about him being too weak to do anything about it."**

"**I see?"**

"**Yeah well, dad didn't take it well. Spent the next couple of years training and hunting her down to bring her to justice. Somewhere along the line, he got upgraded from annoying pest to persistent rival in mom's eyes. Eventually there was a spark of something between them, and after one of their battles resulted in them being stuck on a snowy mountain far from civilisation with only each other for support… well you could say the relationship got a little upgrade." Yang chuckled again as she recalled the wildly differing accounts from each parent, each painting the other as the one in distress and them as the heroic soul pulling them out of danger again and again.**

"**Dad's sheer persistence won out in the end and he managed to bring mom around to his way of thinking, something they both pounded into my head a long time ago when I wanted to learn how to fight. You want to know what it was?"**

"**Do tell."**

"**Those with strength, protect those without. It doesn't matter if your strength lies in your marksmanship, your sword skills, your fists or whatever have you. If you have the power, then even if you don't wish to help others, at least leave them in peace." Yang returned the photo to its place of honour and turned to face Jaune, waiting for a response.**

"…**It's a good philosophy." Jaune closed his eyes and conceded, already knowing where this was going. Sure enough, Yang did not disappoint.**

"**I've lived my whole life following those words. And now a serial killer is running around the place like he owns it. He's already caused my father enough trouble that he has to leave to let the heat die down, every moment he continues to walk free is another insult to everything my parents stood for. I cannot just let this go."**

"**Yang. I get that you want to live up to your parents. But I don't think either of them would want you to throw away your life fighting someone out of your league. You don't even have your aura unlocked." Jaune said and received a snarl in response.**

"**I'm not weak! I can fight! I… you're just a drifter, I don't expect you to understand." Yang spat out and turned away, not letting the hurt show on her face.**

"**Sorry for making you angry, I'll leave you to have some peace." Jaune sighed and gave a small bow, before leaping up onto the roof to watch the stars alone. 'Protect those without huh…'**

"That was a little harsh wasn't it. A little tact never hurt anyone." Blake commented as she spotted her partner squeezing her sister even tighter.

"Yeah but kid has a point. Whoever this Tyrian fellow is, he's out of movie Yang's league. Hell, I'd say he'd beat all of you in a straight fight. Challenging him head on is… there are easier ways to commit suicide." Qrow replied as he took another swig of alcohol, seeing a version of his sister actually being successfully pulled away from the life of banditry left him with mixed feelings at best.

On the one hand she was a better person, on the other, that story still ended in tragedy. Briefly wondering what might have happened if he had fought harder to prevent his team from fracturing, if he didn't have to bear the curse he called a semblance, he shook away the thoughts. Contemplating what-ifs should only be done when he was seconds away from being blackout drunk, any other team was a quick trip to depression.

**As the sun rose the next day, Yang was awakened by a commotion from outside her house. Several of Torchwick's goons were there making a racket and she frowned in frustration before moving to confront them.**

"**I've told you already, my dad won't sell this place. Even if he isn't here, I won't hand it over to you either." Yang said in a no-nonsense tone.**

"**Oh come on missy, Mr Torchwick is willing to pay a good price for this land. You're the only one who hasn't agreed to sell, and until you move, this area can't be redeveloped. Surely you don't intend to stand in the way of progress… do you?" The leader spoke with a sinister tilt to his voice.**

**Yang reached for her shotgun only to curse internally when she recalled that she left her bifurcated weapon back at the bridge and she hadn't had the chance to obtain a new one yet. "I don't care what your boss wants. This place is important to my parents and you can't have it."**

"**Sheesh you really are an unreasonable one aren't you? Mr T is already making you a very generous offer, do you really think anyone would want to buy the house of a serial killer?"**

"**My father is innocent! Leave. You are not welcome here."**

"**Oooh feisty aren't you? Here I am trying to be nice and you're being so unreasonable. Besides, haven't you heard, the police are on the hunt for Crocea Mors it's just a matter of time before your father swings. Ahahah!"**

**Yang took a small step back as the group of thugs laughed along with their boss. She dearly wished she had a weapon with her at the moment but alas that was not to be. Hiding her fear, she prayed internally for Jaune to pull a repeat performance of saving her.**

"**I don't think people will mind very much if we kill the daughter of a bunch of criminals. I mean, your old man's a serial killer that skipped town and didn't your mom use to be a pretty famous bandit? Apple doesn't fall far from the tree you know. But maybe… we could work something out. I'm sure Mr T wouldn't mind ah… employing you." The lecherous grin on his face left no illusions as to what he was referring to and Yang bit back her disgust.**

"**Y-you… you're disgusting. Using your power to oppress others like that, power is meant to protect people not hurt them! You're nothing more than a bully!" Yang spat out angrily.**

"**Oh you wound my heart princess… aren't you a little too naïve? Power is power, all that matters is what it can get you. Words like yours… nothing but a little girl who doesn't understand how the real world works. Kehehehe… let us demonstrate what happens when you piss off someone stronger than you." The leader spoke and was about to throw a punch when a silver fork flew through the air and buried itself in his shoulder, sending him reeling back and screaming in shock and pain.**

**A thoroughly unamused Jaune jumped down from the roof where he was having his breakfast, burning anger simmered in his blue eyes as his face remained impassive.**

"Yeah kick his ass fearless leader! Break their legs!" Nora cheered exuberantly at Jaune's entrance. Qrow nodded along and took the opportunity to place a few lien into Ruby's swear jar before adding his own two cents.

"YEAH! FUCK EM UP KID! NO ONE MESSES WITH MAH FAMILY!"

"Qrow!" Glynda gasped out, momentarily too shocked to reprimand the huntsman. Before she could start, Ozpin's agent shrugged and stared at her unrepentantly.

"What? Don't tell me you disagree. You're using your semblance to form a damn spear out of popcorn after all."

"**You're right, Yang's words are nothing more than a childish fantasy at most. Power rules in this world and you either have to use your own strength to get ahead at the expense of others or be crushed as others use you as an oumdamned stepping stone." Jaune spoke as he let out a wave of killing intent potent enough to send the hardened thugs into frightened shivers.**

"**Jaune…"**

"**But you know something? I much prefer her words to the truth. Now what was it you said? Demonstrate what happens when you piss off someone stronger than you? Please, allow me… because congratulations, you've done exactly that."**

"**Grr… he's just one man! KILL HIM!" The wounded leader roared at his terrified men and they took a moment to gather their wits before seeking to overwhelm Jaune with their numbers.**

"**Hmmph. Pathetic." Jaune didn't flinch as a battle-ax cut through the air towards his head, reaching out with one hand, he grabbed the man's wrist and pulled him close. Twisting it with a sharp crack and snapping it, Jaune grabbed the axe with his other hand and shoved the screaming man towards his comrades, tripping several of them in the process.**

**With the axe he fended off several oncoming blades, using the axe head to catch out the business end of the weapons before retaliating with the flat of the blade. Every strike broke bone and sent men flying.**

**Finally burying his borrowed weapon in the chest armour of a thug, not deep enough to be fatal but deep enough to be a painful problem, Jaune lashed out with a kick that shattered the man's kneecap, dropping him to the floor in a heap.**

**The few remaining men backed away from the demon that just demolished a good half their number without breaking a sweat. Cold sweat beaded the forehead of their leader as he tried to threaten Jaune.**

"**Y-you! D-do you know who you're messing with!? Torchwick wants this place and what he wants he gets!"**

"**I don't know who this Torchwick is and I don't care. As long as I'm here, you won't touch her."**

"**Y-you think this is over!? He'll send more! You can't stop all of us!" The man cried out, a touch of hysteria in his voice.**

"**Auraless thugs, oh I am _so _scared. I'll cut through an entire army of you before I even get warmed up. Wanna know a secret? The name Crocea Mors doesn't just come from the blonde hair, it comes from the semblance. A yellow aura blade that cuts down everything in one hit." Jaune rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, a yellow glow surrounding the scabbard as he did so.**

**Drawing and slashing in a single move, a blast of yellow aura launched from the blade in a flat arc, striking every single one of the remaining thugs and sending them flying. When they landed, groans and bloody coughs were all they could muster.**

"**You should go back inside Yang, the cops have already been called, I'll wait here until they arrive… and relax, none of them are dead… even if they wish they were."**

"**You… really are him."**

**Jaune sighed and nodded. Nothing more needed to be said and they stood in silence until the police arrived to take the thugs into custody. He had little mirth as he allowed himself to be cuffed and taken in for questioning as well, someone like him could easily snap the metal bracelets, but he'd caused enough trouble as it were. At least Yang's home would be under police guard for a bit, even if it was only for the duration of the investigation. No way the thugs would be able to try anything while they were around.**

"What!? Vomit boy's a hero! Why is he being arrested!?" Yang's eyes flared red as she watched Jaune be taken away.

"Gee, I don't know, maybe because he left almost twenty people bleeding out on the ground? Ya know, this is part of the reason why you have classes to teach restraint even back in Signal. Restraint is key. Two drunk thugs get into a barfight, the property damage is in the thousands at most with maybe one of them going home in a bodybag. Aura users get into an all-out brawl in a populated area? Millions in property damage and a body count in the dozens." Qrow supplied and Yang's mouth snapped shut, recalling her bar escapade from before Beacon. As she recalled, it was Ozpin's intervention that got her out of serving time but this Jaune didn't have anyone to bail him out. That left a bitter taste in her mouth.

**Jaune sat quietly in his cell, waiting for an interrogator to show up. Leaning against the wall, he exhaled quietly and allowed his mind to drift. The past he threw away so long ago had returned to haunt him again. Idly reaching up to scratch the scar on his cheek, he wondered if it was fate at work or sheer dumb luck, to think someone would take up his old title and be in possession of his old sword as well.**

**A part of him wondered if he should have interfered and fought the impostor. His skills had decayed after five years of relative inactivity but he reasoned he could still take that man in a fight. Only… chances were that he'd have to go for a fatal blow to end things, a thought he detested greatly. A frown spread across his face as his desire to help others conflicted with his oath never to kill another human again.**

"**When they told me a man with a cross scar was in the pound for severely injuring almost two dozen men, I had a feeling it'd be you." His musings were interrupted by a familiar voice, looking up at the source of the voice, he let out another sigh when the recognised that red hair.**

"**Hello again. I'd say it's nice to see you but I'd be lying. It's been five years since we last met, how time flies. Come, I need to speak with you outside." Pyrrha unlocked the door and held it open for Jaune to exit.**

**Following behind his old enemy, he was led to a large office where another familiar face awaited him. "It's been awhile hasn't it? Where have you been hiding all this time?"**

"**General Ironwood sir." Jaune nodded in respect towards his former commanding officer.**

"**You disappeared at the end of the war, most said you were dead I knew better. In the last five years every time I get a report about a skilled drifter saving villages and towns out in the frontier from bandits and Grimm, I've sent out my men to investigate. Curious how they always missed you."**

"**I don't like staying in one place sir, there's always somewhere else that needs help." Jaune replied honestly.**

"**True enough, our work is never done. But enough with the sir, I'm military no longer. It's chief of Atlas police now, please have a seat. Relax, I don't hold your departure against you and I'm not here to court martial you… I just wished you at least left a note, good thing high command was too busy with the aftermath of the war to focus on why one of our greatest heroes just up and vanished at the end."**

"**Thank you sir. I… needed time to find myself. When the war ended, there was no longer a need for the Hitokiris. I wanted to find a new purpose for myself, one that doesn't involve bloodshed."**

"**And did you succeed?"**

"…**No, not yet."**

"**I see, well you're hardly an old man yet so you still have time. I'm sure you're curious about Ms Nikos here, well as one of the post war concessions, Mistral had to disband the Sentinels as a show of their commitment to peace. Some returned to being civilians, most became mercenaries but Ms Nikos here…" Ironwood trailed off and allowed Pyrrha to explain her reasons.**

"**I am a servant of the people. Whether I remain a Sentinel or not is irrelevant. Joining the Atlas police was the best way I could continue to serve since ex sentinels are barred from taking up position in Mistral and the army wasn't too keen on bringing their old enemies into the fold."**

"**And if that means working with your old enemies?"**

"**So be it. My only concerns are serving the people and rooting out injustice wherever it hides. Evil will be rooted out and terminated, no force on Remnant will stop me from doing so."**

"**Indeed, agent Nikos has been a great help in weeding out the corruption in the ranks. Years ago, we stood on opposing sides due to our different paths, but we were all fighting for what we thought was a better future. Now we work together to make sure everything we bled and died for wasn't for nothing."**

"**I see, and what do want from me now?" Jaune asked and Pyrrha handed him a small amount of opium wrapped in a tissue.**

"**The people are trading these on the streets openly now. It looks like normal opium but don't be fooled, this is brand new and started circulation about a week ago. Its effects are a hell of a lot stronger and this new drug is far more addictive than anything we've ever seen. Left unchecked it could bring down an entire kingdom."**

"An entire kingdom? That's exaggeration isn't it?" Weiss asked, unable to wrap her head around such a concept.

"It's happened before. The four kingdoms weren't always the four kingdoms, there used to be more in the past. I'm sure Dr Oobleck would be able to give a better explanation than I can but for brevity's sake I'll just give a quick rundown." Ozpin rubbed his eyes as memories of some humanities more disastrous attempts to thwart the Grimm threat came flooding in.

"Grimm are attracted to negative emotions, as with Mantle of old, there were those who thought that if you could take away negative emotions entirely, humanity would be safe from the Grimm. So they handed out drugs like candy, pumped the water supply full of it, keeping the people permanently in a state of bliss."

"It… didn't work then?" The Schnee heiress ventured.

"It worked, it worked too well in fact. With most of the populace constantly drugged up, the Grimm left them in peace. But with everyone afflicted, the kingdom ground to a halt, workers were too out of it to do their jobs, administrators were making mistakes everywhere from their addled minds. And that's not even getting started on the overdoses or what long term drug addiction does to your body. For three years the kingdom held on, then they wised up and tried to cut the supply."

"Oh yeah, I remember this story now." Qrow muttered as he recalled his old lessons back in the Branwen tribe. For a gang of bandits who made a living by basically doing whatever the hell they wanted, drugs of any kind were a pretty big taboo.

"They cut off pretty much everyone overnight and tried to get people back to work to fix things. For a few weeks, things remained fine when people still had their reserve stocks. Once those ran out though… withdrawal kicked in and you had panic and rioting in the streets when everyone needed their fix. That mass of negativity attracted the Grimm hordes and when your own army is crippled by the withdrawal symptoms… effectively the kingdom crumbled overnight."

"**I'm just a drifter now, why are you telling me all this?"**

"**Whoever is behind this is aiming for something larger, something we barely have any idea of right now. Please, lend us your strength again." Ironwood spoke.**

"**I can get you a high position in the police or even the army. Please, with your hands, lend us-"**

"**I have no intention of becoming Hitokiri again sir, I threw down my sword long ago because I was tired of all the senseless killing."**

"**What a joke, you think you can just wash away the blood on your hands by running away? You've personally cut down more people than entire army divisions. And what kind of joke is this blade supposed to be anyway?" Pyrrha drew Jaune's training sword out of its sheath and stared at it in contempt.**

"**A sword with no edge or point. Broken. Worthless. Just like you huh?"**

**Jaune shrugged before replying. "It doesn't matter, even with that 'joke' as you call it, I can still protect the people around me."**

"**Shall we put that to the test then?" Pyrrha tossed the weapon to Jaune before drawing her own sword and slid into a ready stance. "Before speaking nonsense like that, show me if you can even defend yourself."**

"**Please put away your sword, I have no reason to fight you."**

"**Nonsense." And with that, Pyrrha lashed out with a diagonal slice, a flash of red as the crimson blade reflected the light. Backstepping, Jaune avoided the strike and countered with his own quickdraw, it too cut air when Pyrrha ducked under the swing.**

**Slash, parry, riposte, thrust, backstep, kick, separate. Their deadly dance continued in the confines of the office as Ironwood watched on, unwilling to interfere. Bit by bit, Jaune was forced back as Pyrrha's attacks were simply more deadly and started to wear on his aura. In contrast, his blunted blade was unable to inflict much damage on the ex-Sentinel, even with his semblance.**

"**Your toy sword might be good for fighting auraless thugs Crocea, but what do you expect it to do against an experienced fighter with aura huh? That thing only cripples you." Pyrrha spoke as she cut downwards, the force of the blow sending Jaune to his knees, following up with a kick to the chin, Jaune's aura shattered and he was sent crashing into the far wall.**

"**Do you even remember those days? When you cut down everyone who stood against you?"**

"**I have put my past behind me, I swore I would never kill again."**

"**Enough agent Nikos. Enough." Ironwood closed his eyes and called off Pyrrha. "My apologies, this case has been weighing on us and she can get a little overeager. I supposed it isn't fair to ask anymore of you considering how much you've already sacrificed for your nation. You're free to go, I'll handle things with the local police here, maybe next time we'll meet on better terms."**

**Jaune rose to his feet unsteadily using his sword as a crutch as he drew in a ragged breath. "It's fine general. I've been through worse." Giving a small bow towards his old commander, Jaune sighed and exited the room, leaving the two spectres of his past behind.**

**Exiting the station, Jaune was surprised to see Yang waiting for him outside. "Come on, you don't have a place to go do you? Come home with me."**

**Jaune remained rooted in place with his head bowed. "You should know by now, I'm a Hitokiri, a weapon with too much blood on its hands. I'm nothing more than a monst-"**

"**No."**

**He looked up upon hearing that denial. "That isn't the person I know. I don't know who this Hitokiri Crocea Mors is but the man I met was nothing more than a drifter, someone who saved my life twice even after I tried to kill him. Everyone has things in their past that they're not proud of wouldn't you say? Now come on, dinner's getting cold."**

"Alternate universe or not, you never change do you." Blake whispered under her breath. She wasn't sure why she bothered worrying about Yang rejecting Jaune because of his past at all, her partner certainly didn't hold her own history in the white fang against her.

**No words needed to be exchanged as a comfortable mood settled between them. Yang was happy to have her friend back and Jaune was just glad someone who knew of his past didn't judge him for it or wanted anything from him aside from friendship.**

**That mood shattered upon returning to Yang's house and finding the front door ajar, lock clearly broken. "No, those thugs couldn't possibly have returned so soon."**

**Jaune moved to enter first just in case the burglars were still inside. When he stepped through, the sight that greeted him was quite possibly the last thing he was expecting. A dishevelled and soaked cat faunus was lying on the ground unmoving.**

"**Hey, are you alright?" Still wary of a possible ambush or an assassin, Jaune kept one hand on his sword while he reached out to shake the prone woman with the other. When there was no immediate response, he took a closer look at her face and saw that it was flushed. A quick check of her forehead explained it.**

"**Gah, she's burning up. We need to get her to a doctor." Jaune said as Yang nodded and retrieved her scroll, ready to call emergency services just in case.**

"**No…" A weak protest came from the faunus and got their attention instantly.**

"**No doctors… be… chased… Torchwick…" With the last of her energy spent, Blake lapsed back into unconsciousness as Jaune and Yang shared a uneasy glance.**

"**Torchwick again? That name keeps coming up." Jaune muttered as he looked over Blake and breathed slightly easier when he found no serious injuries, a bunch of cuts, scratches and bruises but nothing that stood out as life threatening.**

"**He's a businessman with underworld connections. The police can't do anything to him at all. Help me get her inside, I can prepare a bed and some fresh clothes for her." Jaune nodded and hoisted their new guest over his shoulder before heading inside.**

**Several hours later, their new guest was feeling refreshed after a hot meal and a shower to wash away some of the fatigue from the last couple of days. Jaune and Yang sat by and waited for her to open up and when she decided to remain silent chose to start questioning her themselves.**

"**So… what was that all about? Is Torchwick giving you problems as well? We can go to the police you know." Yang offered up hesitantly as Blake hissed upon hearing Torchwick's name, ears flattening themselves against her head.**

"**The police can't help me. No one can, I'll… I'll be gone by morning, it's none of your business anyway."**

"**You broke into my house and fainted on the floor, I'd say it is my business now." Yang stated in a tone that brooked no argument.**

"**That was- look I'm sorry about your front door, but Torchwick isn't someone you want to mess with. I-I need to go, just by being here I'm putting both of you in danger." Blake said, the tiredness evident in her voice. If she stayed any longer, Crocea Mors would just track her down and slaughter everyone between him and his target again.**

"**Yeah… no. We can take care of ourselves, besides, Torchwick already has it out for my family since I won't sell this place to him. We're not kicking you out, feel free to stay as long as you need. You're in no condition to be on your own anyway." Yang shot down Blake's protest instantly.**

"**No you don't understand, Torchwick has tha-" Blake shut up when the sound of knocking reached her ears along with a familiar voice.**

"**Yooohooo anyone home? I'm here to talk… business." Roman's oily voice wafted in through the windows and Blake suppressed a hiss.**

"**N-no… he can't possibly have tracked me down so quickly. I-I…" Fighting down the rising urge to panic, the cat faunus started looking around for an exit, she was snapped out of her panicked state by a firm grip on her shoulder.**

"**Enough. He might not know you're here yet. I crushed a few of his goons earlier and he might be here because of that. I'll go see what he wants, if anything happens, I can buy you both enough time to escape." Jaune said and grabbed his sword.**

"**You can't fight them alone." Blake protested weakly. "There're too many of them."**

"**I'm used to fighting against impossible odds. Besides, if it comes down to a fight, I can stall long enough for you to escape and get the police. Have a little faith." Done buckling the scabbard to his waist, Jaune gave a small smile and left to meet the wolf at the door. Blake remained seated where she was as Yang did her best to comfort the shaking woman.**

"**Good evening, how can I help you?" Letting none of his thoughts show, Jaune greeted the criminal mastermind with a genial smile.**

"**Ah… you, you're the one that beat up my men aren't you? Hmm… well I don't hold it against you, some of them can be a little… overzealous, it's nothing personal I assure you. Still, you must be strong to do what you did, I wish to hire you. Money isn't an issue for me, just name your price." Roman snapped his fingers and Neo stepped forwards, dropping a bag at his feet. The entire thing was stuffed full of hundred lien cards.**

Despite herself, Yang whistled at the money on display. "Damn… that's a lot of money. I've never seen anyone throw around so much cash before."

"I have…" Weiss muttered under her breath, this was one of the many tactics her father used to throw his weight around. It also had a pretty high success rate when greed for that money exceeded any sense of pride or morals others might have.

'Every man has his price huh… damnit, you better not fall for it.'

"**Sorry, but I'm not interested." Jaune smiled and bowed, not even sparing the bag of cash a second glance.**

"**It's not enough?" When Jaune made no attempt to ask for more, Roman scowled instead. "So that's how it is. Well that's unfortunate, but remember, money is the only power worth having in this world. If you do come around, the offer remains on the table." Roman turned and made to leave with his henchmen in tow, only to be stopped by Jaune.**

**The blonde held out the bag of cash towards Roman. "You forgot your bag. Leaving things lying around is a good way to lose them."**

"**Hmmph. Neo." Roman sniffed and directed his mute assistant to take the bag and leave. On the surface, the criminal seemed fine if a little disappointed, but inside he was seething. Another incorruptible had appeared, first the damn Sentinel who was _still_ snooping around his operations and now this joker who couldn't be tempted with more money than most people would make in a lifetime.**

'**What the hell is wrong with my luck these days. Never mind, I don't think I need to send Tyrian in yet… no need to show all my cards so soon. If he won't take the money, plenty of others will.'**

**Jaune smiled coldly as he watched them leave, not reacting when Yang came to stand beside him.**

"**What did he want?"**

"**Trouble."**

"Is that it? Aww… I wanted to see fearless leader break their legs." Nora complained when the screen turned black for another transition and received some chuckles in response.

"Movie's not over yet kiddo so we'll just have to wait for the big showdown. But man to turn down so much money without hesitating? Most people don't have that kind of willpower." Qrow shrugged and chugged another drink, a small part of him wondered how the hell wasn't he unconscious after drinking enough to give an ursa a heart attack but he wasn't complaining. The taste, the buzz and none of the blacking out or hangovers, he'd take what good fortune he could get, Oum knows his luck was shit enough most of the time.

**The next three days passed without incident and Yang eventually convinced Blake to accept her hospitality on pain of being actually chained to a bed. When Tyrian didn't magically burst through the walls looking for her, she eventually began to calm down somewhat. Jaune himself continued to stick around helping out wherever he could, keeping a constant watch for any of Roman's shenanigans.**

**The peace lasted till evening of the fourth day when a loud voice called out to Jaune, challenging him to a fight. When he stepped out to face his challenger, he was met with another blonde leaning against a sword taller than he was.**

**Monkey tail swishing in the air and battle hungry grin on his face, Sun Wukong stared down the former Hitokiri. "So you're the one, was expecting someone taller. Names Sun half bounty hunter, half soldier of fortune, all badass, and I'm here for the bounty on your head."**

"**Bounty? You must be confused, I'm not some criminal with a bounty." Jaune shrugged and tried to explain his way out before unnecessary violence could happen.**

"**Nah. No bounty for arrest as far as I know, just someone put out a hit on your head. Nothing lethal, just a cool million to beat you into the dirt. Easy money, so we can do this the easy way or the painful way, please… resist."**

'**Roman.' Jaune sighed internally and held up his arms in surrender. "Look I don't know who would pull such a prank on me but I assure yo-"**

**Bending backwards at an almost ninety-degree angle, Sun's oversized blade swept by overhead. Drawing his own sword, Jaune parried the heavier weapon on its next pass and deflected it upwards. While Sun was trying to course correct, he planted a foot in the monkey faunus's midsection and sent him stumbling back.**

"**You know, you could accidentally hurt someone with that thing, I don't suppose I could convince you to stop?" Jaune asked and remained in a ready stance.**

"**Not a chance in hell, I don't give a damn about the money really, I just want a good fight." Sun juggled the massive zanbato as a display of strength and his grin only widened when it failed to intimidate Jaune in the least.**

"Damn Blakey, your boyfriend's pretty strong isn't he. Too bad he's a bad guy here." Yang crowed and started ribbing her partner who was now sporting a blush and averting her eyes.

"One he's not my boyfriend and two… I don't think he's a bad guy here."

"The nile isn't just a river in Vacuo you know."

"**Heard all about you when I did a mission for Atlas once, a random orphan who joined one of Mantle's military academies for a better life. Became part of the Hitokiri initiative at age twelve when the instructors noted your talent and your semblance awoke. Eventually defected to the rebellion at the start of the great war and served as an assassin for the next three years until you disappeared at the end of the war age seventeen." Sun recounted the list of facts he knew about Jaune as the swordsman made no move to engage.**

"**Bet you're wondering how I know so much huh?"**

"**My records aren't exactly secret but most people don't bother digging so deeply into a dead man." Jaune replied with a shrug.**

"**Technically you're listed MIA, not KIA. Ran into some buddies of yours from the war in Atlas, Hitokiri Whisper and Hammerfall, sound familiar?" Sun swung his weapon in a lazy arc before bringing it down for an overhead blow without warning.**

'**So Ren and Nora are still with Atlas huh, good to know they're alright.' Jaune sidestepped the blow and winced slightly when he saw the zanbato smash a crater in the ground. Planting a foot on it before Sun could retrieve the weapon and locking it in place, Jaune used the added leverage to leap off the sword and take a swing at Sun's exposed neck.**

"**Whoa! That was too close!" The monkey faunus backstepped and avoided the hit before retaliating with a flurry of punches and kicks. None of them connected but he didn't mind, there was no way his opponent would be able to anticipate the next attac- ooh so he did anticipate it.**

**Ducking under a flying kick, Jaune allowed the clone to sail overhead harmlessly before slashing upwards, blunted sword smashing straight into the clone's groin and dispelling it instantly. Rising back to his full height, Jaune gave the rapidly paling bounty hunter a large smile and readied the sword again.**

"Bloody hell, kid isn't messing around." Qrow winced as he and the other males in the audience crossed their legs at the display.

"**Sheesh, what the hell happened to nothing below the belt? How the heck did you even know my clone was there and what the hell would you have done if it was the real me?" Sun asked as he resisted the urge to cup his groin and back away from the smiling psychopath.**

"**I'm used to fighting multiple opponents at a time including other assassins. I did think it was the real you actually, but you have aura, you'd live. It's not like I would have dealt permanent damage… I think." Jaune answered and his grin grew wider.**

"**O-ok, ok ok ok. I get the point. I'll apologise yeah? Please don't hit me in the nuts." Sun backed away again as Jaune took a step forward.**

"**Sure, sure, now what was this about a bounty?"**

"**O-oh, some guy named Romance or something offered a million lien plus employment to anyone who managed to beat up a blonde guy that hung out around here. Don't really care about the employment bit but money's money, did some research and gave it a sixty percent chance you were one of the Hitokiris. Thought I'd give fighting you a shot." Sun shrugged and relaxed slightly when Jaune lowered his weapon, making no moves to continue the fight.**

"**So you knew what I'd done in the past and you still wanted to fight me… for fun? Didn't you consider that I might just kill you for that?" Jaune asked with a tiny bit of incredulity, not many people would challenge one of the deadliest killers on Remnant just for amusement.**

"**Eh, call it instinct? You don't strike me as the killing type anymore. I mean your old pals, they'd cut me down as soon as I tried something like this and just go on with their lives. But you, you don't have that edge in your eyes."**

"**You have a screw loose."**

"**Says the man who pissed off someone willing to pay a million lien just to have you beaten. Ah well, I'm done here, don't wanna get busted by the cops for property damage… again."**

**Jaune raised an eyebrow and stared at the crater left by the zanbato before looking back at Sun. "Do you always break the law so casually? And it's a little late for that isn't it, my friends already called the cops, they'll be here soon."**

**Sun paled considerably and laughed nervously. "Ah hahaha… well look at the time, got places to be people to see, catch ya later!" The monkey faunus hoisted the zanbato onto his back and beat feet before he could be arrested again.**

"**Well… that was something I guess." Jaune shook his head with a wry smile before heading off to the market to pick up some fresh produce, it was probably best not to stand around and get taken in for questioning again. He really didn't feel up to another meeting with Ironwood.**

**His journey was halted midway by a familiar mop of red hair and a gruesome scene. Bodies lay scattered across the alleyway and the walls were painted red. Some were dressed in prisoner garb, others wore local police uniforms and the remainder wore Atlas uniforms. A crowd of onlookers had gathered to observe the mess despite the area being cordoned off.**

**The Mistrallian noticed him and approached, eyes blazing with fury. "You recognise these bastards? They're the ones that you crushed a few days ago. The result would have been the same if you'd cut them down yourself."**

**Pyrrha gazed back at the fallen bodies of the Atlas policemen involved in the prisoner transfer and grimaced. "No, it would have been better if you killed them. That way I won't have to bury my men. Your toy sword is really damn useful huh? These men? Their deaths are on your head."**

Pyrrha shifted uncomfortably in her seat as her counterpart berated Jaune. "There's no need to be that harsh is there? It's not like Jaune wanted this to happen."

Ozpin sighed, feeling every year of his actual age. "Mr Arc's intentions are irrelevant at this point, to your other self, to the dead and to their loved ones. When he spared them, they became loose ends to Torchwick, he must have sent his assassin Tyrian to silence them. The police are nothing more than collateral damage… and it is true that if they had been killed earlier, those men wouldn't have died."

The headmaster sipped his coffee, the bitter, burning liquid an accurate reflection of his own thoughts. How many had he unknowingly sent to their deaths in his shadow war with Salem, how many times had he turned his own allies against him with his own mistakes?

**Jaune stood by and watched blankly as the ex-Sentinel snarled and walked off. Several crying men and women and breached the cordon and rushed towards the bodies, cradling their fallen sons and husbands in their arms for one last time. He closed his eyes as the wails grew louder and louder, tearing at his soul. Unbidden, his mind drifted back to the distant past, the memories refusing to be buried again.**

**Eight years ago, a much younger Jaune stood in front of then colonel Ironwood with his head bowed. "For the sake of a new age, are you willing to become an assassin? To kill in service of your nation?"**

"**The lives that must be sacrificed, if it means a new age where people will be free to live in peace… I'll do it sir." Jaune answered in a monotone.**

**In the wee hours of the morning, a small group of drunk Mistral officials were making their way through the snowy streets of Atlas and towards the embassy they were stationed in. After a night of partying to celebrate the last night of bachelorhood for one of them, they were ready to turn in and prepare for the long joyous day ahead.**

"**Damnit Neptune, what they hell are you thinking man? Getting married in a chaotic time like this?" One of the officials ribbed their blue haired buddy as they staggered drunkenly.**

"**Ahahaha I'm a lucky man that's why. Gotta keep our spirits up even in these dark times yeah?" The groom to be rubbed the back of his head and blushed.**

"**Bullshiiiitt, which devil did you sell your soul to huh? Tell us, tell usss… I mean a nerd like you marrying the ice queen Weiss Schnee herself?"**

"**Hmmph, I'm not a nerd, I'm an inti-inte-intellectooaal. And she's really nice inside, a real snow angel in fact." Neptune managed to get out despite the buzzing in his head.**

"Ooooh… anything you want to share with us Weiss-cream? Looks like your Weiss-cold heart got melted by someone eh?" Yang's Cheshire grin was on full display as she started poking the heiress with a finger.

"There is nothing between us at all Xiao Long so don't get your hopes up." Weiss sniffed and looked away, not allowing the blonde the satisfaction of seeing the small blush on her face.

"So… is Jaune-Jaune going to kill Weiss's boyfriend now?" Nora asked and drew a look of ire from Weiss as Ren buried his head in his hands. One of these days he'd need to work on her lack of tact.

"That doofus better not."

**Jaune stepped out of the shadows as the men walked past, Crocea Mors already in hand, glinting in the moonlight. Taking a deep breath, his aura flared as his semblance activated. The men turned to face him upon detecting the sudden burst of aura.**

**They were too late, Crocea Mors was already biting into the first of their number, polished blade stained red with blood as it split the men open from shoulder to hip. Already the blade was reaching to claim its next victim, a death gurgle sounding when a red line opened in the man's throat.**

**Neptune drew his weapon in an attempt to fight off his assailant but in the alcohol induced haze failed to effectively utilize it. The trident was easily ripped from his shaking hands and he gave a bloody cough when two feet of steel burst out his back.**

**Ripping the blade free and allowing the mortally wounded man to expire on his own, Jaune refocused his efforts on the remainder, hacking them to pieces as they tried to run. A grim smile on his face, Jaune felt a small amount of pride bloom in his heart, after all that training, his first assassination mission had gone off without a hitch.**

**As Crocea Mors separated the head from the body of his last victim, his attention went back to Neptune who somehow managed to get back to his feet. "Still not dead?"**

**Jaune shrugged and slashed Neptune again, opening a rent in his back and staining the frozen ground with more blood. To his surprise, his target began to stand again despite the injuries. "I-I won't die h-here. I still have to m-marry Weiss later!"**

**In a burst of strength, Neptune hurled his trident at a shocked Jaune with all the strength he had left in him. "Can't die here, still have someone waiting for me at home…" Neptune managed to say before falling to his knees.**

"**Gah!" The blonde was taken aback by the sudden strike and failed to dodge in time, the lightning dust coated trident scoring a bloody line across his cheek, planting the first strike of what would eventually become his cross scar.**

**Undeterred by the sudden pain in his cheek, Jaune stepped forwards and struck Neptune down with yet another fatal wound.**

"**C-can't die here… d-don't want to d-die here… Weiss…" Neptune continued to cling on to life stubbornly, using the remains of his aura to hold himself together. Jaune stood in silence for a few seconds, inwardly awed by the official's resolve.**

**Despite being an enemy, there was a small amount of respect for the man. Closing his eyes, Jaune raised Crocea Mors overhead and stabbed downwards, piercing Neptune's throat and severing his jugular instantly. A coup de grace to ensure he wouldn't need to suffer anymore.**

**The Hitokiri reached up to his cheek where the wound still seared as a result of the lightning dust and frowned when his hand came away red with his own blood. "I need to do better. For the sake of a new era."**

**With that last mutter, he turned his back to the recently departed and returned to the shadows. He had a wound to bandage and a report to make, plus given the ruckus enemy reinforcements would be arriving soon.**

**Whether by fate or by random chance, Jaune found himself passing by the scene of his assassination the very next day on a non-lethal mission for Ironwood. The authorities had already begun taking the bodies away in body bags but one stood out in particular.**

**A white-haired girl was crying over the broken form of the last man he killed. A part of him recognised her as Weiss Schnee, daughter of a high-ranking Mantle official and possible future assassination target. 'That's right, she was due to marry that man today wasn't she…'**

**Reaching up to finger the scar on his cheek as the display of grief unfolded. A small seed of doubt was planted in him. Unwilling to watch any longer, Jaune turned and walked away, the mission could wait, he simply no longer wanted to be in this place.**

**Several days after his first assassination, he sat alone in his room, the only source of light being the television showing the evening news.**

"**This is Lisa Lavender reporting live from the scene of the crime, Weiss Schnee, daughter of the minister of finance Jacques Schnee was found murdered minutes away from the church of the two brothers where she was due to marry the late Neptune Vasilias. While there is evidence of a fight, police have yet to come up with any suspects but sources say this is the work of rebel forces seeking to undermine our…"**

**Jaune tuned the rest of the news out as his hands reached up to cup his cheek. A new line had been scored across it, forming an 'X' with the scar left by Neptune. Weiss had planted it there when she realised she was facing her fiancé's murderer as a final attempt to kill him instead of running away.**

**The hate and pain in her eyes seared his soul just as her rapier seared his flesh. "This is it then, the future I'm creating through assassinations? Taking the futures of the young away and leaving pain and hate behind? This… this wasn't what I wanted."**

**The Schnee's last words hung over him heavily. 'Nothing but a murderer. You build a new era of peace? Don't make me laugh, what can your bloodstained hands ever build? You only destroy, nothing more than a Grimm in human form.'**

**Jaune shook his head to clear away his doubts. There was no choice here, the world was cold and cruel and he was a necessary evil. If he failed then many more would die, many more would have their futures ripped away and trampled underfoot.**

"**I'm not making a mistake. I'm not…" Jaune muttered, his words sounding hollow even to his ears, at this point he no longer knew who he was trying to convince.**

The theatre was largely silent as the audience received a glimpse of the Hitokiri's past. Ruby was green again and a parade of emotions was running past Weiss's face.

"H-he killed both of us?"

"And many more I'd expect. All for a better future… was it worth it?" Blake asked aloud and received silence as an answer.

**Roman Torchwick made no effort to suppress his grin, not even the biting cold could diminish his spirit. Around him, his men shivered in the freezing air as they watched the night sky in a mix of awe and fear.**

"**Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. The boys in Atlas have outdone themselves, with this, I am invincible." The criminal mastermind chuckled as the airship landed. The very first fully functioning airship was now his to command.**

"**Oh the wonders of money never cease." Just by greasing the palms of the right people, he was now the proud owner of the only airship outside Atlas R&D. Now all he had to do was wait for his engineers to bolt on the biggest guns in his arsenal and he'd have a flying fortress no one could beat.**

"**Now all I need to do is demolish this miserable town in the ass end of nowhere and build a port. Then I'll be able to ship my drugs all around the world. And with the money I'll reap from those addicted savages, I'll be able to expand into arms manufacturing and start my own empire. I'll own all of Vale… no, I'll own the entire world once I'm done."**

**Roman laughed again as his men moved to secure the airship and unload the cache of weapons aboard it. "Idiots should have taken the money I offered and left. It won't be long before Tyrian generates enough fear to draw a horde of Grimm and wipe out this place. And if they somehow repulse it?"**

**Roman stared at his personal airship and imagined it armed to the teeth, raining hellfire from the skies while the insects below awaited the inevitable. "Fools disarming their armies, with all this and the restless soldiers willing to fight for coin, I'll be able to tear down all four kingdoms and become emperor of this world! Now to draw out the good doctor…"**

There was a loud crack in the theatre as one of the armrests crumpled under the strain of a superhuman grip. When everyone turned to look at the orange haired Valkyrie, she raised her hands in denial. On second glance, they noticed it was Ren who was busy reducing the armrest to a mess of twisted metal and plastic.

Despite the outwardly calm façade, his eyes burned with unbridled anger at the display. Only the knowledge that all this had happened in the past and given their present, Torchwick's machinations had clearly failed, and the calming presence of Nora kept him from exploding.

He'd lost nearly everything to a Grimm horde when his village was wiped out, his family, his friends, everything gone in the blink of an eye. Only Nora remained. The idea that there would be people willing to sic Grimm on defenceless civilians for their own ambitions sickened him to the core. If he ever encountered someone like that in the future and knew about their plans, he swore he'd do everything in his power to kill them where they stood, consequences be damned.

**The next week passed without incident, even the serial killings died down a bit as Roman worked on the finishing touches of his aerial fortress. Aside from several foolish challengers who had their asses handed to them by Jaune, no further move against Yang was made.**

**Sun had shown up several times over the week, sometimes for an actual spar and others just to hang around the place in hopes of winning over Blake. He'd become something of a friend after Yang made him fill in the pothole he created and apologise for the mess. Something he did largely because he wanted to win some brownie points with the resident cat faunus in Jaune's opinion, not that he minded in the least.**

**The monkey's antics were always amusing to watch… as long as it didn't drag him into the mess. Jaune shuddered as the memory of the banana incident came back, how one idiot managed to cause such a big mess with two bananas, a spoon and several bags of flour he would never know.**

**The fragile sense of peace shattered when a panicking Sun ran up to the house just before dawn screaming his head off. "BLAKE! BLAKE! WHERE ARE YOU!? WE NEED YOUR HELP!"**

**Jaune was the first to meet him at the door, having already been up for his morning practice. "What's the hurry? You know Yang doesn't like being woken up early, you looking for another scolding man? There are better times to ask Blake out on a date you know. And you really shouldn't be shouting her name like that, we're trying to keep her hidden remember?"**

"**No time, it's an emergency, where's Blake?" Jaune's smile vanished when he got a better look at his fellow blonde, the man was breathing hard and looked like he'd run several miles, a wild look on his face showing he was minutes away from a full on meltdown.**

"**Breathe Sun. Calm down and explain what happened."**

"**Th-the doctors. Every doctor is this Oumdamned town up and left two days ago for some emergency outside the town walls. Fuck, I think Blake's the only one left!" Sun said as he did his best to get his emotions under control.**

**Gallia wasn't that large of a town even if it was situated by the sea, there were really only five or so doctors in this place discounting Blake. To have them leave all at once was strange but hardly a cause for concern since most people were at least rudimentarily trained in first aid. It was a requirement of living outside the cities really.**

**Jaune tried to recall what the emergency was that required Gallia's entire stock of doctors but drew a blank. All he recalled was passing by one of them in the middle of packing up his clinic, the man was in a hurry and had a look of… fear? He frowned and dredged up everything he could remember about it.**

'**He was afraid of something. Family member in trouble outside the walls? No… he was looking around like he expected to be attacked at any… minute… oh Oum no.'**

"**What did Torchwick do?"**

"**Torch- what!? No never mind, I don't know what's going on but a large number of people are falling sick all of a sudden. They started having difficulty breathing and then just collapsed. We're gathering the afflicted in the town square to try and get them treated together. Fuck, is this some kind of plague? We need to deal with this before…"**

"**Before the Grimm show up in force. First the Hitokiri running around and now this? Damn, we're lucky we aren't already neck deep in a Grimm invasion." Jaune swore under his breath and was about to head back inside to collect Blake when he noticed she was standing just a few feet behind him, not fully awake yet but up and about.**

"**Whaatsahhh, what's this about a plague?" She managed to get out through a yawn, sobering up once Sun filled her in. Jaune left out his suspicions about Torchwick's involvement for the time being, they had more pressing issues to deal with at the moment.**

"**Alright, lead the way then I'll ah!" Blake was cut off when Sun scooped her up in his arms and started running, using aura to enhance his speed.**

"**No time, I'll carry you there, it's faster." The monkey faunus kept his eyes ahead and missed the light red tinge on his passenger's face.**

**Jaune stayed behind to explain the situation to a very crabby Yang and followed Wukong's example when she agreed to help even if she wasn't sure what kind of assistance they could provide. She let out a small 'eep' when Jaune picked her up and remained silent for the rest of the ride, face red and not trusting her mouth to say anything appropriate.**

"Oooh, enjoying your boyfriend's company eh partner o mine? Does this happen in your books as well?" Yang started teasing again and Blake's reaction was amusing as always.

"How did yo- ahem, I mean Sun isn't my boyfriend and I don't see you complaining about Jaune carrying you either." Blake huffed and tried to deny the allegations.

"What's to complain about, I mean just look at him. If this is what Jaune's gonna be like in a couple of years, well… I might need to change his name from vomit boy to lover boy. Momma like."

Several seats away, Ren and Nora looked at their other teammate with slight worry, the friendly smile on her face was twitching and the black aura had returned in force.

"**This is horrible." Blake stared at the small sea of writhing bodies in front of her and cursed. She had her work cut out for her and it didn't help that more and more people were still being brought in. Biting her lip, she began documenting the symptoms the patients were experiencing to try and diagnose the cause. The effects were too sudden for it to be any known disease.**

**She received an answer when a kind soul offered her a drink of water when they noticed she was sweating under the strain and likely to be thirsty. As soon as the liquid touched her tongue, she spat everything out and resisted the urge to retch.**

"**Poison! It's in the water supply. These symptoms… rat poison? I need fresh water, get it from the bottles, it's the only way to be sure there's no poison in it. Someone get me supplies from the pharmacies… HURRY! WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!"**

**Her panicked shout kicked the bystanders into gear as they rushed about to help in whatever way they could. Sun and Jaune being the only two aura users around served as pack mules for the heavier stuff as well as ferrying any newly discovered victims.**

**The morning wore on and most of the afflicted were on the road to recovery by noon. But despite their best efforts, not everyone made it. The very old and very young simply weren't strong enough to resist the poison.**

**Later that night, dinner was a solemn affair as the four of them ate in silence. Sun was the first to speak. "How could this have happened? Who would do such a thing?" The monkey faunus was distraught at his inability to save everyone, the failure stabbing at him.**

**There wasn't a Grimm or bandit for him to cut down, here his combat skills were completely worthless. Poison wasn't an enemy he could fight and it hurt.**

""**Torchwick."" Jaune and Blake replied at the same time, both blinking in surprise before frowning at the implications.**

"**What? What does he have to do with this?"**

"**I ran into one of the doctors before they left on their trip. He was afraid, I thought he was afraid of the emergency outside the walls but he was expecting an attack at any moment. Given today, Torchwick must have threatened him with violence to get him to leave so he couldn't stop this mass poisoning attempt. I don't have a motive though." Jaune answered and received a long string of curses from Sun.**

"**He did it to flush me out. Torchwick… knows that I became a doctor to help people. If I was still in town when the poisoning went down, he knows I'd go to help. With all the other doctors gone, it's a given that any doctor helping out would be me." Blake answered with a tone of shame, this was her fault. If she hadn't run away then none of this would have happened.**

"**But what if you already left?" Yang asked, seeing as Torchwick's plan would have failed if Blake had already skipped town.**

"**Then everyone would die and he'll know to search for me elsewhere. That monster doesn't care for human life and he wins either way. Either he knows I'm here in which case he'll try to draw me out again to capture me or he'll redirect resources elsewhere to find me."**

"**Bastard. We won't let him get away with this." Sun snarled and slammed a fist into the floor. "Why's the son of a bitch so desperate to get you anyway?"**

**Blake remained silent for several minutes before sighing and opening up about her past, there wasn't much point hiding it any further. Torchwick would never stop hounding her and… her friends had the right to an answer.**

"**I'm a Belladonna, do you know what that means?" Blake asked and received several blank looks in response.**

"**Well I suppose the name wouldn't mean much to you, I don't come from a family of soldiers or politicians or anything like that. My family has always been doctors, we help anyone and everyone regardless of race, class or money. Then the war broke out and my parents left for the front lines to provide what medical aid they could… they never came back. I was left alone, nothing but a doctor in training at the time, running out of supplies and money to treat the people in my village. I was desperate for more help… so I made a deal with the devil." Blake lowered her head in shame.**

"**Torchwick was just a simple smuggler back in those days, he could get me what I needed. In exchange, he got my expertise. I helped him refine his drug operations, eventually putting him on the map as one of the big players in the underworld. I… I don't know how many lives have been ruined because of my work, I tried to make up for it by being a doctor but really, I was just lying to myself. Everything I touch turns to hell…" She smiled bitterly before returning to her room, leaving the remaining three to stew in silence.**

**Once everyone else had retired to their rooms for the night, Jaune found himself sitting on the roof again. Hugging his sword to his chest, he exhaled slowly, allowing the night breeze to reinvigorate him.**

**He hadn't felt this lost since the end of the war. Even five years later, the ghosts of the past continued to haunt him, everywhere he turned more spectres appeared. Drawing the blunted sword, he held it up to the light of the shattered moon and stared at it.**

"**A sword without an edge or point… a pointless existence. For what reason do I still exist? What is my purpose here…" Jaune muttered and resisted the urge to hurl his weapon away in anger. He swore never to take another human life, but events kept conspiring against him.**

"**Just when I think I'm out, they pull me right back in." Torchwick wouldn't stop, his actions thus far proved as much. And with the false Crocea Mors running around, the police wouldn't be able to do anything about him, that wasn't even counting his private army of mercenaries.**

**Jaune sighed and buried his head in his hands. This day was bound to arrive sooner or later, in the short time he'd been here he'd grown attached to this quaint little town and the people in it.**

**And he was terrified because of it.**

"**For someone who never retreated from battle, I'm pretty damn good at running away huh." He whispered into the silent night, bitter smile adorning his face. He was a drifter, always on the move, helping wherever he could, putting down Grimm and driving off bandits. Easier that way to not get attached to people, so he could stay one step ahead of his past, so he wouldn't be forced into a situation where he had to kill again.**

**And now, ever since that first meeting with Yang… perhaps even before that when he decided to take a detour and return to civilisation for a bit. His past had finally caught up with him, it wouldn't let him escape again.**

"**Streak of bad luck or destiny at work? Is this it then, my semblance, my skills, am I to be nothing more than a manslayer in this life? Can't I be anything else? Fate cannot be this cruel." Hollow laughter came from the broken man as he gripped the sword hilt tighter, his resistance was a farce really, there was only one path left for him to tread.**

"Jaune…" Pyrrha whispered softly as she watched her love suffer. Being unable to do anything but stand by and watch hurt. She believed in destiny, but this most definitely wasn't it.

"Destiny isn't some inescapable fate… it's the end goal you choose to work towards. If you wish to be more than a killer… I believe in you." She whispered quietly enough that no one would hear.

"**Ahhhh… I'll do it. This town, I won't let it be destroyed by some mad man. If that means I have to stain my hands again… so be it." Jaune grimaced before rising to his feet and buckling his sword to his waist and leaping off the roof.**

"**Figured you would do something, I'm coming with you." Sun was there leaning against the entrance, zanbato already strapped to his back.**

"**You don't have to you know. You could walk away."**

"**HAH! And miss the fight of a life time? As if. Heh, for reals though, this Torchwick guy won't ever leave Blake alone and he has some plan for this town. No way in hell I'm going to let him win without a fight." Sun shrugged and gave a feral smile.**

"**It's not going to be easy, you could die."**

"**Ya damn right it ain't gonna be easy. Son of a bitch has a private army of almost three hundred men and word on the street is he got some kind of care package from Atlas awhile back. The two of us up against a small army with an unknown number of aura users and secret weapons from Atlas? I've faced worse odds."**

"**Leave the aura users to me. I'm a natural counter. As to just the two of us… I might have some… acquaintances I can call in." Jaune said.**

"**I'll just give them a cal-"**

"**Jaune! Blakes gone!" Yang's voice cut through the night.**

""**What!?"" Yang handed over a letter to the two shocked men and they began to read it in earnest and their faces paled.**

"**She must have snuck out sometime after dinner while we were cleaning up. Damn idiot, what the hell was she thinking. She can't go back, Torchwick will just torture the recipe out of her and then dispose of her." Sun raged and was about to run off in pursuit when Jaune caught hold of his arm.**

"**Now, is not the time to rush off blindly. We need a bit more intel and support to pull this off. If we screw up Blake gets it."**

"**Then what the hell do you propose we do?"**

"**I need to make a few calls, then we'll leave."**

"**I'm coming with you." Yang stated before her face fell when the other two blondes shook their heads.**

"**You still don't have a replacement weapon Yang or aura, and if something were to happen to you, I'd never be able to forgive myself." Jaune smiled apologetically but his eyes brooked no compromise.**

"**Yeah, this will probably take all night so we'll be needing a good breakfast for four when we get back, you up to it?" Sun added his own two cents and Yang could only sigh and agree, as much as it pained her, she would only slow them down if she went.**

Yang gripped her seat in anticipation, the big showdown was coming. Seeing herself unable to help stunk but she had faith that Jaune and Sun would be kicking enough ass for all of them. "Come on, kick Torchwick's ass and bring back my partner! Then Blake can give her little boyfriend a big kiss!"

She cheered and made smooching noises, causing Blake to flush in embarrassment. Still… two heroes rushing off into the villains' lair to save the captured love interest of one of them… this was something straight out of one of her books. A part of her was excited but she'd refused to let it show, Yang would never let her live it down.

**Blake lay on the floor groaning in pain, her right eye was swollen shut and blood leaked from a nasty gash across her forehead. Her assassination attempt against Torchwick had been foiled by the pint-sized assistant and she'd been disarmed in the process.**

"**How ungrateful can some people be? I gave you everything you ever desired Doctor and this is how you repay me? By trying to kill me? For shame doctor, for shame." Torchwick smirked as he looked down at her, by his side, Neo played with the knife before snorting and tossing it away.**

"**And you try to end me with a kitchen knife of all things? Me thinks you didn't think this through very much. Just how did you think this was going to go?"**

"**You're a monster Torchwick." Blake spat out and glared at the man with her good eye.**

"**Oh that hurts, but you're the one who put me on the map. I'd never have risen to the top if it wasn't for you… ah, and Neo here of course." Roman shrugged and his assistant smiled happily at the praise.**

"**I didn't do it for you."**

"**Who cares, you did it anyway. I am about to become one of the most powerful men on the planet and I have you to thank for it. Since I do owe you for it, I'll give you one chance to cough up the formula. If you do, you get a painless death, if you don't… well Neo here will get it out of you anyway. It's your choice." Neo drew a line across her throat slowly, to emphasize that her demise would be anything but merciful.**

**Blake cursed and bowed her head, she had no allies here and her fate was sealed. At the very least Torchwick wouldn't hurt the townsfolk anymore now that she was here. The cat faunus opened her mouth to tell Roman to go to hell but was distracted by the sound of fighting coming from outside the manor.**

**Screaming, gunfire, steel on steel. It was a warzone out there and Blake blinked in confusion before her attention was arrested by the maniacal visage of Tyrian Callows. "He's here. The Hitokiri has come."**

**Outside the manor, chaos reigned supreme. Men were sent flying every which way as Jaune and Sun hacked their way through the sea of bodies with little difficulty.**

"**Step right up punks, I'll beat your asses for free, no bounty required." Sun laughed and swung his oversized sword in a wide arc, sending more of Torchwicks goons flying into the air. Bones shattered under every strike and armour crumpled inwards without much resistance.**

**If some of his targets wouldn't see the next sunrise then too bad for them. The monkey was fresh out of mercy for them, if they wanted to work for a criminal so badly, they could die for him. There were easier methods of suicide than charging an aura empowered duo without having their aura unlocked but eh, he figured everyone should have the right to decide how they died. If death by crushing blows from a zanbato was it then he'd gladly oblige them.**

**By his side, Jaune was more measured, a precise scalpel to Sun's blunt hammer. Thus far he hadn't broken his vow to never kill again but most of those he struck wouldn't be getting off lightly either. Not killing in no way translates to not dealing grievous injuries, they'd live even if they wish they hadn't.**

"**You should conserve your strength you know. Just because these guys are leftovers from Mantle and Mistral and cannon fodder doesn't mean Torchwick doesn't have stronger fighters in reserve." Jaune said as he redirected an enemy rifle into firing on his own allies before snapping the man's arm like a twig.**

"**Don't worry about me, I can do this all day. These guys were former soldiers? What a joke, I've fought bandits who put up a better fight." Sun chuckled and sent another group of men flying with his swings.**

"**I heard Torchwick scooped them up right after their dismissal, five years of doing nothing more than ganging up on someone and beating them doesn't do much for your discipline or skill. If Mantle were still around, they'd be flogged for such a poor showing." Jaune continued redirecting enemy blows and striking wherever he found an opening, thus far his aura remained at a hundred percent, not a single hit connecting in the melee. Most of the gunners didn't have the sense to shoot through their allies… not that it would have helped in the least.**

**Morale amongst the goons was falling fast as the duo systematically dismantled everyone who got close to them. This wasn't what they had in mind when they signed up, a cushy job with meals guaranteed and decent pay with the most difficult task essentially just being a bully. They'd grown lax in the peace after the war and their skills had mostly atrophied to the point of non-existence. And now they were being made to pay for their poor life choices.**

"**CROCEA MORS!" A shout from the manor halted the fight as the mercenaries backed off slightly. Torchwick was gripping Blake by her hair and stared at the invaders down below from the second story of his mansion.**

"**You dare invade my home!? Who the hell do you think you are?" Neither of the blondes bothered saying anything in response. Sun merely pointed at the criminal and slashed his thumb across his throat.**

"**Kill them! KILL THEM BOTH! I'LL PAY YOU WHATEVER YOU WANT, JUST BRING ME THEIR HEADS!" Roman then emptied a bag of lien onto the ground floor, inciting his men to charge again, greed overriding their self-preservation instincts.**

**Seeing the two would be heroes beset on all sides, Roman stepped away from the window and slammed his hands onto the table in frustration. "What the hell does that bastard want from me? What could he possibly have to gain from this? First he turns down my offer then this!?"**

"**Heh, you think he's in this for himself? If he were, he'd be a big shot in Atlas by now, face it Roman, this is the end of the line for you!" Blake shouted before being silenced by a furious slap.**

"**Be quiet you damned animal. I'll deal with you once this thorn in my side is gone." Roman snarled and shoved the documents and stationery on his desk to the floor.**

"**You, get my ship. He thinks he's so smart does he? Fighting with a damn sword in this day and age… let's see how he deals with an airship with that little toy."**

"**B-but sir, the ship isn't fully armed yet!" One of his men protested before shutting up when Neo's dagger materialised at his throat.**

"**Don't talk back to me damn it. Get the ship airborne now. Oh fuck it, if you want something done right…" Roman snarled and made for the door with Neo. He spared Blake one last angry glare before leaving her in the care of his thugs and Tyrian. They would move her somewhere secure.**

**He had no illusions about the men outside being able to win against the Hitokiri and whoever that other blonde bastard was. You can't beat a certified army killer with an army of common thugs, no you needed bigger guns for that. For now, his elite would stall them until he returned. "Lieutenant, Junior, deal with those idiots until I return."**

**Outside, the last of the mercenaries were felled by a swing from Sun and the way into the building was clear. All around them lay the bodies of almost three hundred defeated enemies, some writhing in pain, others already expired.**

"**By Oum that was a waste of time, barely broke a sweat. Now lets find Torchwick, gut him like a fish and save Blake."**

"**You know he must have his elites inside right? I don't think they'll be as much of a pushover as these guys."**

"**Heh, and that's gonna stop us?"**

"…**No. Now are you going to knock or shall I?"**

"**Please allow me." Sun mock bowed before tossing his zanbato at the wall instead of the hastily barricaded main door, the heavy blade easily smashing through the brick and mortar, leaving a cloud of splinters and dust behind.**

"**After you my good sir." Jaune snorted at Sun's antics before stepping through the new entrance, taking the opportunity to beat the stunned defenders on the other side into unconsciousness.**

"**There was a door you know?"**

"Wooo these guys are something else. Aura or not you won't find many huntsmen today capable of fighting off an entire army on their own. I mean, I could probably do it but it sure as heck wouldn't be my go-to plan." Qrow stared wide eyed at the carnage on the screen.

"**Yeah but my way is more fun." Any further banter between the two ceased when Junior marched down the stairs, a rocket launcher and submachine gun in hand.**

"**So, which one of you am I fighting?"**

"**Go ahead Jaune, I'll handle this here." Sun stated and hefted his sword overhead before slamming it down, leaving a spiderweb of cracks in the floor.**

"**You sure you can handle it?"**

"**Of course, sides, if I get injured, I'm sure Blake won't mind nursing me back to health." Sun brazenly said, eliciting a sigh from his friend.**

"**Only you Sun, only you would still be thinking of how to score a damn date in a situation like this."**

"**Hey, I have my priorities straight and it's part of the great Sun Wukong charm! But enough, you go on ahead and save Blake, the other Crocea Mors is up ahead and you have unfinished business with him don't you?" Sun allowed his joking manner to fade away, leaving only seriousness behind. The former Hitokiri was more skilled them him and really the only option to send after Blake, confident as he was with his skills, he didn't think he'd be able to protect Blake and fight off everyone else in the process**

"**Yeah… catch up soon alright? I ain't asking Blake out on your behalf." Jaune nodded and sprinted past Junior who made no move to stop him.**

"**You're just going to let him go?"**

"**The lieutenant is waiting for him up ahead, and the boss is getting his surprise ready, no need for me to stop him. Now, would you please die?" Junior pulled the trigger on his rocket launcher and sent two rockets at the faunus.**

**Dodging the attack, Sun's teeth rattled from the explosive shockwave before he rushed forwards. Bullets pinged off his zanbato as he used it as a shield against the hail of bullets Junior sent his way.**

**He cursed and dodged again when a mechanical clicking noise indicated the rocket launcher had been reloaded and was ready to fire again. The shockwave knocked him off his feet temporarily but a semblance generated clone managed to pull him out of the way before his aura was forced to eat bullets.**

"**You like? Auto-loading launcher fresh from Atlas R&D. It's not mecha shift but I think it works just fine wouldn't you say?" Junior barred his teeth in a savage grin only to be met with Sun's own.**

"**Cool trick, but really, how many more rockets can you fire before you blow us both up? Can your aura handle a point-blank explosion?"**

"**Can yours?"**

"**Well, we'll just have to find out then." Sun said and used the wall as additional leverage to catapult himself over the older man, bringing his sword down for an overhead blow in the process. The heavy blow connected with the rocket launcher and dented the casing somewhat but the weapon remained functional.**

"**You're an annoying housefly you know that?"**

"**What can I say, it's a talent." Sun grinned and resumed his attack, hoping that Jaune was having better luck than him.**

**Jaune stepped into a library and found the masked assassin waiting for him with chainsaw in hand. "I don't suppose I can convince you to let me pass?"**

"**You're here for the doctor aren't you, do you really think she's worth saving? Or do you just want her to start your own little empire?"**

"**She's a friend, that's all that matters. And you? Why do you fight for Torchwick?" Jaune asked while holding his sword at the ready. The Lieutenant said nothing and removed his mask, revealing a face covered in horrific burn scars.**

"**I served as a loyal soldier of Mantle for more than half my life. I fought, killed and suffered for my nation. Then your revolution happened…" He reached up to trace the scars on his face before it morphed into a mask of pure fury.**

"**And you destroyed everything I ever fought for. You left me with less than nothing. Look. At. Me. Abandoned by my people, cast out and left to die. Fighting for Torchwick is the only way I can live in this infernal world of false peace you created. There's nowhere else for a monster like me."**

"**I'd say I understand but really… I don't give a damn. You could have retired and enjoyed the rest of your life, you could travel around the world helping others, hell you could have gone Grimm exterminating. But you chose to stand with a monster and hurt the innocent."**

"**Naïve, no one's innocent. They all have it coming." Chainsaw revved up, the lieutenant swung the weapon and Jaune aiming to shred through his aura.**

**Backstepping and allowing the weapon to pass before him harmlessly, Jaune counterattacked with a straight thrust, striking the lieutenant in the chest and forcing him back.**

"**What the hell kinda sword is that? It barely hurt at all."**

"**It's blunt and a reminder of my vow to never kill again. As for not hurting…" The lieutenant hissed in pain when his swing went wide and gave Jaune an opening to bash his wrist with his sword, fracturing the wrist instantly.**

**Swapping the chainsaw to his off hand, he swung it several times haphazardly to keep Jaune away as he inspected his broken wrist. "Wha… my aura should have blocked that! What the hell did you do to me!?"**

"**Now why I would tell you that? I'll do my best not to kill you, I'll just break every bone in your body." Jaune waited for an opening before attacking again, this time drawing his scabbard as well and using it to parry the chainsaw while stabbing forward with the sword.**

"**Grah! Damn you!" The lieutenant cursed when Jaune forced his arm down and sent the chainsaw grinding into the marble floor. The weapon showered them both with sparks before the chainsaw teeth shattered and shrapnel went flying.**

**Metal fragments bounced off their aura and pain shot up the lieutenant's arm when several metal teeth embedded themselves in his broken wrist, his aura conspicuously unable to protect that limb. Blood flowed freely and the sudden wound distracted him enough for Jaune to bash him over the head with the scabbard.**

"**T-this is impossible! My aura hasn't broken yet! How are you wounding me!?" He fell with the blow and used the momentum to roll away and get back to his feet. A tiny amount of fear seeped into his eyes as Jaune advanced on him.**

"**That's a secret. I am Hitokiri, I didn't get that title by killing only auraless soldiers you know." Jaune smiled and lunged towards his wounded opponent, striking the lieutenant in the chest again with his blunted sword.**

**There was no flare of aura from the lieutenant as it yet again failed to protect him. the strike caved in the front of his armour and broke several ribs, leaving him to collapse on the ground gasping for air.**

"**Six of your ribs are broken and your damaged armour won't be coming off without outside help. You're done. The police will be here soon, try not to move or your ribs might just puncture your lungs. I won't kill you but if you feel like killing yourself, by all means go ahead." Jaune coldly stared at his downed opponent before moving on, unwilling to stick around any longer.**

'**Gotta find Blake and get out of here fast. The sooner I do, the sooner I can get back to normal.' The sense of calm pervading him since the beginning of the assault on Torchwick manor was slowly improving as his old self began to wake up after five years of slumber. If he didn't end this fast 'Jaune' would submerge and only Crocea Mors would be left.**

"I don't understand, what does he mean he'll submerge and Crocea Mors will be left? Lover boy's kicking all kinds of ass so isn't that a good thing?" Yang asked once the high of watching Jaune trounce his opponent died down a little.

"I assume it's because this version of Mr Arc we've been watching so far is a relatively new identity he made after the great war to improve himself. He fears that his identity will be stripped away and he'll lapse back into the merciless killer he used to be." Ozpin answered while sipping his coffee.

"Indeed. For this version of Jaune, killing is just as easy as breathing and he's afraid that once he starts he'll never stop again. He's resolved to kill if it is absolutely necessary but he still hopes it never comes to that." Blank helpfully supplied.

**Sun and Junior smashed through the kitchen wall, both of them bruised, bloody and missing their weapons. Sun rose to his feet first and swayed unsteadily. "Oum damnit all, you have any idea how expensive my sword was? You broke the damn thing."**

"**Me? What about you? You're the one with the mecha shift cannon and the bright idea to shoot a cannon shell down the rocket tube!" Junior shot back as he pulled himself up, using the kitchen counter as support.**

"**Ah fuck it all." Sun grabbed a half-eaten chicken from the shelf and started tearing into it, enjoying the tasty if lukewarm meal.**

"**Want some?" Tossing the remainder to Junior, he watched as the man put it down and offered a small prayer for it.**

"**No thanks, I'm vegetarian. Ah the poor bird." Sun shrugged and grabbed a bottle of beer and started chugging it while waiting for the world to stop spinning.**

"**Your loss, want a drink?"**

"**Gimme." Taking the proffered bottle, Junior tossed his head back and drained everything left inside. Tossing the empty bottle away, Junior and Sun stared each other down before roaring and charging again.**

**Neither had aura left and their minds were still too addled from the explosion that ruined their weapons to formulate any kind of tactics. It was just a bar brawl at this point. Exchanging punches and kicks without any form of finesse it was contest to see who would go down first.**

**Sun spat out a wad of blood when Junior landed a haymaker. "Ah hell that's gonna leave a mark." Grinning, he retaliated by grabbing a stack of plates and smashing them against the side of Junior's head, stunning the man.**

**Torchwick's enforcer staggered back before grabbing a sack of flour and tossing it straight at Sun, the bag ripping open mid flight and covering them both in the powder. Sun cursed before his frustrated expression was replaced by a maniacal one.**

**Tossing himself backwards and away from the cloud, he pulled out a fire dust crystal he'd 'liberated' some time back and hurled it at Junior before covering his face with his arms. By the time Junior noticed the glowing red crystal flying at him, he didn't even have the time to curse anymore.**

**The crystal ignited and the room was engulfed in a blast of heat, light and sound when the flour in the air combusted. Covered in burns and out cold before he hit the floor, Junior was down for the count having been right in the middle of the dust explosion.**

**Sun rose to his feet shakily and coughed several times. "W-well that was fun, but I gotta go now. Wait for me Blake, I'm coming… oh and Jaune too, don't die before I beat you."**

"Damnit Sun." Blake groaned and slammed her forehead into her book at the monkey faunus's antics. Her face was burning as the snickers of her team echoed in her ears.

**When Sun caught up with Jaune, he was standing in Torchwick's study fiddling with a lcoked door at the other end while surrounded by corpses. "Whoa, that's a bit much isn't it. What happened to not killing?"**

"**I didn't do this, they were dead by the time I got here." Jaune replied as he felt a click and the door unlocked. Pushing it open, he found a bound and gagged Blake lying on the floor.**

""**Blake!"" The two blondes rushed over to free her from her bonds. As soon as she was able to, she ripped the gag off her and grabbed Jaune's shirt.**

"**Y-you have to hurry. T-that madman's gone after Yang!" She pleaded while trying to rip the rest of the ropes free.**

"**And we need to leave, Torchwick has an airship from Atlas, he's going to level the whole place!"**

"**What!? What do you mean Yang's in danger? And what airship!" Jaune questioned pushing away the panic that threatened to boil over at the mention of Yang.**

"**Tyrian wants to prove himself as the true Crocea Mors by killing you at your best. He's gone after Yang as a hostage, he said to find him in the cemetery. And Torchwick has some kind of airship on its way to blow everything up. I heard his guards say the bastard wants to destroy all of Gallia and turn it into the start of his drug empire. We need to leave now!"**

"**You go after Yang and the faker, I'll get Blake to safety. Not really in a condition to fight some super assassin so I'll handle things here." Sun offered with a bloody grin.**

"**Not sure what the hell I can do against an airship without my weapon but eh, maybe I'll be able to outrun it."**

"**Don't die on me. Reinforcements should be here soon. Just stay alive until they get here. The four of us still have to get breakfast later in the morning right?"**

"**Yeah, see ya at breakfast… up!" Sun took a deep breath and picked up Blake and the two blondes evacuated the area with all possible haste. Once outside the building, they split up as Jaune made for the cemetery and Sun limped off towards the woods.**

"**You're injured!" Blake's eyes widened when she noticed the sharp breaths Sun took every time he landed on his right foot.**

"**Nothing serious doc, I'll heal up in no time, just got to get out of… what's that noise?" Sun looked around in confusion as the sound of an engine could be heard.**

"**Well blow me up and call me a monkey's uncle, how… how do we fight that?" Sun stared in horror as the airship came into view from behind the manor. A blocky and ugly piece of black and grey hung in the air in defiance of gravity, silhouetted against the moon.**

**Guns, cannons and missile launchers were bolted to just about every exposed square inch and armour plating covered the rest. It was a monstrous behemoth and a weapon of the likes Remnant had never seen before.**

**Several bright flashes came from the guns and the spray of dirt convinced Sun to start running. What little aura had regenerated thus far flared when several high calibre machine gun rounds struck him as he tried to shield Blake with his body.**

"**Put me down! You won't survive like this!" Blake struggled in Sun's grip as she tried to make him drop her and save himself.**

"**Not happening doc and don't count me out so fast. The guns mustn't have been properly calibrated, woods not far away now, trees should provide some cover." Sun grunted out as he felt several more bullets strike him, each one threatening to send him to his knees.**

**At the very least the rockets and missiles weren't being directed his way or towards Jaune. They were firing at something beyond the trees and… he blinked away some of the blood in his eyes and swore he saw return fire from the ground.**

'**Who's shooting back?' He wondered for a brief moment before his eyes widened in terror when the airship fired a missile straight for him. He was too tired to jump out of the way and only a silver of aura remained… not enough to tank the hit.**

**Digging up every last scrap of power he had in him, Sun focused it all to his back as he hugged Blake closer, covering as much of her from the incoming blast as possible. 'So this is it then… it's been a good run.'**

**Squeezing his eyes shut as he knelt and awaited the inevitable, the explosion hit a split second later. The heat washed over his skin and he could feel his hair starting to singe, but he remained alive. In pain and feeling like he stayed out in the Vacuo sun without protection for days but alive all the same.**

**Opening his eyes again, he caught a flash of red hair through the fire and smoke as a figure stood between him and the airship.**

The theatre was silent as everyone watched with bated breaths if Sun and Blake would survive. The silence was then broken by an almighty squee from Nora.

"WOOOOOOOO PYRRHA IS AWESOME! YEAH GO JNPR!" Waving a pennant in one hand and holding up a foam finger with the words JNPR Number 1 on it in the air, Nora was busy screaming excitedly and for once Ren did nothing to stop her.

"Damn, look at cereal girl go. Guess she's amazing no matter what universe it is huh." Yang commented as she watched Pyrrha's counterpart slap missiles aside with her spear and shield like they were nothing, the explosions barely fazing her and doing nothing more than making her look like a true goddess of victory.

"I'm not jealous, I'm not jealous at all."

Ozpin merely continued sipping his coffee, fully convinced that Pyrrha would make the perfect candidate for the Fall Maiden. If she could attain this level of strength on her own without any magic, she might truly become the closest thing to invincible in the world.

Pyrrha herself sat in awe as she watched her other self pull off feats she never even thought possible. 'Is this what I could do if I trained even harder? I didn't even know I could do that with my semblance.'

**Pyrrha stared imperiously at the airship, an expression of annoyance on her face. Swinging her spear again, she deflected yet another missile and coated it with her semblance, only allowing it to detonate when it was safely away.**

"**I heard one of Atlas's prototype airships disappeared, to think it ended up in the hands of some criminal. Oi, monkey boy."**

"**Y-yes?" Sun stuttered as Pyrrha addressed him without stopping her absolute defence.**

"**Get the doctor out of here, this is no place for civilians. I can't concentrate on fighting if I have to protect the both of you."**

"**R-right." Not needing to be told twice, he stumbled to his feet with a stunned Blake still in his hands before running off.**

**Pyrrha backed away slowly just in case Torchwick decided to fire on their retreating backs, only stopping once they were safely in the treeline. A vicious smile spread across her face when she noted the incoming firepower starting to fall off.**

"**Ammunition troubles? What a shame." Smiling to herself, she started to advance while the glow of her aura intensified.**

**On the ship itself, Roman was cursing as he watched the rocket and missile count dwindle to zero. The weapon calibrations were all off and he doubted he managed any fatal blows on the police taking pot shots at him from the cover of the trees. Then there was the damn Sentinel that made a complete mockery out of everything he threw at her.**

"**Wait… what's she doing?" Roman looked on with a little bit of fear as Pyrrha stopped using her spear when the rockets and missiles ran dry. She simply stood in place blocking bullets with her shield… then she let go of her spear and it started to float in the air, suspended by her semblance.**

"**Roman Torchwick! For assaulting an officer of the law, you are under arrest, surrender or die!" Her aura enhanced voice easily carried over to where Roman stood.**

"**Hmmph, does the bitch really think she can do anything to me? I'm up here and she's just a damn insect. Screw it, Neo, get us out of here. This whole operation is a freaking bust but we can still salvage the shit later. We'll just have our buddies on the council put the screws on and they'll back down… what's she doing!?"**

"**Times up." Pyrrha concentrated on her spear and the polearm started to spin in the air faster and faster until it was a shimmering blur. The black glow around it increased in strength and the officer took a deep breath to focus her aim.**

"**Maybe with this they'll stop pestering me to get a gun. I don't need one, I am one. I supposed it's been awhile since I did anything to hold my title so I guess it wouldn't be hard for them to forget. Just who in the hell do you think I am!?" Pyrrha gave a roar and loosed her ultimate attack.**

**A crimson streak shot through the air at several times the speed of sound, impacted the armoured cockpit and punched straight through to the other side before continuing on its way, a bolt of red lightning in the night sky.**

**Roman's jaw dropped at the damage the spear did. Twisted and blackened metal was all that was left of the controls and Neo was nothing more than a red mist in the air. Already the ship was starting to list from the damage and the sudden loss of the controls.**

"**W-wha the hell…" He could only whisper in a shocked tone as the vessel shuddered again, this time the cause of it being an ominous black glow around it.**

**Pyrrha raised her empty spear arm towards the stricken airship with fingers splayed open and concentrated again. It had been so long since she cut loose, not since the end of the war did she have an opponent to truly push her to the limits.**

**Only Jaune and his fellow Hitokiris had given her the challenge she desired. It was nice to know that she hadn't rusted away in peace time, that she could still proudly hold on to the title her enemies gave her… the ones that survived her passing anyway.**

**Akashi. The red death.**

**As the undisputed master of magnetism with her semblance, she was a walking railgun and with all the iron and steel on a battlefield, she essentially had infinite ammo. But that alone wouldn't have been enough to cement her legend, no. That came from the other use of her semblance. Metal armour compacting inward made for a colourful mess.**

"**TORCHWICK! YOU SAID MONEY IS THE ONLY POWER THAT MATTERS DIDN'T YOU!? WELL HERE'S SOMETHING YOUR MONEY CAN'T BUY! YOUR LIFE! FOR THE MEN WHO'S LIVES YOU TOOK, FOR THEIR FAMILIES LEFT BEHIND, I SENTENCE YOU TO DEATH!"**

**Feeling her semblance successfully coating the entire ship, she began to close her fingers into a fist. The sound of metal groaning and tearing under strain could be heard as the airship began to crumple into itself, crushed by an unyielding force.**

**Roman staggered to his feet as he struggled to maintain his balance on the shaking floor before tossing himself out the shrinking gash in the ship left by Pyrrha's spear. Crashing to the ground far below, he screamed in pain as his legs broke from the impact.**

**The screaming died when disbelief overrode pain as he watched the airship he painstakingly obtained from Atlas crumple into a fraction of its original size, taking everything stored aboard with it.**

"**T-this cannot be…" Directing his gaze to the woman responsible, he could only stare in mute shock as she gave him a small wave with her free hand.**

"**I'd say I'm sorry but really, I'm not. This one's for the men you forced me to bury. Burn in hell." Cutting the flow of aura, she released her semblance's hold on the floating wreck and allowed it to fall… directly on top of the orange haired criminal.**

"**N-no! Wait! N-"**

**And with that Roman Torchwick, would be emperor of the world was reduced to a red smear below several dozen tons of cutting-edge tech.**

"Woah… that was brutal… and incredible at the same time. Remind me never to get on your bad side P-money." Yang whispered as the Pyrrha on screen flicked her ponytail and walked away.

"Have you been holding out on us? I didn't know you could do all that." Weiss asked as she stared at the spartan in their ranks.

"I-I don't even know if I can do something like that. All my life I've been using my semblance for defence, to move myself faster or to move enemy weapons away from me. I've never even thought of doing something like this. I… I need more training once we get back."

"Ms Nikos, as much as you would like to… improve. I must ask that you do so in a controlled environment. The potential for collateral damage is more than a little concerning I must say." Glynda spoke with a small grimace, if her student had the potential to reach this kind of strength then it was her duty as an educator to help her do so.

But she had to admit, the damage inflicted was unnerving to say the least. If someone innocent was on the wrong end of either of those attacks… they wouldn't have enough time to pray before they reached the afterlife.

"O-of course miss Goodwitch. I would never put anyone in danger by being reckless."

**Yang groaned in discomfort as she returned to the waking world. The last thing she recalled was preparing another cup of tea to keep herself awake while waiting for her friends to return. Vaguely recalling someone jamming a strange smelling scrap of cloth over her face, darkness claimed her shortly after.**

**The stone floor was freezing and she shivered as she tried to right herself. Her struggles only increasing when she realised her arms and legs were bound by ropes.**

"**Hey, what's the big idea!? Whose idea of a joke is this!?" Her shouting died when she noticed Tyrian seated on a gravestone polishing a sword.**

"**Finally awake are you? Oh, don't give me that look, taking you will only make Crocea Mors angry. I need that fury to bring out his true strength. And then he'll give me the challenge I've been looking for, oh how my blood sings in anticipation." The faunus assassin devolved into deranged laughter as he held up Jaune's old sword to the moonlight.**

"**Why are you doing this? Is this another one of Roman's plans?" Yang asked as she managed to get herself into a seating position. Seeing as her captor had no intention to immediately murder her, she had the idea to get as much information as possible.**

"**That pompous idiot? No… my partnership with him has ended. His blood offerings have grown stale and I no longer need him. All I need now is the head of the old Crocea Mors and I shall be complete." Tyrian grinned madly and stood, dawn wasn't too far off now and by sunrise only one Crocea Mors would remain.**

"**By this time he should have finished with that money obsessed moron and be on his way here. Kehehehe I can barely wait… ah speak of the devil and he will arrive." A look of worry crossed Yang's face as Jaune stepped through the cemetery gates.**

"**Finally here are you? I've waited five long years for this. Are you angry yet?"**

**Jaune glared at Tyrian with barely suppressed fury as he drew his sword and cloaked himself in yellow aura. "I'm angry at you for dragging Yang into this… and at myself for not being able to stop you."**

"**Good, good, get angry. Get even more angry!" Tyrian laughed as he dragged Yang to her feet by her hair, drawing a pained gasp from the girl and causing another spike in aura intensity from Jaune.**

"**Give me everything you've got so that I can crush you." Cruel grin in place, Tyrian delivered a brutal kick to Yang's back, sending her sprawling to the floor and distracting Jaune for a split second.**

"**YANG! Hold on, I'm ghrrk!" Jaune's arms trembled under the sudden onslaught of blows from the scorpion faunus. In the instant he'd been distracted, Tyrian had already closed to melee range and started slashing at him with overwhelming force.**

**Caught off guard, he was forced on the defensive, parrying what blows he could and looking for openings that failed to materialise. If Tyrian were human, he wouldn't be having so much trouble, but a scorpion faunus with a tail that doubled as a weapon added a level of complexity he rarely encountered.**

**Even in the dim light, he could make out the purple liquid dripping off the stinger. Poison undoubtably, almost guaranteed to be lethal if the sting managed to get past his aura. Jaune cursed and vaulted off a tree, slashing out at the tail with his sword in the process and cursed as the only thing he managed to do was bat it away.**

"**Pitiful, you challenge me with a toy. Do I have to kill your woman before you get serious? You can't possibly be this weak Hitokiri!" Jaune backed off to put some distance between the mad man and himself, cursing inwardly.**

**He was rusty, five years of fighting Grimm and undisciplined bandits had stripped the edge from his anti-human combat skills. The fact that his sword lacked an actual edge did not help matters. And to compound the problem, he had painfully little experience fighting faunus, with Mantle's stance on keeping faunus as slaves for menial work, he barely engaged enemy faunus in the war. Sun was a faunus but the monkey was too different a fighter from Tyrian for their spars to be of much help here.**

**After exchanging blows for several minutes, Tyrian drew first blood with a savage thrust that breached Jaune's defence. His old sword struck straight into his chest plate, denting and piercing the metal and sending him stumbling backwards, aura flaring from guarding against the hit.**

**Coughing from the sudden strike, Jaune snarled and ripped off the damaged armour piece, letting it fall to the floor with a clang. Damaged and compromised as it was, the armour was nothing more than dead weight now.**

**Sensing weakness, Tyrian pressed the attack with another flurry of violent slashes. Jaune parried every single one before creating an opening by taking advantage of an overswing to smash the hilt of his sword into Tyrian's blade, pushing it back from the recoil.**

**Aura coating his training sword, Jaune slashed towards his enemy, dealing a glancing blow to his sword arm and letting his semblance activate. Were Tyrian human, that would have ended the fight right there… but he wasn't and a stinger stabbed into Jaune's chest sending him flying backwards.**

"**So you can't predict my tail huh… no, that's not right. You _can_ see through my movements, can't you? I see, you're not fully awake yet." Tyrian shook his head and tutted in disappointment while Jaune struggled to his feet.**

"**What… what the hell are you talking about bastard?" Spiting out a mouthful of blood, he concentrated his aura on where the stinger had impacted to heal the bruising. The stinger failed to breach his aura despite the strength behind the attack and he thanked the heavens for small mercies.**

"**You're still a far cry from your old self Crocea Mors, you're still asleep, killing you now brings me no satisfaction. But I can feel it, you're starting to wake up. You just need a push." Tyrian rested his sword against his injured shoulder as though the wound didn't worry him in the least.**

"**What are yo- YANG!" Jaune's horrified cry pierced the lightening sky as Tyrian looked over to where Yang was still lying. His aura surged once as his semblance activated, paralysing her lungs and leaving her to start suffocating.**

"**Her lungs are paralysed by her own fear. I give her two minutes at most before she dies. I'll give you a freebie Crocea, there are only two ways to break my semblance. Number one, the target frees themselves by overcoming their fear, something that isn't going to happen I'm afraid. The second…" Tyrian trailed off into maniacal laughter upon witnessing Jaune's expression.**

"**Is to kill you." Jaune's wildly flaring aura calmed almost instantly, the roiling waves settled into a thin glow around his body. His angry expression faded away only to be replaced by a look of peace and a paper-thin smile graced his face.**

Yang's red eyes returned to their lilac state as her anger was replaced with unease. The boiling anger that burned within ever since she saw Tyrian mess with her counterpart's hair and only increased from there faded away almost instantly.

She'd freely admit this version of Jaune was attractive to her and his true smiles could brighten up a room much the same way Ruby's did.

Then this version had to go and smile like _that_. It was completely natural yet completely wrong all the same. She might not have been very close with the Jaune of their world but she was damned sure that Jaune should never be making such a face… ever.

'Come on vomi-Jaune, don't give in to what he wants.'

"**Clock's ticking Crocea, time to let your sword do the talkin-" Tyrian snapped his mouth shut as he threw himself to the side, pain flared on his cheek and warm blood trickled down from the fresh wound. Reaching up to cup the bleeding gash, Tyrian's mad grin only widened from the pain.**

"**Heh hehe… hehhehe… hahahhehaehaehha! Impressive as expected." Tyrian rose again and slid into a proper fighting stance for the first time that night. Had he been even a millisecond slower, he would be missing the top half of his head now, proof enough that one of Atlas's greatest warriors was back.**

"**If you wish to walk away alive, release Yang from your semblance." Jaune stated in flat tone devoid of anger.**

"**Too late for that. You'll have to kill me to free her, it is nice that you're finally awake Hitokiri."**

**Jaune twitched slightly as Yang let out another whimper from being unable to breathe. In a burst of speed, he vanished from his position and brought his blade down on Tyrian. The blunted sword screamed through the air to crash against Tyrian's own with enough force to shatter the ground beneath the faunus.**

"**If you say so." Jaune said in his placid tone as he continued attacking, expression never deviating once as cracks started to form on his training blade. Aura enhanced or not, there was no changing the quality of its construction, never designed to take such punishment, it was starting to break.**

**Tyrian laughed despite the brutal beating he was taking, this was it. This was what he'd been searching for ever since he found the abandoned sword on the snow-covered battlefield so long ago. The duel of a lifetime.**

**Jaune had foregone any attempt at defending and was focused solely on killing him by any means necessary. Tyrian could feel his aura starting to fail him as Jaune's semblance took hold, it wouldn't be long before it shut down completely and he'd be left at the mercy of his enemy.**

**Spitting out a wad of blood after Jaune landed a devastating kick to his midsection, the scorpion staggered back as the onslaught continued, more and more blows finding their mark as he started to weaken.**

"**Kehehehe! Isn't this wonderful!? Two of us killing one another in a graveyard? Saves the trouble of being buried no? Say, doesn't your body hurt now? I know my poison is already in your veins."**

"**Irrelevant. My aura will keep the poison at bay until your heart stops forever." Jaune's single minded devotion to killing Tyrian had left his defences wanting and Tyrian had managed to sting him several times with his stinger.**

**Pain enough to bring even the strongest of men to their knees, never ending agony as liquid fire burned within. A terrifying poison to be sure but sadly for Tyrian, completely ineffective against Jaune. If it paralysed his limbs or killed instantly Jaune would be a dead man walking, but this poison was designed to incapacitate through pain.**

**And pain could be ignored.**

**The only thing that mattered to Jaune was saving Yang. To do so, he needed to kill Tyrian, oath never to kill again be damned. Pain was useful insofar as to inform him he was still alive, other than that, it could be ignored.**

**Things were fine. Perfectly within acceptable parameters. Jaune remained functional for combat. There was still time to save Yang. Tyrian was already crippled by Jaune's semblance even if he didn't realise it.**

**Perfection.**

**Nothing less than that would be tolerated.**

**Perfection was demanded.**

**Perfection would be delivered.**

**He was Hitokiri Crocea Mors once more.**

**Yellow aura coated his battered blade for one last strike. His semblance activated in full and Tyrian fell to his knees, his aura completely locked off.**

"**A-aura negation huh… kehehehe and I thought my semblance was built for killing men. Y-yours is by far the superior one, as expected of a Hitokiri." Tyrian coughed out as he tried and failed to rise to his feet. Every wound his aura was keeping at bay now struck in force with a vengeance.**

**Jaune strode over to the down faunus, evading one last desperate tail strike, he grabbed it in his free hand and squeezed, crushing the stinger to pulp and drawing a scream of pain from Tyrian. Still smiling genially, Jaune pulled the man to his feet with his tail and slashed once with the training blade.**

**Tyrian went flying and howled in agony as his eyes were destroyed by the strike and metal fragments were embedded in his bleeding visage. Incoherent wails echoed into the early morning and Crocea Mors' expression wavered for the first time since he woke up.**

**Staring at the shattered training blade in hand, it gave a small frown at the equipment failure. A jagged shard of metal attached to a hilt was all that was left, the rest of the training blade lay in pieces on the ground.**

"**No matter, it will suffice." Crocea Mors shrugged and the smile return. Walking over to the crawling Tyrian, it swapped the broken sword into a reverse grip. The blade was a poor imitation of a dagger but for its purpose, it would suffice.**

**Crocea Mors glanced at Yang and smiled brightly for her to ease her worries. Seeing that she wasn't dead yet, it raised the weapon overhead and prepared to execute its enemy.**

"**Your body is broken and your days of killing are over. And now so is your life. To protect Yang, Crocea Mors will be Hitokiri again. Die." It stabbed downwards with its weapon, to end the life of the fool that dared to hurt Yang.**

"**STOP!"**

**Crocea Mors halted with the jagged edge inches from Tyrian's skull at the sound of Yang's voice. Turning to face her, he saw her crying face and his eyes widened when he saw her breathing normally again.**

"**He… heheh… ahaha… to t-think she b-broke free on her own…" Tyrian descended into a series of mad giggles as his mind barely held together from the pain. That the weak civilian would be able to overcome her fear just to stop Crocea Mors from killing him was the greatest joke in the world to his pain addled mind.**

"**Stop it… don't become a killer again." Yang said in between pained breaths, she could breathe again but her lungs still burned from her close brush with death.**

"**This isn't you. Don't kill him… please." It hurt to speak but she had to do so anyway. She couldn't let him go through with the execution. Seeing him transform into this cold relentless weapon after she was struck down by Tyrian's semblance was horrifying.**

**Jaune was a friendly person who always had a smile on his face and loved to help others. Even when he got angry, when he was fighting, his rage was always tempered. He fought to disable, not kill. He was a man seeking to make the world a better place to atone for his past.**

"**For the people you killed, for the people you saved, please don't become a killer again. You don't have to kill anymore to protect others. Please."**

**A drifter, a swordsman, a hero, Jaune was all that and more. But the one thing Yang was sure he wasn't was the smiling weapon standing before her. Crocea Mors fought for her, but he was nothing more than a facsimile of the true Jaune, a relic of the past.**

**And she knew, if she allowed him to kill again, then the Jaune she knew would be gone forever. Only the fake would remain, still everything Jaune ever was and yet so much less than him at the same time. And that would not stand.**

**Yang would never allow the man she was falling hard for to go down that dark path, not for her sake. "That's enough Jaune, he's beaten and I'm fine now. There's no need to kill him. Please… come back to me."**

**Yang finished the last bit in a small whisper as her lungs burned and her heart felt like cracking. For a brief instant she despaired when Jaune didn't move, his emotionless eyes never leaving her own and she wondered if it was too late.**

**A blink. Yang's hopes soared when the twinkle returned to those blue eyes she'd become familiar with and Jaune's smile widened into something more natural.**

**Crocea Mors grinned and felt itself submerge back into the depths of his subconscious. Yang was safe and Tyrian's threat had been neutralised. There was no longer a need for it and so it handed the reins back to himself.**

**Jaune felt an oppressive weight lift from his shoulders and he began walking over to Yang. He stopped short when Tyrian rose to his feet again, demented laughter bubbling up from his throat. "Where d-do you think, y-you're going!? We… we're not done yet."**

"**Enough, you're blind and your sword arm is broken. You can't do anything anymore." Jaune prepared to defend himself with his broken blade when Tyrian staggered forwards and swung his sword in his still intact left arm.**

"**No, this isn't over. There will always be Crocea Mors." Tyrian gasped out as he extracted the blade from where he buried it in his stomach to Jaune's surprise.**

"**You will always be a killer. I know this because I am Hitokiri too. Heh… I lost today but I wonder just how long can you hold true to your false ideals? I failed to wake you today, but you'll be back sooner or later. Until then, I'll wait for you in hell." Tyrian spat out as he collapsed on the ground. Body shuddering a few times, it finally stilled and in his death throes, sent Jaune's old sword clattering to a rest at his feet.**

**Jaune said nothing as he picked up his old sword, now stained with the blood of both Crocea Mors. Pain wracked his form as the bruises from the battles and Tyrian's poison made their existence known again now that he no longer maintained his battle focus.**

**He'd live but for now there was a more pressing issue to deal with. Moving over to Yang's still prone form, he used the sword to sever her bonds, allowing her to sit up again.**

"**Sorry it took so long." Jaune smiled at her and rested a hand on her shoulder.**

"**Dummy, you should be more worried about yourself… he was wrong you know. You aren't a killer anymore, you've changed. Whoever you were in the past, that's not who you are now. You're a protector now, a saviour." Yang whispered as she fought back a blush from their close proximity.**

**Jaune couldn't help himself as he burst out laughing as the first rays of the sun touched his face. He'd spent the last five years searching for a purpose in life only to find out he already had it all along. Continuing to smile at Yang's pouting face, he dredged up the last of his aura reserves and let it flow into her.**

"**For it is through struggle that we find our path. Through this we become a beacon of hope in the darkness to guide others. Indomitable will tempered by virtue, by my sword I shatter your chains and set you free."**

**Yang was about to ask what Jaune was doing when she felt a wellspring of power burst forth inside her. A golden glow settled around her and she felt better than ever before, and the burning in her lungs faded away to nothing.**

"**You have a lot of aura you know that? I just unlocked it for you, now you'll be able to heal from whatever that man did to you with his semblance. If you'll excuse me… I need a nap." With the last of his aura gone into awakening Yang's, Jaune was bone dry and no longer able to keep his wounds from catching up with him, vision going black before collapsing on top of Yang.**

"**Jaune? JAUNE!"**

"Well that was something." Qrow said as he took a sip from his flask, the first in a while.

"Yang, you have my permission to date this kid, don't worry about your old man, I'll bring him around. You don't find guys like these very often, better not let him go." Qrow said in a singsong tone, chuckling as the rapid denials burst forth.

"Wha!? I- you ugh! I am not dating him!" Yang sputtered out in denial, face red and ears burning from the sniggers coming from her treacherous friends. Inside though, she added a small 'yet' to the very end.

This older Jaune was impressive, and if their Jaune could reach this level with training, well might as well stake her claim early. He was a nice enough guy already now all she needed to do was push him in the right direction and things would be perfect. It was fool proof especially since her only competition thus far was a girl who couldn't spit it out. All's fair in love and war after all.

The girl in question turned to glare at her as Pyrrha felt a threat coming from the blonde brawler. She would have to be watched lest she pull the rug from under her.

**Jaune awoke in a military hospital several days later. His wounds had been healed and the poison purged from his body, the treatment leaving him feeling weak and empty. Glancing around the room, there was a tiny bit of disappointment in his heart when he didn't find the head of blonde hair he was searching for.**

**His heart sunk slightly when he noticed the only other occupants in the room. Ironwood sat in a chair while Pyrrha leaned against the wall.**

"**General, agent Nikos." Jaune greeted as he struggled to rise, only to be held down by Ironwood's firm grip.**

"**Stay down, you're still recovering. What do you remember exactly?"**

"**I was fighting the false Crocea Mors, he killed himself then… Yang. I unlocked her aura, where is she!? Is she alright!?" Panic rose inside as he recalled leaving her alone in the cemetery.**

"**Easy there boy, she's fine. Two of your friends, a cat and monkey faunus informed agent Nikos here of your whereabouts. She found you unconscious in the arms of your lady friend and took you both to safety. She's back home in Gallia by the way, the place is under police surveillance on the off chance some of Torchwick's men are out for revenge." Ironwood answered as he prevented Jaune from rising again.**

"**I see… where am I?" Jaune winced and eased himself back into the bed as his body angrily protested his sudden movements.**

"**You're in one of Atlas's hospitals, we had you airlifted here with one of the prototype airships when Gallia didn't have the necessary equipment for your treatment. Tyrian Callows hit you with a very potent poison and believe me when I say flushing it from your system was harder than it sounds." Ironwood said as he recalled several doctors bitching about the treatment on his way in.**

"**I… thank you general, for everything."**

"**Thanks are hardly needed, you are a hero and this nation owes you a greater debt than it can ever repay. Don't worry about the costs either, I've covered everything. But are you feeling now?"**

"**Honestly sir, I hurt in places I didn't even know existed, but I'll live." Jaune answered with a wane smile.**

"**Now that Roman and the false Crocea Mors has been dealt with, what do you intend to do? There is always a spot for you open in the army or any number of government posts."**

**Jaune remained silent for a bit as he contemplated the offer, before finally smiling and shaking his head. "I appreciate the offer sir, but I think I'll return to Gallia."**

"**Are you going to become a drifter again? Walk the path of cowardice and run away once more?" Pyrrha spoke up for the first time, disdain clearly written on her face.**

"**No. I've found my path and place in this world. Don't need to drift around anymore."**

"**So you understand your place as a killer in this world then."**

"**AGENT NIKOS! That is uncalled for!" Ironwood began before being cut off with a headshake from Jaune.**

"**When I fought for a new age, I killed so many, nothing more than a sword in service to Atlas. Every time I killed, a grudge was born in those left behind. That grudge drove others to fight and kill in response." He reached up to his cross scar and fingered it.**

"**A never-ending cycle. The only way to break that cycle is to not kill again, that was the crux of my oath, the reason for my pointless sword. I was tired of being a weapon, a sword that did nothing but wet the ground with the blood of others so I tried to leave it all behind."**

"**What changed?" Ironwood asked.**

"**I met my… friends. And I found a better path. Crocea Mors will always be a part of who I am, but I refuse to let it be the only thing that defines me. I choose to grow into something more than what I was, if I was a sword that only killed and destroyed back then, than now I choose to be a sword that protects and saves. That is my purpose in life now general."**

**Ironwood merely nodded his head and let out a small sigh. "Admirable goal, even if I still think you could do better as an official of Atlas. Well, it is your life to live. We recovered both swords by the way, your original weapon and the broken training sword. Not sure if you want either of them back but-"**

"**I'd like them both back sir, both are part of who I am. Is there a forge around here though? I wish to reforge the training sword into a shield, better to actually protect someone with you know."**

"**Of course, of course, this is Atlas so you'll get only the best. Hmm, you could throw in mecha shift as well to turn that shield into a scabbard, but it'll still weigh the same."**

"**That would be nice, thank you general."**

"**I am not your general any longer Jaune, I don't know if we'll meet again after this but I wish you all the best in your life." Ironwood rose to his feet and gave a small nod before exiting the room, Pyrrha following behind him.**

"**Still you insist on your path, haven't you realised by now that people like us live and die by the sword? Nothing has changed." Pyrrha shook her head in disappointment at Jaune's choice.**

"**Maybe. Crocea Mors has no purpose outside of killing, but I am more than just a weapon. Even if I haven't grown beyond who I was, I refuse to believe that it will remain that way forever. Yesterday I was a monster, today I am less of one, and tomorrow? Nobody knows what the future holds. Maybe one day you'll see that Sentinel."**

"**Hmmph." The Mistralian gave a small snort before leaving the room, Jaune could only sigh in response. For her the war never ended, there was always another enemy to fight and he could only hope that she found her peace in the end. Otherwise, she'd never notice the future she'd been fighting for arrive.**

**Three days after he first awoke in the hospital, Jaune was finally discharged and on his way back to Gallia. Ironwood had generously given him a ride on one of the new airships since he slept through the first time.**

**That was a horrible mistake. Jaune's excitement rapidly changed to abject terror when his motion sickness returned with a vengeance. Spending most of his time above deck emptying his stomach into the void, the sound of the crew's laughter was his constant companion.**

"**S-shut up damnit, motion sickness is more common th-than you urk!" Jaune hung his head limply over the side as yet another bout of nausea took him. At the very least his ordeal would be ending soon, he could already make out the town of Gallia in the distance.**

**Crocea Mors hung at his side, sheathed in his brand-new scabbard. Terra firma wasn't too far off now and he'd couldn't wait to be able to stand on something that didn't shake beneath his feet. After that he'd be able to make it back to… well he wasn't sure if there was anything to go back to actually. Now that he was here, he was having a little bit of cold feet.**

**There was the kidnapping, then the fight with Tyrian and finally fainting on top of her. That might not have left the best impression. He chuckled nervously and wondered if Yang would be happy to see him or mad enough to start chasing him with a shotgun again.**

**Once he made landfall, Jaune took inventory to ensure he didn't leave anything on the airship, the sooner he never had to board one ever again the better. Once he was satisfied, he made his way to Yang's house and no matter what anyone said, no he did not kneel on the ground and start kissing the dirt as soon as he got off the ship.**

**Gathering his nerves after standing outside the door for several minutes, he was about to buzz the bell when the door opened. Blake raised an eyebrow as she noticed him standing in the entry way.**

"**Huh, you're back. Took you long enough. Come on in, the other two blondies are busy with lunch. Now that the sane blonde is back, maybe you can keep the other two in check because I am losing my mind here."**

"**Ahahaha? Okay?" Jaune scratched the back of his head and followed behind Blake unsure of what she was referring to. Sun was around at least, since that was the only other blonde besides Yang that he knew. The sound of arguing came from the kitchen and he could only grin despite his nervousness.**

"**For the last time you stupid monkey, you can't add bananas into the dish, who's ever heard of banana mushroom soup anyway!? That's disgusting!"**

"**Hey, hey, hey, I don't diss your favourite food you don't get to touch mine. Besides, first time for everything right? How do you know it's going to taste bad anyway?"**

"**How do I... how do I know!? How about some Oumdamned common sense!? In what world do those things go together anyway!?"**

"**In a perfect world of course!"**

"**Well, too bad this isn't a perfect world now is… it… Jaune." Yang cut herself off as she noticed Blake returning with a plus one.**

"**What the hell? My name's not Jaune damnit, I'm way hotter than that limp noodle anyway aaannndd he's standing right behind me isn't he." Sun trailed off into nervous laughter as Blake slapped the back of his head with a soft 'idiot'.**

"**Um… hello? Nice to see you all again?" Jaune ventured as an awkward mood descended on the kitchen. Blake had a small smile while Sun was trying to hold himself back from saying something. Yang though… a black look crossed her face as she stomped over to where Jaune was standing.**

"**You. You have a lot of nerve showing up here again like this." She began and prodded him in the chest with a finger, sending him stumbling back several steps.**

"**Uh, I'm sorry?" Jaune tried to apologise before a stinging slap to his left cheek snapped his head to the right.**

"**Sorry? Oh you're gonna be sorry all right, because of you I got kidnapped and nearly died!" Yang shouted and Jaune started to wilt, the peanut gallery was stifling giggles as they watched the show play out. This was quality entertainment right here.**

"Yang, what are you doing!? I thought you liked Jaune!" Ruby whined and poked at her sister, unable to fathom what was going through movie Yang's mind.

"I… I don't know! I don't get it either!" Yang was just as perplexed as the rest of the audience save one member.

Qrow leaned back further and sighed contentedly. This was just like the good old days before everything went south. He'd seen this happen multiple times in the past, usually when Taiyang did something incredibly stupid and Raven found out about it.

"Heh, relax, kid's gonna be just fine. I've seen this play before." Qrow said before trailing off, muttering about dumb blondes with all the luck under his breath.

"**I'm sorry! I didn't know he'd go after you to get to me!" Jaune blubbered as he tried to apologise, quailing before the angry woman.**

"**Then after you collapsed on me, you went and disappeared for more than a week without any news. Do you have any idea how worried I- we were?"**

"**I was in one of Atlas's hospitals, there wasn't a way for me to send a letter back or get a call through. I came back as soon as I was discharged!" Jaune protested and was on the edge of a breakdown when Yang shook her head and growled angrily. He'd thought of many different ways this could play out but this was the last thing he could have anticipated.**

"**Grr… whatever Jaune I'm not interested in your excuses. Well, this is for worrying all of us!" Yang snapped and slapped Jaune again, on the right cheek this time.**

"**I… I'm sorr-" Jaune tried to apologise again but a hand over his mouth shut him up. Yang's eyes brooked no disagreement so he wisely clamped his mouth shut. Yang let out a long-suffering sigh as she then grabbed Jaune by his shirt, pulling him downwards.**

**He gulped as lilac eyes bored into his own blue ones. Yang's face was flushed with anger and he winced internally, expecting a fist to come flying at his face next.**

"**And, this is for everything else."**

"**Buh!?"**

**Jaune's mind crashed instantly.**

**The soft feeling on his lips did not dissipate and only intensified as Yang pulled him into a deeper kiss. Dimly aware of cheering and clapping in the background, the only thing he could focus on was the woman standing before him desperately trying to suffocate him with her lips.**

**As the surprise subsided, Jaune began to reciprocate, his arms coming up naturally to hug Yang closer as they lost themselves in the moment.**

**Finally breaking apart to catch their breath, both blondes were beet red and barely able to meet each other's eyes.**

**Sun gave several wolf whistles at the display while Blake had a small blush, both ecstatic that their friends were now together-together.**

**Not separating from the hug, Yang used one hand to cup Jaune's scarred cheek as she smiled radiantly at him. "Welcome home."**

**Jaune was speechless for several seconds as his frazzled mind failed to come up with anything, settling only for returning the brilliant smile. Finally, his mouth starting functioning again.**

"**Yeah, I'm home."**

**The screen faded to black and the lights came on as Jaune pulled his future wife into yet another searing kiss.**

For a moment the theatre was silent before several loud cheers erupted from the crowd, led by a very excited Nora.

"That was awesome! Whoooooooooo!" Cheering excitedly, she sent popcorn flying everywhere as she stood up and accidentally tossed her bucket into the air.

"Calm down Nora… and yes it was awesome." Ren smiled and pulled his childhood friend back into her seat.

Goodwitch glared slightly at Nora for her exuberance before letting it slide. It was a good movie and the ending was something else so she could understand where she was coming from… even if she felt that enthusiasm could be tempered slightly.

Ozpin sipped his coffee with a smile, his students were happy, there was no paperwork to deal with and nothing was threatening the end of the world at the moment. Plus he got a first hand look at how the Arcs came to be a family of heroes, he'd known of them even in his past life but only in passing and never went into too much detail. 'Ah, Oobleck would have loved to be here.'

Team RWBY was running through various different reactions.

Weiss was scandalised by the display of affection and could only stutter about inappropriateness.

Blake was blushing like her movie counterpart as she recalled several scenes from her Ninja's of love series that were similar to what just played out. Unbidden, her mind began constructing fantasies of what exactly happened after the curtain call. Surreptitiously wiping away a small trail of blood, she glanced around and breathed easier when no one called her out on her imagination.

Ruby was bouncing in her seat and poking at Yang, payback for a lifetime's worth of teasing. Her antics only increased when Yang didn't respond.

The blonde brawler herself had a face so red steam was practically pouring out of her ears. For all her flirtations, she'd never actually had a proper relationship in the past since most boys weren't interested in her, only her assets. Seeing her alternate self act like that… it ignited something in her.

'Gah, you cannot be serious, I cannot be crushing on Jaune… can I?'

As she stewed in her own thoughts, Pyrrha glowered at her. She could feel it, a new competitor had appeared for the object of her affections. It would not stand, she was a champion damnit, there was no way she was losing her man to someone else. She could stand by and watch as Jaune chased after Weiss since she knew there was no chance she'd ever reciprocate, but Yang on the other hand? That was a clear and present danger that needed to be dealt with.

Blank merely watched over his guests and chuckled. "That's all folks. Enjoy the break, next viewing will start shortly."

* * *

Author's notes: 64 pages and 35k words later it is finished. This one took a lot out of me given the length. There are a few more movies I might adapt in the future but they probably won't be the norm, it's just too long. Most chapters would fall in the 5 – 15k range. In any case, I hope you've enjoyed my work.

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as Hitokiri Battosai/Himura Kenshin

Yang Xiao Long as Kamiya Kaoru

Pyrrha Nikos as Hajime Saito

Blake Belladonna as Takani Megumi

Sun Wukong as Sagara Sanosuke

Tyrian Callows as Udo Jin-e

Roman Torchwick as Takeda Kanryu

Neo as Kanryu assistant #1

Junior & White Fang LT as Kanryu assassins


	3. Chapter 3: JNPR NG Plus

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 3: JNPR NG+**

**Inspiration: Various**

Blank coughed once to get the attention of his guests once they'd returned from refreshing themselves. "Please take your seats, the next movie will begin shortly."

"Ooh Ooh! What's Jaune-Jaune doing this time? Are we gonna be in it?" Nora bounced up and down on her seat waving her hands wildly.

"Nora, we can always just wait and see." Ren sighed and resumed his age-old duty of calming his hyperactive friend down.

"Heh, this universe is an interesting one and yes, your team appears this time. This showing covers your Beacon initiation, only with a slight twist."

"Initiation huh, sounds boring. Please tell me he isn't going to earn his title of vomit boy again." Yang whined in protest at the thought of having to watch the knight repeat their first encounter. A universe where he was a cool badass again would be preferred.

"Come on sis, that was a long time ago already, can't you just let it go? It's not like Jaune has done anything like that since" Ruby said as she started snacking on a plate of magically refilling strawberry cookies.

"Well yes, but this is initiation again. Unless he somehow finds a way to deal with his motion sickness, it's gonna be messy."

"What's this about messy? Something I should know?" Qrow asked out of curiosity, he'd read the letters his nieces sent to Taiyang about their school life and heard about their antics from Ozpin and Glynda, but he never did find out how they acquired such a colourful crew of friends to begin with.

"Eh you saw the previous Jaune right? Motion sickness is kind of his thing no matter what. The first time we met, he threw up on my shoes. My brand-new shoes." Yang spoke in a deadpan as those ugly memories resurfaced.

"Tough luck kiddo." Qrow chuckled and helped himself to some of Ruby's cookies, using his free hand to keep the angry girl at bay by holding her head to keep out of her reach.

"Uncle Qrow! That's not fair, gimme back my cookies!"

"Whaaaat? Is this how you repay your favourite uncle? After I taught you how to use a scythe and helped you build your weapon?" Qrow sniggered as Ruby gave up and started pouting with folded arms.

"Ruby, that's enough, show's starting" Weiss said as the lights started to dim and the screen came to life, drawing the audience in.

**A sprawling city stretched for miles in every direction with skyscrapers reaching towards the heavens. Massive walls arranged in concentric rings spreading outwards served as the lines of defences should the outer walls ever be breached. At the centre of the city was a hill, atop which stood an ivory castle from which the entire city could be seen.**

**Humans and faunus milled about their daily lives in the city, smiles and laughter all around even in the areas closer to the outer walls. Contrary to what most would expect, the standard of living did not go down the further away from the centre they got, if anything it went up as the facilities were newer and subject to the technological advances the buildings close to the centre did not have access to.**

**Even now construction was still being done on another set of walls beyond the outermost as the land beyond was reclaimed from the Grimm one foot at a time. In a few years, the new ring would be finished and the cycle would repeat, slowly but surely the Grimm would be pushed back until one day, humanity could finally be free from their eternal foe.**

"What the heck? What kingdom is this? I don't recognise any of the architecture… no I can see a blend of Vale and Mistral in there. Ozpin, any idea?" Qrow asked in confusion.

"I'm afraid I don't have an answer for you, this is the first time I've seen a kingdom successfully take back land from the Grimm in such a manner. Not even Atlas and their robot armies are capable of doing so, and the last great expansion was Mount Glen. To the best of my knowledge, no kingdom has ever tried building a new city since that disaster." Ozpin answered after wracking his brain for a bit. Mistral and Vacuo had no capability to do something like this, Menagerie's efforts would be focused on their island, Atlas was the only one who could come even remotely close to this, but even in that case, any progress would be done on the main city itself first.

"Perhaps it's a completely different universe?" Goodwitch offered as a suggestion.

"The last universe we saw was set in the past so maybe this is the future?"

"The future huh? I'll drink to that." Qrow grinned and chugged a fresh bottle, if this was the future than they weren't fighting a hopeless war after all. Whoever was responsible for this kingdom had proven the Grimm could be beat, now all he had to do was find some clue as to how to make this future their present.

**The sound of merriment floated up to the castle from the streets as the citizens began setting up their national day celebrations. It was a time of joy and everyone was happy… almost everyone.**

**An older Cardin Winchester strode through the halls of the castle, occasionally nodding or saluting the people he passed by. His trusty mace hung at his side while his full plate mail clinked lightly as he walked. An unpleasant expression was plastered all over his face and he looked like he wanted nothing more than to destroy something.**

"Cardin. What does that bastard want?" Yang frowned at the sight of an older Cardin. After Forever Fall, he'd been mostly quiet, no longer causing trouble for others. But RWBY and NPR still held some animosity for him over what he did to Jaune.

"If he tries to hurt our leader again, I'll break his legs." Nora stated in an uncharacteristically serious tone. Jaune was family and no one hurt family.

Tellingly, both Ren and Pyrrha remained silent. Jaune may have made peace with CRDL but that didn't mean his team was just going to forget everything.

**Cardin snarled and cursed angrily, uncaring of anyone who might have seen him. He hated this part of the job the most, reporting back to his leader after a successful mission rubbed him wrong every time, and it would only get worse.**

**Biting back a frustrated sigh, he picked up the pace and hastened to one of the rooms overlooking the city, the sooner he finished his job, the sooner he didn't have to put up with it anymore. "Damnit this sucks, why can't Dove do it… oh right, lucky bastard's on leave for the holidays."**

**Schooling his face into an impassive mask as he waited for the guards to buzz him in, he hid his emotions as he stepped through the door and found his target standing on the balcony as always. The white and gold robes and the head of white hair instantly identifying him.**

"**My king, I've returned from Menagerie with news, the high chieftain is ready to begin trade negotiations and they can send a representative whenever you desire."**

"**Ah yes, Sun did message me about that some time back." Jaune said as he turned to face his former tormentor.**

"Jauney is a king!? WHOOOOOOO! Yeah! Suck on that Cardin!" Nora exploded into cheers again seeing that Jaune had risen to become king and Cardin was now one of his underlings and clearly hated every moment of it.

"That dunce is a king? That world is surely doomed." Weiss buried her face in her hands and muttered in despair.

"Hey, vomit boy isn't that bad you know." Yang said defensively, not liking the fact that her… friend… was being disparaged like that.

"Ehm, isn't this supposed to be about initiation though? Both Cardin and Jaune are way older than us, too old to be students now." Ruby said as she narrowed her eyes at the screen, several facts not quite adding up.

"And what's wrong with Jaune. He looks… weak. And his eyes… something's wrong with his eyes."

Silence dominated as everyone took a closer look at the screen once Ruby pointed those out.

"**Sire, how are you feeling today?" Cardin asked as he shifted uncomfortably.**

"**Fine as always Cardin. How are the people doing? I can't really tell from up here."**

"**They're preparing for the national day celebrations, there are some frictions still but nothing that can't be ironed out in time. They're all very happy my king." Cardin said before adding the last line as an afterthought.**

"**They are? Good, good. If the people are happy, I'm happy. And that's enough with the 'my king' nonsense Cardin, you're a friend and friends don't talk to one another like that." Jaune said with a small frown showing his distaste of that manner of address.**

"**It's for propriety's sake. You built this kingdom with your own hands, everyone here owes you a debt that can never be paid… including me. To not show you respect is-" Cardin was silenced with a dismissive wave of Jaune's hand.**

"**Cardin, please. I don't have the strength to argue with you anymore."**

**The armoured knight's impassive face vanished as panic suffused his being. "Sire!? Are you alright!? Hold on, I'll get the doctors, here let me get you back to bed, you need the rest."**

"**No, no. It's fine, everything's fine." Jaune once more waved off Cardin's concern, causing irritation to bloom across the larger man's face.**

"**Si-Jaune, you are anything but fine. Please get your rest, I'll give a call to Doctor Polendina and get him to come attend to you. He'll find a way to beat this."**

"**That won't be necessary Cardin. No need to bother him now, his work on the Round Table System is more important. The RTS will multiply our anti-Grimm capabilities by almost a dozen times. Getting it up and running is more vital than tending to a dead man."**

"**You're not dying Jaune, we won't allow it." Cardin kept the bitterness out of his tone. This was what he hated, every time he returned, Jaune was weaker than he remembered. Slowly wasting away and there was nothing he could do but watch one of his dearest friends diminish into nothing.**

"J-Jaune's dying?" Pyrrha whispered in horrified shock.

"So Cardin wasn't angry about serving Jaune, he's angry about having to watch him die? W-what happened in this universe?" Blake hissed and her ears pressed flat against her head.

"**You can't save me Cardin, no one can. Everyone dies someday, my time comes before yours that's all."**

"**Jaune, your people need you. Albion needs her king, you can't just… leave us." The man was practically pleading at this point, trying to get his king to see sense and accept help. He couldn't bear to watch another friend die in front of him, not again.**

"**Albion doesn't need me anymore. I've done everything I can to ensure the kingdom will continue to stand long after I'm gone. Haaaah… Cardin, I haven't stepped out of this Castle in two years, and my eyesight has deteriorated to the point where I can barely see ten feet in front of me. My people are celebrating and not only can I not join them, I can't even see their efforts. I'm nothing more than an obsolete cripple waiting for the end now."**

"**THAT'S NOT TRUE DAMNIT! WILL YOU STOP PUTTING YOURSELF DOWN FOR ONCE!? YOU'VE DONE MORE FOR HUMANITY THAN ANYONE ELSE EVER HAS, YOU BEAT BACK THE GRIMM, YOU BUILT A KINGDOM FOR THE LOST IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GRIMMLANDS, YOU BROUGHT PEACE TO THIS WORLD! BECAUSE OF YOU WE HAVE A FUTURE, SO STOP LOOKING DOWN ON YOURSELF!" **

**Cardin shouted furiously as his flushed with anger. Anger at his king's self-deprecation. Anger at his king's circumstances. Anger at his inability to do anything. Shame filled him when Jaune didn't rebuke him for his outburst, only chuckling good-naturedly.**

"**You are a good friend Cardin, but things are what they are. Hard to believe isn't it, it's been almost ten years since that day. It's a miracle I've survived this long at all, Doctor Polendina is truly something else in the matters of the soul. It's only because of him I got an extra ten years of borrowed time to bring Albion to where it is today."**

"**Yes, he bought you ten years, he can buy you ten more." Cardin answered without missing a beat.**

"**Ten years of what? Being confined to a bed, hooked up to machines unable to move or see? I thought you liked me Cardin, didn't realise you wanted to put me through that kind of suffering."**

"**Medical technology continues to advance both here and in Atlas, surely there must be a-"**

"**Maybe one day, but it won't come soon enough, probably never will given my affliction." Jaune cut his loyal knight off mid-sentence again with another wave.**

"**Victory is expensive Cardin. Given everything that's happened, if the price of victory is just my life, and a life well lived then it is a price I will gladly pay. I shouldn't even have survived my final battle, my last move should have killed me after my win. And selfish as it is, I'm tired of living."**

**Cardin remained silent as Jaune continued to pour his heart out, a tinge of bitterness in his voice as the emotions he repressed for the sake of his people came pouring out after a decade of being buried.**

"**I wanted to die you know. I didn't want to come back, didn't have anything to come back to. That was our darkest hour, Albion was just the castle Camelot at the time, a hastily constructed castle under siege by a horde of Grimm so large they covered the horizon in a sea of black and white. When I won, I was fully convinced the castle had already fallen and the defenders massacred down to the last man, woman and child." Jaune turned back to face the city with a small smile as he recalled that day.**

"**I thought I lost everything, I was ready to just lie down and die. Then you came along and pulled me out of the fire, just barely clinging on to life. You got me to the doctor and he managed to keep me on the mortal coil for a bit longer. When I woke up, you told me Camelot still stood, the Grimm horde scattering just moments before the castle walls could be breached."**

"**I was just repaying you for saving me from that ursa back when we were still students. That's all." Cardin shuffled on his feet uncomfortably, recalling the bloodied and broken form of his friend lying in a pool of his own blood.**

"**If you say so. You gave me one last thing to live for and I am grateful for that. Since Camelot still remained standing, my promise to expand the castle into a new kingdom for the disenfranchised, the weary, the poor, the abandoned, remained standing."**

"**And an Arc never goes back on his word right?" Cardin offered with a smile.**

"**Indeed. So I dedicated whatever time I had left to building Albion and bringing happiness to my new people. I think that promise has now been fulfilled, and I want my well earned rest. The Grimm are nothing more than feral beasts to be slaughtered now, you and the other knights can handle it easily since I already ended that bitch Salem permanently" Jaune spat vehemently at the mention of the one individual he hated above all else.**

Ozpin and Qrow executed perfect spit takes, spraying the air with a mix of coffee and whiskey as they went wide eyed. Goodwitch herself couldn't believe what she was hearing.

The three of them had been fighting the shadow war against the Grimm Queen for decades now, and for Ozpin almost since time immemorial. To hear that Jaune Arc of all people would be the one to put an end to the war was unexpected to say the least.

"A-are you serious? He finished her off? Salem? _The_ Salem?" Qrow sputtered in disbelief.

"Uncle Qrow? Who's this Salem? And why does Jaune hate her so much? Is she someone you know?" Ruby asked inquisitively.

"Uh, I'll explain when you're a little older Ruby. It's uh… sensitive stuff." The older hunters exchanged several worried glances in between themselves, plan to make Pyrrha the Fall Maiden aside, introducing the students to the shadow war raging behind the scenes wasn't something they were keen on doing anytime soon.

**An evil smile appeared on the frail Jaune's face and despite their power difference, Cardin took a step back in slight fear. Salem and Cinder were the only names that could elicit such a response from the normally mild-mannered king and it never failed to terrify, especially considering the fates he personally visited upon them.**

**After capturing Cinder in a raid, Jaune had her burnt at the stake as a witch. Seven days and seven nights he kept the fire burning, using his semblance to heal the doomed woman over and over and over again to ensure she continued suffering. Only once a full week had passed did the damage to Cinder exceed what his semblance could heal and she was finally allowed to die, her mind having snapped from the torture long before that.**

"Cinder? The exchange student from Haven?" Weiss asked as she tried to place a face to the name.

"He had her burned alive for a week!? What the hell vomit boy!?" Yang stated in shock, unable to reconcile the goody adorkable knight with the image being presented.

**Salem though, the head honcho and the root cause of pretty much everything wrong with Remnant? Her fate was infinitely worse and Cardin could only shudder in discomfort as a younger Jaune took way too much relish in explaining just what he did to break her.**

**Cursed by the gods to have perfect resurrective immortality, even if you killed her by reducing her entire body to dust, she'd simply regenerate to full strength nigh instantaneously. Overwhelming magic and complete immortality on top of her ability to control Grimm, facing her was suicide.**

**Yet Jaune somehow did it, he found a way to negate her immortality and grant Salem the final death and eternal rest she so desired. A spear imbued with the power of the brother gods, a weapon that could ignore fate, the spear of destiny.**

**If Salem was struck by it, her curse would be negated and she could finally be killed for good. A mercy kill given all that she had suffered over the centuries.**

**Jaune had laughed in her face as he explained what the spear did before snapping the thing over his knee. In his words, "You took everything from me! After everything you've done, after everything you put me through, do you seriously think I am going to grant your wish? That I'm going to just send you to the afterlife like that? Ahahahahahaaaa… no. You don't get to die. Ever. You think you know pain, you think you know suffering, you think you know eternity. You. Know. Nothing. Allow me to show you what your destiny really is."**

**That was the moment when Jaune sealed both their own fates with his final move. **

**One. **

**Punch.**

**That was all it took. The king called it his 'last hand', the very last card he had to play. Pushing his semblance beyond the limit, supercharging his aura and compressing all the power into one single instant for a one hit kill. For one attack, he'd have enough power to blow away an entire mountain range at the cost of dying almost immediately after.**

**With all the aura spent empowering the one attack, there was nothing left for healing and aura enhanced or not, the human body simply couldn't take the stress of accelerating to hypersonic speeds in a nanosecond and then hitting something at that speed.**

**The only reason Jaune didn't get blown to pieces from the recoil was due to his imperfect control over his semblance, some of it remaining long enough to keep his body intact if on the brink of death. As for Salem? The hit sent her straight into orbit and then beyond, her magic defence cruelly empowered by a portion of Jaune's semblance keeping her intact long enough for her to escape the planet's gravity well.**

**Even to this day, ten years later, she was still out there floating in space, suffocating, freezing and suffering in the cold vacuum of space, unable to die, only able to suffer for the rest of eternity, without even her Grimm for companionship.**

**With the blast lighting up the countryside for miles, it served as a neat little beacon for Cardin to arrive and find the dying Jaune. And the rest as they say is history.**

"W-what the fuck!? I thought the previous universe had a brutal kid. Sweet Monty Oum, what the hell happened to twist this kid into a monster!?" Qrow uttered in a mix of surprise and horror as he deposited several lien into Ruby's swear jar.

Ozpin was at a loss for words. In this future, something must have happened to Jaune, something Salem was directly responsible for. His emotions were rioting inside him now, despite everything that happened between them, a small part of him still loved her.

To find out that her fate would be infinitely crueller than what the gods cursed her with upset him. That she was evidently at fault and the one to push Jaune into doing what he did compounded the issue. He could only wonder at what had happened to push one of his most promising and kind hearted students into walking the path of a monster.

Still, hope blossomed inside him for the first time in longer than he could remember. For countless lives, he'd been forcing a stalemate, unable to find a way to stop Salem for good. Tragic as this universe was, it gave him an answer.

'The spear of destiny? I must find this weapon, if I can get it, I can use it on her and free us both from this curse. She'll finally be able to rest and whatever forced the boy onto this path can be avoided. There is still time to avoid this.'

"Control the Grimm? There's someone out there that can control the Grimm? Headmaster, did you know about this?" Weiss put the pieces together in her head before asking the million-dollar question that all the students now had.

Ozpin noticed their stares and sighed, any chance of hiding the truth was gone now. For better or for worse they were all now part of it. "Yes unfortunately so. Her name is Salem, she was cursed by the gods for turning on them long ago. In her bid to find a way to die, she found the power to manipulate Grimm, and when the rest of humanity would not bow to her as a goddess, she decided that we didn't deserve to exist in that case."

"This stuff is supposed to be a secret, but with what's on screen there's no chance of hiding it anymore. You weren't supposed to be involved in it." Qrow said apologetically.

"Not involved? We're training to be hunters! How can we not be involved!? We go out and kill Grimm, did you never think that we might run into her one day!?" Weiss was practically shrieking now.

"Easy there ice queen junior, Salem is… honestly I don't know either. What I do know is that she's playing some kind of game that we don't understand. She controls the Grimm, every Grimm. We're already outnumbered ten thousand to one here, she could bury us under a never ending tide of normal beowolves as it is, and don't even get me started on the ancient Grimm she no doubt has. As much as I hate to admit it, we live because she allows it and most people will never end up in her crosshairs. Unless you find out about her and actively try to stop her, then she'll have you hunted down and killed." Qrow said as he took a long swig to wash out the bitter taste in his mouth. Salem almost definitely had a hand in Summer's death because she couldn't stop trying to get in her way. He didn't want Ruby or Yang to share the fate of their mother.

"So what do we do then? If we're so badly outmatched. And according to this future, she managed to hurt Jaune enough for him to sentence her to eternal torment out of spite." Pyrrha said with a quivering lip.

"What else can you do, you train hard, you prepare, and you do everything in your power to live. It's all you can do." Qrow shrugged his shoulders and answered.

"So we do nothing?" Ren inquired in a low voice.

"You train hard. You protect your friends. That isn't nothing. Salem is beyond our reach for now, she resides in the heart of the Grimmlands, almost definitely surrounded by Grimm more powerful than anything we've ever dealt with. It's not hopeless though, somehow or other, Mr Arc succeeded. If he can, so can we." Professor Goodwitch said and mollified her students somewhat.

"**My soul is irreparably damaged, I know that better than anyone. The aura generator inside me can't keep up with the rate I'm leaking anymore. I'll be dead by the end of the week." Jaune said with a large smile as he allowed his decade old hate to fade away.**

"**T-there must be something we can do." Cardin protested and was met with a resolute headshake.**

"**Do not grieve for me old friend, I've made peace with my fate long ago. But I need one last favour."**

"**Anything for you sir." Cardin said, he couldn't save Jaune from dying but he'd do his damnedest to fulfil whatever last wishes he had.**

"**After the celebrations are over, I want you to take me back to the beginning." Jaune said with a nostalgic smile on his face, cloudy eyes staring in the direction of Vale.**

"**The beginning?"**

"**Yes… I wish to return to the Emerald Forest. That was where my journey began, it's where I want it to end."**

"**I… I don't follow." Cardin said with a confused tone, not seeing where his king was going with this statement.**

"**I wasn't like you, you know. You knew your team before initiation, I entered Beacon without knowing anyone. Oh, I made a few friends before initiation… some poor first impressions notwithstanding." Jaune chuckled lightly as he recalled the less than stellar first encounters with Weiss and Yang in particular.**

Weiss huffed and folded her arms, Jaune's abysmal attempts at flirting still fresh in her mind. At the very least he'd toned it down after the dance.

Yang on the other hand simply snickered at the idea that this Jaune had still managed to earn the name 'vomit boy'.

"Oooh, are we doing an initiation flashback scene? Cool, maybe we'll see the Noramobile again, Renny! We need a new ursa!" The exuberant girl started bouncing on her seat again and Ren sighed as he tried to calm her down.

"Just wait and see Nora. Although, I am curious as to where we are in this future."

"**The Emerald Forest was where I formed my team. Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, JNPR. They were my family, they were the reason I never gave up on my dream. They were the light that guided me through my darkest hours." Jaune said with a great deal of pride.**

"Aww, we love you too fearless leader! One of us more than the rest!" Nora shouted as she looked at Pyrrha and waggled her eyebrows suggestively. Her actions drew a raging blush from the red head and a round of sniggering from the peanut gallery.

"NORA!" Pyrrha shouted, completely mortified.

"**Well, I think there's some poetry there, returning to the very beginning at the end of your quest. Once the celebration is over, would you kindly take me on the next flight to Vale? I don't want to die here like a prisoner."**

"**I… of course Jaune. If this is what you desire." Cardin bowed his head in acquiescence. His king had made up his mind and he would challenge him no longer.**

"**It is. Thank you Cardin."**

**Several days later, a haggard looking Jaune limped his way across the forest floor, supported by Cardin's larger frame. Occasionally tripping over roots and uneven ground, the loyal knight remained steadfast and never allowed Jaune to fall over.**

"**Hahaha… you know, it's been over a decade, you'd think this place would change a bit more. Cardin, when you look up, do you see a hole in the tree? One that would have been caused by a spear?" Jaune asked as he halted in his tracks.**

"**A hole? Um… Yes, I see it, is there something special about this tree?"**

"**Umhmm, this is where I met my partner, when Pyrrha nailed me to a tree with her spear."**

"**She what!?" Cardin asked, sure that he'd misheard.**

"**I never told you huh? In initiation, my ah… landing strategy was a little lacking, so she helped me out in that regard." Jaune laughed quietly before a coughing fit took him. Cardin remained silent as Jaune righted himself after a while, stony face betraying nothing of the turmoil within.**

"**Set me against the tree, would you? This, is where my journey ends."**

"**I… see. It's been an honour serving under you Jaune." Cardin bowed respectfully as Jaune shook his head smiling.**

"**Please, the honour's all mine. Albion is in your hands now. When you get back, tell them not to waste lien on a funeral ceremony. Honour me by helping those in need instead, there is still much to be done." Jaune said as he rested his head against the rough bark, feeling more at ease in the Grimm filled forest than he had in his own castle.**

"**I'll see it done. Farewell Jaune."**

"**Goodbye Cardin. Thank you for everything." Jaune smiled as Cardin turned and walked away. He was tired, so tired, near sightless eyes barely able to remain open now. There was no fear of the long sleep in him, only a sense of peace as he closed his eyes for the last time.**

"**Pyrrha, Ren, Nora, I'll be seeing you soon. Would you say that I became a hero?"**

"We-we're dead!? B-but how!? W-we left Jaune-Jaune alone?" Nora finished in a small voice and started shaking in her seat, previously good mood replaced by a sombre one.

"I don't know Nora, but at least this Jaune will see us again in the afterlife?" Ren ventured, unsure if he was trying to convince Nora or himself.

"I… wait, if J-Jaune's dead and the movie is over, why aren't the lights coming back on? And we still haven't seen initiation yet." Pyrrha's mood lifted slightly at the possibility that there was still hope in this universe.

"Maybe it's one of those it was all just a dream sequences and Jaune's going to wake up from a nightmare? Yeah… that's gotta be it." Blake said, recalling that particular kind of ending she absolutely detested for being a major cop out. Although, in this case, she wouldn't mind such a thing happening.

**He felt himself slip away into the void, it wasn't cold as he initially expected. It was warm and a sense of peace suffused his very being. That peace lasted for all of ten seconds before the screaming woke him up.**

**Eyes snapping open and a curse on his lips ready to blister the ears of whichever moron had the audacity to interrupt his eternal rest, the words died before they could leave, coming out as a strangled whisper instead.**

'**I… uh… what the actual hell!?'**

**There in front of him, with a shaking finger pointed at him and still screaming, was himself. A far, far younger version of himself.**

**"GHOST! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Young Jaune screamed in terror at the spectre hovering over him as he fell on his ass and hastily backed away. This was not how he wanted things to go, he just wanted to take a closer look at Crocea Mors, his dad's old weapon.**

**So he waited for hours until his whole family was asleep before sneaking into the study to inspect the weapon. Just looking at it wasn't enough, he wanted to hold it in his hands and thus removed the display case and tentatively poked at the sword with a finger.**

**That was when the ghost appeared and he started screaming. Then the ghost opened his eyes, choked a bit and started screaming. Then the rest of his family woke up and rushed into the study screaming as well.**

**The screaming intensified when the ghost attempted to slam his head into the wall only for it to go straight through without resistance. The ghost screamed louder, followed by Jaune, and then everyone else raised their voices.**

**Chaos reigned in the Arc household.**

"Okay, gotta admit, was not expecting that. So old Jaune is now a ghost and he's haunting his younger self? That's not something you see every day." Yang stated unsurely, not knowing what to make of the situation.

Ozpin coughed discreetly as this reminded him too much of his own circumstances. Glynda and Qrow gave him sympathetic looks as they remained silent.

**After several minutes of confused and terrified shouting, the family finally managed to calm things down and were gathered around the dining table.**

"**So, what's this about a ghost, son? And what have I told you about playing with sharp pointy objects?" Jaune's father Arthur Arc asked in a firm tone.**

"**Umm, not to do so? I just wanted a better look at your sword dad. And the ghost is floating right above the table. He's uh… he's waving at you and he looks like you actually." Jaune answered while trying not to stare at ghost floating above their heads.**

"**There's no such thing as ghosts Jaune, we've been over this. Did one of your sisters make you watch a scary movie again?" Arthur asked kindly, trying to coax his son out from where he was trying his best to sink into the seat.**

"**There is a ghost! He's… uh… hey what are you!? GraaGHhheaehha!" Jaune shuddered violently once the ghost gave him a pat on the head and was promptly sucked into him.**

"**Jaune!? Are you alright!?" Arthur's hand inched towards Crocea Mors, unsure of what was going on. If this was the work of some new never before seen Grimm, there would be hell to pay.**

"**Oh this is freaky, I'm possessing myself. Oooohhh my head hurts." Jaune clutched his head in pain as a migraine set in.**

"**Possessed!? Get out of my son!" Arthur shouted as the rest of the Arc family backed away slightly, not wanting to make the situation any worse.**

"**I am your son dad. Hi mom, sisters and… Saffron." Jaune laughed as Saffron began angrily shouting at him for the slight. He missed this, his family had perished long ago and to see them all healthy and alive was too much.**

"**What are you… why are you crying?" Arthur asked out of concern, the mix of despair and relief did not belong on his son's crying face.**

"**I missed you all, that's all. I buried you, I buried all of you. And now you're alive again." Jaune wiped away the tears as he felt his younger self still, they were sharing a body but he was in control for the moment, his other self was currently lost in his future memories.**

"**You're not making sense, did you have a bad dream?" His mother, Victoria Arc asked.**

"**A bad dream… heh, I supposed it could be called that. Unless this is some kind of sick joke, Mom, dad, I'm from the future…"**

"So that's how it is, maybe with future knowledge he won't be such a dunce this time round." Weiss nodded to herself.

"Nah, Jaune-Jaune will always be Jaune-Jaune!" Nora denied instantly drawing a sigh from her teammates at the unintentional insult.

"If he does have all of his memories of the future, he might perform better in class, although my understanding is that he's been 'retired' for a decade so how much improvement he might be able to pass on to his younger self remains to be seen." Goodwitch stated as she drummed her fingers against her seat, Jaune's performance at the beginning did leave a lot to be desired after all.

"Mr Arc hasn't failed to surprise Glynda, keep an open mind." Ozpin said as shifted into a more comfortable position, eager to see just how things would play out as a time skip occurred.

"**I can't believe you! After all that training and we still have to forge our transcripts into Beacon! How the hell can you oversleep on one of the most important days of your life!?" Ghost Jaune facepalmed as he berated his younger self.**

"**I was too nervous to fall asleep okay!? And why didn't you wake me!?" The now seventeen year old Jaune paced around the hotel room frantically. Due to his nerves, he'd fallen asleep in the wee hours of the morning and failed to awaken in time, missing the Beacon entrance exam set up for non-combat school graduates.**

"**One, you can't hear me while you're sleeping, two, I can only possess you while you're awake. Great… ah well, I forged my transcripts once I can do it again." Ghost said in frustration as he prepared to possess his other self for the task.**

"Somehow, I can totally see Jaune oversleeping before a test, is that strange?" Ruby asked as the rest of the audience was struck dumb by what they were seeing.

"He's gotten better at least?" Pyrrha offered in an unsure tone.

"Hmmph, to boast about faking his transcripts so brazenly, I ought to have words with him about that." Goodwitch said, frowning at the blatant disregard for the rules.

"**Are you sure this is going to work? What if Beacon finds out?"**

"**What if they- pft hahahhahahah! You assume they were ever fooled in the first place. Nah, Ozpin will know as soon as he sees the transcripts."**

"**What!? How does that help us!?" Jaune was moments away from ripping out his hair at his older self's nonchalance.**

"**Eh, he let it go for some reason, maybe he saw potential or something. He's fifty two cards short of a full deck if you know what I mean. Seriously, this guy's idea of a good initiation is to have everyone shot into a Grimm infested forest without parachutes and have them find relics without mentioning what relics we're looking for or where they're located. Oh, and partners are formed on first eye contact regardless of how horrifying potential pairings can be. Wow, I feel dumber for saying that out loud actually." **

Ozpin sighed as his adjutant glared at him, the snickering from his students and outright laughter from Qrow didn't help in the least. "I will have you all know that Beacon's initiation is a proud tradition that's been the same since the school's founding."

"Sure Oz, and it's not because you're too lazy to change things up at all huh?" Qrow laughed at the expression on the headmaster's face.

"It's tradition." Ozpin said and returned to nursing his coffee, not rising to the bait.

"Jokes aside, headmaster, if you did know of his falsified transcripts before initiation, why did you let him enter? I will… admit that he's improved a great deal but…" Weiss asked, curious as to Ozpin's reasoning.

"I felt that he had potential Ms Schnee. Transcripts and referrals are there more for the protection of the applicants than anything else. Frankly, there are easier ways of suicide than sneaking into Grimm filled territory. Mr Arc is hardly the first time a civilian has snuck in to initiation, some do it as a prank, others do it to make something of themselves much like him." Ozpin said as he recalled the various Beacon hopefuls he'd encountered over the years.

"Most of these applicants drop out once the actual initiation begins and those that do survive past initiation are either there to stay or inevitably drop out themselves once the reality of being a hunter sinks in. If Mr Arc hadn't put in the effort to improve as he did, I would have asked him to leave before he could endanger anyone."

**Several days later, Jaune was now seated on the bullhead headed for Beacon. Leaning against a wall for comfort, his stomach roiled in protest against the turbulence affecting the ship. That aura technique his older self had given him worked wonders in combating his motion sickness but was still far from perfect given his incomplete mastery over his own aura.**

**Stewing in his own discomfort in the corner, he only half paid attention to the ghost giving commentary on the people around him in an effort to distract him from his motion sickness.**

"**And in that corner, we have the great Yang Xiao Long, sister to Ruby Rose and self-proclaimed pungeon master. The only thing greater than her love of a bad pun and a good fight would be her affection for her family. Also known as The Loud One."**

"HEY! WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE LOUD ONE!?" Yang's eyes flared red and embers began to radiate from her hair.

"Hmmph, finally someone else says it. You're only proving his point. Now cool down hothead and enjoy the show." Weiss said only to gasp and start struggling when Yang caught her in a headlock.

"Aww no need to so Weiss cold princess, and you're finally starting to learn the art of the pun, allow me to guide you on your journey my apprentice!"

"Arrghh, gerroff me!"

**Yang turned to stare at the teen brooding in the corner opposite from where she was standing. Approaching him, she put her hands on her hips and leaned in close, eyes flickering between red and lilac in suspicion.**

"**Why do I feel the urge to punch you?"**

"**Uh no reason?" Jaune recalled the memories of the alternate timeline and backed up slightly. There was no way in hell he was earning his title of 'vomit boy' again.**

"**Umm, could you back up a bit?"**

"**Why? Am I making you uncomfortable?" Yang leaned in closer with a predatory grin, giving the pale faced blonde a generous view of her cleavage.**

"**Yang, leave him alone!" Ruby whined as she tried to pull her older sister away to no avail.**

"**What? I'm just making a new friend, you should try that some time."**

"**Uh, not to bother you two, but I suffer from motion sickness, so I'm trying not to throw up right now. This isn't the safest place to be ahahha…" Jaune trailed off and laughed nervously when Yang and Ruby took several steps back in fear.**

**Ghost Jaune snickered where he was floating and looked around the bullhead. Pyrrha, Ren and Nora weren't aboard this one so he'd have to wait till reaching Beacon proper before he could see his team once again. He'd waited for almost fifteen years now, he could wait another day.**

"**I won't fail you all again. This time, I'll save you, I'll save you all."**

"I'm still curious, what exactly happened to us in the future?" Ren asked once the scene transitioned.

"I don't know, but I trust Jaune has a plan for it… I don't think he ever forgave himself for losing us." Pyrrha muttered under her breath. She fell silent when the screen came on again, displaying her of all things.

**Pyrrha retrieved her spear from the locker it was stashed in and hefted the weapon in her hands. Feeling Milo in her hands once more felt good, real good. All around her, there were people whispering about the invincible girl coming to Beacon, about how she'd steam roll any competition. There weren't many willing to come up to talk to her and those that did were only looking to be on a team with the invincible girl and not Pyrrha Nikos.**

**She resisted the urge to snort as she replied to the girl in white next to her. "I'm not opposed to being on a team together Ms Schnee but I think I'll let the chips fall where they may."**

'**Of course, I am going to rig the dice in my favour. Now where is he?' Pyrrha bid Weiss goodbye in a polite tone honed by years of practice. The whispering about her was beginning to grate on her nerves, invincible? Her? Preposterous, she was anything but.**

'**If I really were invincible, I wouldn't have been killed by Cinder during the Vytal Festival.'**

"WHAT!?" came the collective scream of the audience.

**Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, Pyrrha stilled her emotions and refocused her efforts on finding her quarry. The last thing she recalled was being shot through the heart by Cinder and dying, next thing she knew she was waking up on the bullhead to Beacon.**

**This was a fresh start destiny had granted her and she wasn't going to waste it. She wasn't invincible last time round, but now she was done holding back. Hiding her semblance did nothing for her except limit her potential, without the fear of revealing it, she'd be able to improve far more than before. Perhaps she would be able to attain invincibility this time, but that line of though was irrelevant, the primary objective was to find Jaune. Now where was her partner anyway? She did recall Jaune interrupting her meeting with Weiss the first time round, had something changed?**

**Her memories of initiation were hazy at best but she did remember meeting Jaune before being launched into the forest. As long as he was here, the plan remained the same, find him in initiation, help him land and unlock his aura, then reform JNPR, this time preferably avoiding the giant deathstalker.**

**On her way to the cliffs, she finally spotted the familiar head of blonde hair and immediately halted. Full plate armour and… was that a battle standard on his back? Something had definitely changed, willing her feet to move once more, she cautiously approached her target.**

**Ghost Jaune instantly noticed her approach. "Uh oh, Pyrrha's coming this way for some reason. Remember, act normal."**

"**What the hell do you mean act normal?" Jaune whispered quietly, disguising his words as a tired yawn, no need to give anyone the impression that he was talking to himself.**

"**Pretend you don't know her, you know she doesn't like it when people bring up her status. Uh, maybe try walking away, maybe she's headed somewhere else?" The ghost suggested and Jaune began walking in the direction of the restrooms, giving no impression that anything was out of the ordinary.**

"**Oh shit, she's still following us. What's going on here?"**

"**The hell you mean what's going on here!? You're the one from the future, you tell me!" Jaune shot back in a harsh whisper. At times like this he cursed the degradation of memory with time, he had assimilated nearly all of his older self's memories but due to how far in the future he was from, much of his present was murky at best save several key points.**

"**I don't think we did any… no, not possible. There's still time before Ozpin chucks us into the forest, head to the roof we trained on. You know what to do."**

"**You think she came back as well? We never went to one of the combat schools or left any records about our training and we've definitely never met Pyr in this timeline. There's no reason she should be looking for us."**

"**Only one way to find out partner."**

"P-money, any idea what he's talking about?" Yang asked curiously.

"I-I don't know, maybe he intends to bring up our training sessions?" Pyrrha replied uncertainly.

**Pyrrha followed her leader on a merry chase, frowning slightly when it looked like he was trying to avoid her. Her doubts vanished when the chase ended up on a familiar roof. The wind tousled her hair as Jaune turned around to face her.**

**Silence reigned between them for several moments as neither of them knew what to say. Jaune was the first to break the silence.**

"**Hello again. I believed in destiny once. Now, I believe destiny can go fuck itself."**

"**Pft… ehehahah… hahahahahahaha!" It started out as a small giggle before growing into an uncontrollable fit of laughter that had Pyrrha wheezing in tears by the time it was done.**

"**Not… quite how I would have put it but I do believe that destiny can be changed. I did get a second chance after all." Pyrrha wiped away her tears and gave Jaune a brilliant smile.**

"**Indeed… when did you get back?"**

"**I woke up on the bullhead yesterday morning after… after I was shot in the heart by…" Pyrrha trailed off with a wince as the memory of dying was still fresh in her mind. A hand on her shoulder snapped her out of it and she blushed slightly when she noticed Jaune right up in her face.**

"**Don't worry about it Pyr, I won't let it happen again. I'm a lot stronger this time. Oh, and one more thing."**

**Pyrrha was about to ask what Jaune meant when her mind crashed. The strong arms around her waist and the soft lips meeting her own were the only thing she could focus on.**

"YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" A purple cylinder of light formed around the vibrating spartan, muting her cries of victory.

"Thank you." Blake hissed out as she rubbed her ears, the sudden cry nearly deafening her sensitive hearing.

"Tch, cereal girl is way too lucky here." Yang grumbled at the sight of Jaune kissing someone other than her.

"It's about time. Waiting was getting tiresome." Ren commented with a shrug while Nora had leapt into the purple cylinder to give Pyrrha a bear hug.

"**Wh-wha? I… uh… yes?" Temporarily lost for words once they separated, she remained in his embrace, unwilling to break it but unable to meet his eyes either.**

"**As your leader, I order you to never rush off on a suicide mission again." Jaune said as his voice cracked slightly, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that his dearest friend had returned from the dead as well.**

"**I got back six years ago Pyr, I lost you for almost twenty years. I… I can't lose you again."**

"**I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." The mutual embrace tightened as the two time travellers remained where they were, ensuring that it wasn't some cruel joke of the universe at their expense.**

**Finally separating, they made small talk while heading back to the cliffs for the initiation proper. There would be time enough to catch up later, for now they had an initiation to ace and half a team to collect. Pyrrha did have a laugh at Jaune's expense when she heard that despite the added experience and training, he still needed to forge his way into Beacon because he overslept.**

**Putting their game faces on when the students began launching off the pads, they exchanged a nod before being flung into the sky.**

**Spotting a clearing below, Jaune directed himself to it and retrieved his battle standard from where it was slung across his back. As the ground approached, his semblance activated and he slammed the battle standard into the ground with a massive aura blast, shattering the trees around him and using the backblast to fling him up onto the standard.**

**Standing atop it with his eyes closed, he waited for Pyrrha to appear, there was no way she'd be able to miss such a beacon. As long as he didn't open his eyes or touch the ground with his feet, there was no way he'd get any partner other than her.**

**He had to turn away several other students before Pyrrha appeared with a wry grin. "Hello again, I guess this makes us partners doesn't it. And you don't do things by half do you?"**

**Jaune chuckled and opened his eyes, sapphire met emerald as they smiled at one another. "I learned long ago, that if something is worth doing, it's usually worth overdoing. Well partner, shall we go find those relics?"**

"**Of course, and this time let's avoid the caves." Sharing a laugh at the memories of their first initiation, the duo made their way towards the ruins that housed the relics. Along the way, Jaune filled Pyrrha in on his new equipment.**

**The battle standard Radiance and the sword Excalibur were his weapons of choice now instead of Crocea Mors. Her mood dimmed slightly when she learnt that he switched to this new combination after the deaths of Nora and Ren, with everyone he wanted to protect gone, he no longer had a purpose for his shield.**

**Dedicating himself to pure offense, he had a new sword made instead of repairing Crocea Mors when the old weapon finally broke in combat against the Grimm. The original Excalibur was forged from the recovered remains of the upgraded Crocea Mors, Magnhild and Storm Flower, the ultimate expression of Jaune's combat ideology, peace through superior firepower. **

**Depleted dust crystals went into the forging process, granting the completed weapon the ability to store a nigh unlimited amount of Jaune's aura that could be used as a backup reserve or unleashed in a single devastating blast. With his semblance, that meant the ability to bring anyone back from the brink of death or wipe out entire armies in an instant. Useful stuff.**

"Dust can do that!? I… how… how do I not know of this!? As a Schnee this shall not stand, I need to get to researching immediately when we return." Weiss babbled at the hitherto unknown usage of dust.

"Don't worry Weiss, I'll help you! And then… Crescent Rose… uhehehhehee…" Ruby announced her desire to help before her true intentions leaked out. The reaper was practically drool at the thought of upgrading her baby with such awesome firepower.

"Interesting. I will admit that in my long life, this is the first I've heard of something like this. I knew he had the potential for greatness in him." Ozpin smiled as he drained his coffee mug, the black nectar refilling instantly for him.

"Destroying an army in one hit? Man, if only old tinman were here, he'd have a fit." Qrow chuckled, imagining Ironwood's face turning purple at the thought of so much power out of his hands.

**Radiance came along later, once he found himself standing at the head of an army. Originally just a simple battle standard used to rally the troops against the Grimm horde, eventually he found that it worked as an excellent conduit for his semblance.**

**Jaune joked that despite all his combat ability, he found himself functioning as a walking buff machine instead, but such is the life of a paladin. Radiance wasn't a superweapon on the level of Excalibur, it was just a very durable and well-constructed flag that doubled as a spear but it met his purposes.**

**The sound of joyous laughter and crashing trees reached their ears and Jaune sighed, failing to repress the growing smile. "Nora?"**

"**Nora." Pyrrha confirmed.**

**Finally the warpath of destruction ended at them when the Noramobile burst through the trees before coming to a stop in front of Jaune and Pyrrha. A grinning Nora and taciturn Ren sat atop their mount waving down at them.**

"**I recognise that deathstalker. Why do I recognise that deathstalker?" Jaune deadpanned as he stared into the glowing red eyes of his old enemy. Despite the new… additions, it was clearly the same Grimm they encountered in their first initiation. Only, now it was Nora's mount and had several massive cannons bolted onto its back.**

"**Silly Jaune-Jaune, it's the same one of course! I made it an offer it could not refuse so here we are! Now where are we going fearless leader?" Nora asked with a head tilt.**

"**Nora, context is necessary you know." Ren said and poked her on the nose, drawing a giggle.**

"**Context schmontext, the Noramobile is good to go and it won't break again, that's all anyone needs to know!" Nora gave her ride a pet and drew a round of screeching from it.**

***Fuck you, you crazy bitch! I just want to be left alone in my cave in peace! You assholes murder me in practically every single universe, even the ones where Jaune doesn't go to Beacon! What the hell is wrong with you all!? Can't you read the signs that say stay the fuck away!? Fuck it, if being a tank means I get to live then so fucking be it.***

"Wait, did we come back from the future too?" Ren blinked at the screen when it seemed like Nora was staring straight at them.

"**Of course not Renny. Only fearless leader and his soon to be waifu are. I'm just special like that and because of me, my Renny can see other possibilities as well." Nora said as she winked towards the screen.**

"C-can she see us?" Nora stared wide eyed at the screen as her counterpart continued to laugh.

"**Of course I can see you other me! I have enough eyes on the inside to do so!"**

"**Uh, that's insight Nora, not eyes on the inside."**

"**What's the difference?" Nora shrugged and ignored Ren's protest.**

"**Uh, Nora who are you talking to?" Pyrrha asked in confusion as her old/new friend was talking to the air in a one sided conversation.**

"**The other versions of us watching our universe in a theatre of course. Hmm, lemme see, ah they're from a time after the breach but before the festival starts. Team RWBY's there, so's us minus Jaune. Ozpin's there too with professor Goodwitch and Qrow, Jaune-Jaune, anything you want to say to them?"**

"**Nora, you're not making a lot of sense right now. What do you mean we're watching ourselves?"**

"**They're from a different universe, one of my friends is passing the time by showing them alternate versions of you across the multiverse. So… you can tell them what to expect to change their future! By the way, hi Blank!"**

"Hello to you too Nora." Blank replied and the audience gaped at him like a fish.

"What? I'm not the only one capable of viewing the multiverse you know."

"**Uh, fine I'll take your word for it. Okay, I'll start from the top. Cinder, Mercury and Emerald are agents of Salem. They're the ones who attacked Amber and Cinder holds half the power of the fall maiden. They're responsible for the breach and they'll cause a massive white fang and Grimm attack during the Vytal festival. Mercury is a decent fighter but Emerald is the one to watch for, her semblance allows her to create illusions indistinguishable from reality through eye contact, she's responsible for causing Yang to look like an uncontrolled berserker willing to hurt anyone to win and Penny's murder by Pyrrha's polarity." Jaune said at a rapid pace, running through his memories.**

"**I'm sorry." The spartan apologised in shame as she recalled tearing her opponent to pieces.**

"**Don't apologise for something that wasn't your fault Pyr, it was all Cinder's fault, but don't worry about it. I burnt the witch alive for a week and scooped out Emerald's eyes with a rusty spoon, fed them to her for her last meal too. Mercury though? I tore off his prosthetic legs and shoved them up his ass until his shoe was in his mouth." Jaune mentioned their fates in the same tone a person would discuss the weather and Pyrrha's face turned green almost immediately.**

A sentiment that was echoed amongst the younger audience.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Ruby hunched over her bucket for several seconds before she lost the fight and voided her stomach.

"**Ahahaha… sorry guys, this Jaune here became a lot darker due to losing his team. But it's all for a good cause I swear." Nora said sheepishly and motioned for Jaune to get back to speaking while avoiding the more grisly details.**

"**Ahem… excuse me, I really don't like them. Anyways, unless something is very different in your universe, my semblance should be the same, aura enhancement. With it I can boost the effects of aura and other semblances. That includes amplifying aura healing to the point when you can regenerate destroyed internal organs or grow a new limb. Get the other me to unlock it asap, I… I never got my semblance until after Pyrrha was murdered in cold blood. In any case, to deal with Cinder and her gruesome twosome, I recommend sustained artillery bombardment out in the field or a large dose of poison, kill them asap. There is absolutely no benefit to leaving them alive."**

**Jaune scratched the back of his head as he tried to think of what else was missing. Pyrrha took up the slack for him instead.**

"**Um, hello again. The CCT is also compromised by Cinder, there's a virus inside it that will allow her to take control of all of Atlas' robots and turn them against us when the attack on the festival goes down."**

"**Oh yeah, there was that. And Ozpin, if you are watching this. Fuck you. Fuck you and your blind trust. Because of your infernal trust, Cinder and co managed to infiltrate and destroy Beacon! Tens of thousands are dead because you're too much of a trusting fool to look closer! Lionheart is a god damned traitor and a coward, I only regret that Salem disposed of him before I could get my vengeance. Everything is all your fault, but then what else is new?" Jaune raged and his aura flared, drawing large numbers of Grimm to their position.**

Ozpin looked like he aged several decades in the span of a few seconds as he put down his coffee mug. Jaune's words cut deep and if what he said was true, he'd been betrayed but yet another one of his allies.

The students were silent as they learnt the fate that awaited them in the future should they fail. Blake was the worst off, her ears flat against her head as the knowledge that the white fang would be complicit in the tragedy weighed heavily on her.

"Can we do anything to avoid that future?" Ruby asked in a quiet tone.

"**Of course you can, maybe do what Jaune says and assassinate them before they can cause any more problems. Or try something else, we do the impossible on the regular after all. But right now, I gotta deal with these Grimm. C'mon Pete, show your stuff." Nora pulled out her weapon as the cries of the Grimm drew closer, the chittering of her mount music to her ears.**

***Ah good, about time I got to kill things. Fuck you, fuck you, fuckyoufuckyoufuckyoufuckyouall!* The deathstalker reared up and the cannons began belching emerald fire. The plasma shells lobbed across the forest to splash against the oncoming horde of darkness, bursting into light and heat and setting everything on fire.**

"**Excellent, I needed to blow of some steam as well. Luminosite Eternelle!" Jaune shouted as he planted Radiance into the ground, white aura surged and flared outwards, forming a circle around them and cloaking his team in white light.**

**Casually backhanding the nearest ursa into a row of trees and bowling them over, Jaune tossed the Grimm around without the least bit of effort. Around him, the rest of his team was performing just as well, even Pete the deathstalker got a buff somehow.**

**Pyrrha let out a joyous laugh as she felt her semblance reach never before seen levels of strength, sending a pulse of it into the ground, she ripped out every single iron deposit in it and reforged the scattered pieces into blades, sending them flying at the horde, ripping through everything in their path without resistance.**

**Ren put away his guns and went to town on the beowolves trying to get aboard Pete. With his usual stoic expression, his aura enhanced martial arts killed in a single strike. "Aura enhancement huh, with this a second strike is needless, just one will suffice."**

**Nora herself just laughed at the carnage occurring around her, her grenades adding to the mayhem surrounding them. "This is so much fun! Oooh, here comes the big one!"**

**An ursa major the size of a house pushed through the trees and roared a challenge. Jaune wasn't amused in the least. Feeling his future self re-enter his body and sync with him, he drew Excalibur for the first time since entering the forest.**

"**I have slaughtered entire armies, killed countless dragons and attained kinghood. You have the audacity to stand against me!? Insolent fool, know your place!" Holding the sword overhead, a gold light began surrounding the weapon as the aura sealed within the blade was released.**

"**Ex… CALIBUR!"**

**Bringing it down in a vertical slash, a beam of pure gold launched from the sword and engulfed the ursa major plus the remaining Grimm around it. Then everything exploded, blanketing the area in thick black smoke that slowly cleared up from Jaune's aura dissipating it.**

**Half the emerald forest was gone, replaced by a smoking crater several miles wide.**

"**Not bad, whoo glad I got that out of my system but holding back is a bitch. Oh don't worry, there weren't any humans in that direction. We're done here I think, let's go get those relics." Jaune said and sheathed his sword.**

"I think I speak for us all when I say, holy shit." Qrow placed several more lien into the swear jar as his mouth ran dry from the overwhelming power displayed.

Ozpin and Glynda were speechless, privately Ozpin doubted he'd ever been capable of such a display even back when he was still Ozma. More finesse and flexibility in usage maybe, pure destructive force not so much.

"That was holding back!?" Weiss said, on the verge of screeching.

"Then what's his full power like!?"

"I knew he had it in him to be great." Pyrrha cheered silently from her seat.

**Pete the deathstalker chirped happily at the carnage wrought and bent lower for Jaune and Pyrrha to board. Nora hummed happily as she drove while Ren returned to meditation, leaving the other pair to chat in peace.**

"**That was holding back huh?"**

"**Well yes, I didn't boost Excalibur's output with my semblance and there's still plenty of aura left inside the blade. Relax Pyr, there's no way I'm going to expend all my reserves so wastefully, not when Excalibur can function as life support even when I'm not holding it." Jaune shrugged and glanced at the silent forest.**

"**Hey fearless leader! You mind driving for a bit? I need to get a point across first." Nora piped up and handed the reins over to Jaune who took it with a questioning glance.**

***You drive me off a cliff and I'll haunt you for the rest of eternity you piece of shit***

"**Sure, I guess?" Nora thanked Jaune and shook Ren out of his meditation. Once the green clad monk was back, the Valkyrie gave him a big hug and planted a kiss on his lips, drawing several exclamations from Jaune, Pyrrha and the audience in the theatre.**

"**Holy! Wait, are you together-together now?" Jaune asked with slight trepidation once he found his voice again, the Nora and Ren of his timeline had effectively gone the way of Pyrrha, dying together shortly after proclaiming their mutual love, one of his biggest regrets next to being unable to save his partner.**

"**Yup! It was always inevitable so I thought why not speed things up!" Nora said cheerfully while Ren buried his red face in his palms.**

"**Nora, please not in public."**

"**Bleh! One moment please!" She blew a raspberry before there was a flash of rainbow light and she disappeared.**

And reappeared in front of the stunned audience.

"Hiya!" Bouncing around the place, she began handing out various gifts to them. Mostly favourite foods, such as a plate of strawberry chocolate chip cookies for Ruby or a delicious tuna sandwich for Blake. Finally stopping at her red-faced counterpart and Ren, she booped them both on the nose.

"You know you guys might as well just get it over with. Save all the time and what not. Just kiss~" Taking advantage of their distracted states, she cackled as a sudden tug sent the two colliding into one another and ending up in a suggestive state.

"Well, that's all for me now!" She stepped back as the duo separated slightly and returned to their seats. A deep sense of satisfaction pervaded as she noted that their hands remained joined together.

"Ms Valkyrie, I am curious as to how you're able to do all this. I'm very sure your other self isn't capable of such a feat." Ozpin asked in curiosity.

"Kaleidoscope."

There was another flash of rainbow light and Nora was gone, reappearing back on the deathstalker on screen.

"**What the, where'd you go? And how'd you get back?" Jaune blinked in confusion as his teammate reappeared after vanishing just as mysteriously.**

"**I was just saying hi to the other universe version of ourselves. Now, I think this is the part where RWBY is dealing with the Nevermore, shall we go help them fearless leader?"**

"**Haaah… of course. Come on, let's go kill us a big chicken." Jaune said, eliciting a laugh from Pyrrha and Ren while Nora mock saluted.**

***Of course we're killing the other poor motherfucker as well. Bastard dies just as often as I do. Oh well, better him then me.***

**As the deathstalker trudged off into the undergrowth, the screen faded to black. When it came on again, the students were already gathered in the auditorium waiting for teams to be announced.**

"**So Nora, where'd the deathstalker go anyway?" Pyrrha asked and Nora retrieved a red and white ball from a pocket.**

"**The Noramobile is stored in here. PokeGrimm gotta catch em all whoo!" Cheering at the in joke and the confused expressions from her team, she quietened down as Ozpin prepared to announce their names.**

"**Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren and Pyrrha Nikos from this day forwards, you are AVLN, team Avalon. Led by Jaune Arc, congratulations, and do try to limit the collateral damage in the future if you would."**

**Both ghost and living Jaune blinked in surprise as his team cheered and Nora pulled them all into a group hug.**

"**Definitely did not see that coming."**

The screen went dark and the lights came back on, indicating the end of that viewing.

"It was… enlightening." Ozpin was the first to speak, running over the various information he'd gleaned from the universe. Lionheart a traitor, enemy spies already in their midst and a weapon to end Salem's torment once and for all. There was work to be done.

"You said it Oz." Qrow agreed and stood up to stretch. Gazing over to his nieces, he smiled fondly as he watched them join their team in ribbing the new couple.

"Indeed, we need to act as soon as we can. The students should be free to remain children for a while longer. Strong as Mr Arc became, I'd prefer if he not need to go through such tragedy beforehand… none of them should have to." Goodwitch said with a firm tone.

"Yes. That is why we fight after all."

"Feel free to refresh yourselves, the next viewing will start soon and more guests might be coming." Blank stated before vanishing off to wherever it was an interdimensional entity went.

* * *

Author's note: no franchise this time, just a random idea floating around. JNPR this time round is inspired by characters from the fate series

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as King Arthur/Jeanne d Arc

Pyrrha Nikos as Gilgamesh (slightly)

Lie Ren as Li Shuwen

Nora Valkyrie as Zelretch


	4. Chapter 4: Specialist 1st class

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 4: Specialist 1****st**** class**

**Inspiration: FFVII**

A flash of light lit up the theatre and a portion of the theatre was sectioned off by a transparent purple barrier. The existing guests' faces blackened on seeing the new arrivals but with the absence of their weapons and the barrier separating them, there wasn't much they could do.

"Ow, my head! Whe-where the hell is this? This isn't Ironwood's battleship." Roman Torchwick rose to his feet and glanced around in confusion, the last thing he remembered was being subject to the Atlas military's laughable attempts at interrogation. Next thing he knew he was here in this strange place. Being out of prison was nice though, and Neo was here which was always a plus.

The ice cream themed girl merely twirled her parasol around and poked at the barrier, ignoring the angry people on the other side. When it didn't seem to give, she shrugged and plopped herself down on an empty seat with Roman following suit.

"Torchwick! What are you doing out of prison!? Come here so I can beat your face in!" Yang shouted and her hands tightened into fists, red eyes promising a hell lot of pain.

"Yeah, no thank you, can you imagine hurting this handsome face? For shame!" The criminal smirked and gave a small wave, laughing when the blonde brawler punched the barrier ineffectively. Neo stuck out her tongue to taunt them further, laughing silently at their expressions.

"Now, now, no fighting in this place. This is neutral territory, and the bad guys will have their memories wiped once they return." Blank popped back into existence and was instantly beset by a flurry of questions and accusations.

"They're bad guys! Why'd you bring them here!?" Ruby shouted as her hands fumbled for a missing Crescent Rose.

"Entertainment of course, you'll all be seeing a lot of different technologies, tactics and what not that you can adapt to your own universe once you get back, all the good stuff they'll forget as soon as they leave."

"And just how is that supposed to be entertaining?" Weiss questioned sceptically.

"Easy, they know they won't remember any of this. They get to watch as you gain everything you need to stop them and there isn't anything they can do about it. Although how you want to change their fates is entirely up to you."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, what the hell is this? How is that fair?" Roman complained, not liking where the ball was going.

"It isn't, but then you're the bad guys so it's a given. Besides, maybe this way you'll get a better death than your original fate. You go out like a chump Roman, you give this big speech about how surviving is the only thing that matters in the world and… immediately get eaten alive by the Grimm once you finish." Blank responded with a snicker.

"That… I…" Roman fell silent with a pale face as he processed the words, there was something in him screaming that the ball of light was telling the truth and that frightened him greatly.

"Oh, it took me awhile to jump through all the hoops but I brought two more guests, I think you'll be quite happy to see them Ruby, Yang." Blank said and there was another flash of light.

"And class, that is how you use explosives to destroy a Nevermore nest… the hell?" Taiyang blinked in confusion as the Signal classroom he was teaching in transformed into a theatre. His daughters were there in front of him and… staring behind him?

"Oh my, you've grown so big now." A larger Ruby in a white hood said as several sets of eyes widened.

"MOM!" "Mommy!" "Ack! Summer?" "Am I hallucinating? I don't feel drunk enough for that."

The elder Rose was bowled over by two streaks of red and gold and fell over laughing. Taiyang and Qrow could only stare in shock, unable to believe their eyes.

"Go on, don't be shy. Sneaking by the brothers to steal a soul back from the afterlife wasn't easy you know, least you could do would be to show some appreciation." Blank said nonchalantly. Taiyang and Qrow blubbered incoherently for several seconds before casting away their doubts and joining in the family hug. Once they separated, Blank cleared his throat and began explaining what was going on in the theatre.

(One explanation later)

"So I get to watch my daughter's friends adventures? How interesting." Summer smiled contentedly as she played with Ruby's hair, the diminutive girl seated in her lap humming happily.

"Oh it's beginning."

The audience quieted as the lights dimmed and the screen came on again.

**An SDC train rumbled across the tracks under a smog filled sky. A thud sounded as a body landed feet first on top of one of the passenger compartments. Spiky blonde hair flowing in the wind and giant Buster Sword hanging off his back, Jaune straightened himself out, unaffected by the rushing wind in his face.**

**Atlas, the city of endless night, he hadn't been back here in so long now. Futuristic buildings towered lined both sides of the tracks, all cloaked in shadow from the smog and the upper section hanging over head.**

**The SDC logo was prominently displayed across most of the buildings, and Jaune was reminded of another reason why he hated this city. If it were up to him, he'd never return to this polluted cesspool of corruption and suffering, but a job's a job. Man's gotta pay the bills somehow and the pickings were slim.**

"T-this is Atlas? What happened here?" Weiss asked, shock colouring her voice as this Atlas was a far cry from the one she left.

"Consider this one an alternate universe entirely. The SDC and Atlas are effectively one and the same here. Needless to say, things could be better." Blank answered.

"I'm more worried about what Jaune is up to. This is… familiar to me… too familiar." Blake narrowed her eyes at the screen, old memories resurfacing again.

"I'm sure it can't be that bad." Pyrrha spoke up to defend her crush.

"**Specialist first class huh… haven't been that in a while." Bracing himself as the train rumbled to a stop at the terminus, he watched as members of the white fang burst out of the cargo hold and overwhelmed the guards waiting outside.**

"**Move it, we're burning daylight here." One of the white fang infiltrators said as they prepared to scatter across the city to carry out their mission.**

"**What daylight? It's always night in Atlas." His compatriot shot back cheekily and received a slap to the back of the head in response from his commander.**

"**Quiet, time's a wasting. You have your jobs, get moving." Hazel Rainart grumbled and motioned for them to hurry it up, only turning to address Jaune once he leapt down and stomped a waking guard back into unconsciousness.**

"He's white fang!?" Weiss screeched in surprise and Blake buried her face in her hands with a soft 'I knew it.'

"M-maybe he has a reason for it?" Ruby spoke up, unable to see Jaune as a member of a terrorist organisation.

"What reason could there possibly be to join a terrorist organisation!? Uh… no offense Blake." Weiss shot back before catching herself and apologising to the cat faunus.

"None taken Schnee. This white fang seems different though, Jaune and this… Hazel guy don't appear to be faunus. The white fang doesn't work with humans, except that idiot Torchwick."

"I resent that! It's not like I wanted to work with those fanatics anyway. But orders are orders." Roman piped up bitterly from where he sat. Criminal he may be, he still had standards and working alongside a bunch of untrained morons too willing to shoot first and die for a cause rather than think things through was a pain in the ass. But then nothing had gone right ever since that Cinder bitch showed up and made him an offer he couldn't refuse.

Ozpin on the other hand was more concerned with his old student. He could only sigh as he knew Hazel still blamed him for the death of his sister all those years ago on a mission gone wrong. He was in the service of Salem now and there wasn't anything he could do for him.

"**Come on newbie, you're with me." Hazel grunted and Jane gave a curt nod, just when they were about to leave, a squad of Atlesian Knights arrived to stop them before they could move off.**

"**Shit, they're fast today aren't they?" Hazel cursed as he dodged behind a pillar to avoid the incoming gunfire. Jaune said nothing as he planted the buster sword into the ground and used it as a shield against the robots.**

**Once the shooting stopped when the bots needed to reload, Jaune ripped the weapon free from the ground and charged the knights, felling them with heavy swings that cleanly bisected them. A burst of gunfire from an arm mounted minigun finished off the last knight before Jaune could strike it.**

"**You missed one." Hazel said as he hefted the smoking weapon.**

"**I had it under control." Jaune replied and stowed the Buster Sword away. Several of the white fang laggards were whispering among themselves as they witness his performance.**

"**So that's the power of a specialist, he cut through all of them without breaking a sweat."**

"**No kidding, damn I'm glad he's on our side. Not often you find an Atlas Specialist in the white fang."**

**Jaune ignored it all, he was used to people putting him on a pedestal due to his rank in the military before he deserted. Clearly, even now nothing had changed, ah it didn't matter, once the job was done, he'd be adrift on the wind again.**

"So not only is he a terrorist, he's a deserter. Wonderful." Weiss snarked and folded her arms.

Pyrrha remained silent, her heart in conflict. On the one hand, this Jaune had the same problems she once had to go through before arriving in Beacon, on the other, he appeared to have dealt with the pressure by turning traitor.

"**He's a specialist? Aren't they the enemy? What the hell is he doing here?"**

"**Ex specialist idiot, you think the boss would just allow an Atlas loyalist in? He quit and joined us, err didn't catch his name actually."**

"**Jaune, Jaune Arc. Former first class."**

"**I see, right, I'm-"**

"**Don't bother introducing yourselves. Once I'm done with the job I'll be out of your way." Jaune cut off the man's speech. He was here to do a job not socialise. Not knowing their names would make it easier to bury them once they inevitably bought the farm. No one stands against the SDC for very long without getting a bullet between the eyes.**

"**Get to your stations, I thought I told you to hurry it up! Our timeline is tight as it is, remember the target is the north dust reactor. If you end up anywhere else and we miss our window, so help me I will put my boot so far up your ass you'll be tasting leather for days." Hazel thundered and the white fang grunts saluted in slight terror.**

"**Sir yes sir!"**

**The larger man sighed as they scattered before turning to Jaune. "Do you have to be such an asshole? And just so you know, I got my eye on you."**

"**I'm a mercenary you hired for a job. I'm not here to make friends. And don't worry, you'll get no trouble from me, but if you try to stiff me, you'll get a first-hand demonstration of why I was first class." Jaune shrugged off the suspicion and scanned the streets for enemy reinforcements.**

**Proceeding through the dark and narrow streets, they remained silent as they made their way towards the giant reactor towering over them in the distance. Sporadic gunfire could be heard as other members of the white fang engaged SDC and Atlas forces.**

**Jaune and Hazel made short work of the automated defences in short order as they bulldozed a path towards the main entrance. Several explosions happened simultaneously and sirens began to blare as the enemy forces were thrown into disarray from the sudden loss of communications.**

"**Alright, beta squad was successful, their comms and cameras are gonna be down for a long time. Let's break through before they call in any more reinforcements." Hazel said after reading a message from his subordinates on his scroll.**

**Powering through several blockades, the duo came up on a pair of faunus pinned down by heavy machine gun fire. Jaune made to abandon them before being stopped by Hazel. "Where the hell do you think you're going? We're not leaving them here to die!"**

"**They knew the risks coming on this mission. They'll serve as a good distraction for us to get past. The mission takes priority, let them die for their cause." Jaune said callously as he shook Hazel's arm of his shoulder, giving the enraged man a blank stare.**

"Wha!? What's wrong with Jaune-Jaune!? There's no way he'd every abandon anyone like that!" Nora shouted as she bounced out of her seat.

"Now that's a man I can get behind." Roman grinned in appreciation at the cold heartedness of the Jaune on screen, Neo nodded along with a smile of satisfaction.

"He's got his priorities right!"

"What is wrong with you!? How can you be so dismissive of the lives of others like that!?" Yang shouted at the criminal with red eyes and blazing hair.

"Chill blondie, they're white fang. Terrorists. What's wrong with leaving them to their fates? They're all just fanatics ready to throw their lives away just to spit in the direction of the nearest Schnee, why not let them… oh what's the matter little kitty? Angry I pointed out the truth? You should know better than anyone else here that I'm correct." Roman taunted when Blake began hissing at him in anger.

"Yo Blank, why do we gotta put up with this clown again? Can't you put him in one of those silencing cylinders of yours?" Qrow complained in frustration.

"Oh come on, gimme a break. The kiddies might not see it but surely the adults do. Blond kid's a mercenary here for a mission not to save lives. You're all hunters, the mission takes priority doesn't it? if you waste the time saving every cat stuck up a tree somewhere, some village somewhere else is going to get wiped out by the Grimm."

"You might have a point, but you're an asshole Roman." Qrow spat before downing a bottle of whiskey to erase the bitter taste in his mouth.

"**We are not abandoning them. We're gonna save them." Hazel said in a tone that brooked no argument, drawing a sigh from Jaune.**

"**If you say so. I have no stake in your war, I'm just the hired help. Even if the mission fails because you want to save your men, I get paid the same." Jaune shrugged and drew his sword and leapt down, almost immediately taking fire from the sentry guns.**

**Dodging through the hail of gunfire and using his sword to block bullets where he couldn't evade, he made it to the guns and began slashing at them, turning them into steaming heaps of scrap metal.**

**From behind him, Hazel and the white fang grunts provided covering fire with their guns, pinning down the human guards and shredding the mechs who lacked any self-preservation instincts. Whittling away at the automated defences, soon only the human guards were left, none of them well trained enough to stand against Jaune.**

**Several swings later and they were all groaning on the ground in pain from having their bones broken by the metal slab masquerading as a sword.**

"**Satisfied?" Jaune asked as Hazel merely grunted and pushed onwards.**

"**Barely, come, time's a wasting. Why the hell are you even here if you don't believe in our cause? Do you even care about what the SDC's done?"**

"**No. I just want to finish this job before they deploy the paladins to stop us. I'm here as a favour for an old friend, and once I'm done I'll be leaving." Jaune answered bluntly. He really couldn't care less about the white fang or their doomed cause, the SDC was too large to be defeated. Hurt them maybe, stop them once and for all? No chance.**

**Everyone who ever stood against the SDC either died or wised up and walked away. Death was the only thing waiting at the end of the road after all. Even if you don't die to the mechs and the guards, become enough of a nuisance and the SDC would send the specialists after you, and then your life wouldn't be worth a handful of ashes. They'd bury you and everyone even remotely connected to you to ensure there would be no more trouble.**

**Jaune knew that bit damned well, he was a former specialist after all. Putting down rebellions and terrorist groups used to be part of his day to day life. Especially that one group of rebels in Mistral.**

"**Grk." A sudden spike of pain shot through his mind as he recalled that extermination mission, causing him to clutch his head in pain.**

"**Something the matter?" Hazel asked when he noticed the mercenary cradling his head.**

"**N-nothing. Just some bad memories." Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs, Jaune picked up the pace, the sudden pain vanishing as quickly as it came.**

"Have I ever mentioned how glad I am that ol iron dick is in charge of the army? Because I ow!" Qrow rubbed the back of his head where Summer and Taiyang had slapped him and he glanced down at Ruby holding out the swear jar. Grumbling as he fished out more lien to slot in, he leaned back and shut up, not willing to be on the receiving end of his family's disapproving stares.

"I'd prefer if your language weren't so… crass. But I do agree, whatever his faults, there are still lines the general won't cross." Goodwitch agreed in a neutral tone.

Blake glance at Weiss with a raised eyebrow, the heiress flushing in shame at the actions of the alternate SDC.

"You do know that I'd never condone something like that right? The SDC won't ever do something like that." She weakly defended.

"Weiss, you're not the one I'm worried about. Ask yourself, if your father had control over the Atlas military, would he really do otherwise?" Blake asked.

"I… no. He'd do what he thinks is necessary to strengthen the SDC." Weiss bowed her head and gnashed her teeth. The bottom line was the only thing that mattered to her father, it was the way it'd always been. Everyone else were just tools to achieve his goals… and he didn't take kindly to people not toeing the line.

**Breaching through the main entrance with support from the rescued grunts, they were now inside the reactor proper. Hazel consulted the map to plot their path through the twisting hallways while Jaune 'unlocked' the doors by smashing it to scrap with the Buster Sword. **

**Descending through the complex and heading for the basement where the reactor core was housed, they ignored the civilians fleeing and only stopped to hack apart whatever mechs sought to challenge them.**

"**This place looks like hell. It shouldn't be this badly corroded." Jaune said as their surroundings changed the lower they went. Rust and dust residue coated the walls, giving the impression that they were standing in a building over a century old. A far cry from the pristine environment above them and the reactors in Jaune's memory. **

"**Yeah well that's the SDC and their 'cost saving measures' for you. I don't know how long ago you left them since Blake won't say a thing but things have really gone to hell in recent years. Most of the reactors are rotting from within and working in them is starting to become more hazardous than working in the mines." Hazel muttered as he carefully descended down the rusted steps, unsure if they'd be able to take their combined weight and preferring to not take the short way down into the abyss.**

"**I didn't know. I've… been out of the loop for a bit." Jaune's head started to hurt again as he dug through his memories. Pushing it aside to focus on the mission, he was glad when the pain receded, he was starting to consider if he needed to see a doctor for the first time in forever.**

"**Yeah well that's why the white fang are fighting. If things were bad before they've gotten a hell of a lot worse. The only thing that damned president Schnee cares about is the bottom line and he'll throw us all under the bus if it means a few lien more. I'm half convinced that he's expecting the reactors to fail just so he can collect on the insurance payout."**

"**That does sound like Jacques."**

"**You knew the guy?"**

"**Only in passing. I may have been first class, but I was nowhere near good enough for him to take notice. The strongest of the first classes are complete monsters even I don't stand a chance against, they exist on a completely separate level. You'll die if you face them." Jaune replied in the same bland monotone as always. **

"**They can't be that strong." Hazel said in disbelief.**

"**Look, years ago when I was just promoted from third to second class, there was a mass defection of specialists. One of the aforementioned monsters decided he was number one and didn't like the competition. Took a bunch of second and thirds with him in his rebellion." **

"**I've… never heard of that before actually."**

"**Of course you haven't. The other 'legendary specialists' stepped up and wiped out the rebels to the last man, hundreds of specialists dead on both sides. SDC covered the whole thing up of course. The thing is, they lost almost a third of their specialists effectively overnight and despite that, their military strength was undiminished. That's how strong the best of the best are, and why I recommend you leaving once you're done here. There are easier ways to commit suicide then fighting one of them." Jaune said and again his head started to hurt, biting back a curse he pushed it aside once more.**

"You know, I'm really glad we don't live in that world. I've met plenty of monsters in my time but that right there is some bs. I'm not sure if fire bitch can even stand against specialists of that calibre." Roman commented and much of the audience nodded along despite themselves.

Ozpin's group remained silent but internally mused on the potential of such a group of individuals. With that kind of strength on their side, the fight against Salem would be so much easier. But then there was always the question of loyalty since whoever the legendary specialists were, they clearly weren't as united as they should be.

"Who's fire bitch exactly?" Blake asked and Roman's expression soured as his little slip was caught.

"Someone you don't want to mess with, and that's all I'm going to say."

**Finally reaching the lowest levels of the reactor, Jaune and Hazel stood before the main coolant pump. A long walkway hanging over a pool of waste coolant and the prime location to plant the bomb. "This is it, we blow this the core will go into meltdown and blow this place skyhigh. All the SDC's fancy tech up in flames. Here, you set the bomb, I'll be on overwatch."**

**Hazel tossed the explosive at Jaune who caught it with a grunt. Ensuring that the mercenary was doing his job and not trying to pull a double cross at the last minute, he raised his machine gun and swept the area, grunting when nothing appeared to challenge them.**

"**Suit yourself. I'll just ahrgh!" Jaune's vision flickered and several distorted voices struggled to make themselves known. His memories were rioting and his migraine was blindingly painful.**

"**Hey, what the hell's wrong? Jaune?" Dimly aware of Hazel's voice, Jaune sank to his knees and clutched his head with both hands, his head feeling like it was going to split open any moment. The world shifted out of focus and the rusted metal of the place was replaced by an iced over version. Despite the heat of the core, he was chilled to the bone and he could see a…**

"_**Watch out! This isn't just a reactor! This place… shit! No. Nononononono those stupid fools, they couldn't possibly have! They must have known! You must-"**_

"What's wrong with Jaune? Those headaches cannot be normal. And who's voice is that? It's familiar but I can't place it." Pyrrha asked Blank as she tried to recall why the voice sounded so familiar before coming up short. It was frustrating but the distortion was too much to make it out even though she was sure it was someone she knew.

"I won't spoil anything but there's more to this Jaune than anyone suspects at this time. The only ones who know the full truth behind his sword in that universe are as of present-day KIA."

"That's not very helpful."

"We might return to this universe in the future so I'd rather not spoil it."

Pyrrha accepted the explanation reluctantly but had no way to force the issue, choosing instead to lean back and grumble slightly.

**The voice faded away and Jaune found himself back in the reactor room, whatever malady had affected him gone with the wind. Looking around warily, everything was as it should be. The rusted greenish metal, the dim glowing lights illuminating the place, the… skittering noise?**

"**We have company! Defend yourself!" Jaune roared and staggered to his feet, drawing the Buster Sword and holding it at the ready. Hazel was about to question Jaune's sanity again when a giant scorpion robot fell from the ceiling onto the platform with a loud crash.**

**The metal flooring dented and shook from the impact but still held firm. "Damn, an Atlas type 73 anti-armour scorpion droid, heavily armoured but weak to electrical attacks, hit it with lightning dust!" Jaune shouted as he recalled the details of this war machine from his specialist days.**

"**Got it." Hazel opened on the mech with his machine guns as he lobbed several dust filled grenades at the behemoth. The bullets pinged harmlessly off its armoured chassis but the grenades that landed beneath its body scored a critical hit.**

**Detonating in a flash of lightning and fire, the sudden surge of electricity damaged its core systems and messed with its targeting, preventing their fight from becoming the equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel.**

**Jaune slashed away with his sword, striking at the same spot repeatedly to break through the armour on one of the legs and bring it off balance. "We need to kill this thing fast before it brings the whole place down on us."**

**Ducking away as one of the misaimed machineguns scored a long line of holes into the already weakened floor, he cursed and redoubled his efforts. The idea was to blow the place long after they were in the clear, not be at ground zero.**

"**Your capacity for stating the obvious is astounding specialist." Hazel deadpanned and continued shooting at the mech, occasionally tossing grenades. "You have any other ideas? I'm running out of grenades and this bugger is still standing!"**

**Jaune struck again and felt the armour give beneath his sword. Smiling savagely, he pulled back and gave another mighty swing, cutting through the limb and toppling the beast. His smile faded when the tail came up, a blue glow at the end.**

"**Fuck."**

**Tossing himself over the edge of the rails and grabbing hold only at the last second to avoid falling to his doom, a blue laser passed overhead as the beam projector installed at the end of the tail fired. Several explosions sounded when the lance of light burned straight through several pipes, igniting the volatile dust within.**

"**Correction, it's a type 75, the ones with the Oumdamned laser weaponry." Pulling himself back up over the edge, he resumed attacking, while staying close to the mech. Bullets, even heavy calibre rounds he could shrug off with some difficulty with his aura and armour but that beam weapon would cut straight through him like a hot knife through butter.**

**Hazel swore as he tried to find what cover he could from the barrage, with his size, that was easier said than done. Wincing when the azure light of death passed overhead and set off another round of explosions he fired his machinegun at the tail, trying to disable it. That laser tail was really starting to get on his nerves.**

"**Do something damnit!"**

"YES! THAT'S HOW IT FEELS!" Roman cheered at the sight of someone being on the receiving end of a laser barrage, still sore over the incident at the docks.

Neo nodded along sagely and blew a raspberry when the RWBY and NPR gave them dark looks.

"**Yeah, yeah, hold your horses and gimme a sec." Focusing inward, Jaune drew out the power from the deepest recesses of the soul, pale aura formed a cloak around him and lightning cackled along the Buster Sword.**

**Jaune's eyes snapped open, sapphire light blazing in them as he struck. Leaping straight up into the air to avoid a haphazard swipe of one of the droids legs, he hung in the air for a moment before rocketing straight at the mech. Slicing downwards, his electrified blade cut straight through the armour and cleanly lopped the tail off.**

**Landing on the other side, he pulled the magic away from his blade and focused it into his off hand. Raising it up, he fired off several blinding bolts of lightning into the unprotected underside of the beast, melting and short-circuiting the electronics within.**

**Continuing to fire until the lightning bolts started emerging from the other side, he finally ceased his assault and allowed the smoking wreckage to tilt and fall over the rails, exploding in the coolant lake below.**

"**W-what the hell was that!? And why the hell didn't you do that in the first place!?" Hazel asked in shock, never seeing such an attack before.**

"**Magic." Jaune said as he sagged to the floor in exhaustion.**

"**Congratulations, you've now borne witness to one of the greatest secrets of the SDC. All of the specialists have magic, not dust enhancements or tech but straight up pure magic out of the fairy tales." Jaune said with a wry grin.**

"So that's why the SDC is so strong in this world. They figured out of how mass produce magic users. By the brothers." Ozpin choked out in shock, glad that he wasn't drinking any coffee at that moment or he'd be coughing it up through his nose now.

"That… is… AWESOME! Fearless leader is amazing!" Nora cheered and gave Ren a hug at the sight of Jaune pulling out magic from nowhere.

"Whoa, hey Weiss-cream, any chance you could set us up with that?" Yang asked as RBY stared at their white-haired member.

"I… the SDC doesn't have any access to magic, we deal in dust not fairy tales! I mean, if we had magic soldiers, wouldn't I have it myself?" Weiss said in an unsure tone.

"You can rest easy, the SDC of your universe does not have access to magic. For one, they don't have the source of said magic, the alternate SDC found. It exists in your universe but is completely unreachable." Blank answered the question on their minds.

"**Heh, well the second and thirds don't realise it of course. They think of it as nothing more than secret SDC aura enhancers powered by dust. Only first class specialists are able to wield magic freely, the ability to do so is one of the criteria for promoting to first anyway."**

"**That still doesn't answer the question of why didn't you use it earlier." Hazel continued glaring at Jaune in suspicion. It was nice the blonde was sharing but there were still too many secrets.**

"**In case you haven't noticed, I'm bushed. Magic takes a lot out of me and I only had that one shot, if it failed… well we wouldn't survive long enough to regret it. Not all first classes are created equal, some can barely cast any magic, others can throw around landscape reshaping spells like they're going out of style. I fall in the middle, capable of strong magic but being easily drained."**

"**Wait, so those legendary specialists…"**

"**They're the ones with practically unlimited magic. It's why they're practically invincible, when they say only a legend can kill another legend they aren't joking. Even other first classes like myself will just be blown to hell in their opening salvo, only magic can defeat magic and I'm simply not strong enough." Jaune admitted freely as he staggered to his feet, strength returning slowly.**

"**You're being awfully open with this information. What's the catch?"**

"**There isn't one. Who's going to believe you? And besides, you start spreading one of the SDC's biggest secrets around and you get one guess as to who's going to come knocking on your door. As I said earlier, there are easier ways of suicide." He finished with a dark chuckle before returning to the abandoned bomb and arming it.**

"**Fifteen minutes before this place becomes a crater, let's get out of here."**

"**Yeah, yeah, sure." Hazel grunted and the duo carefully made their way back across the bridge, not seeking to test their luck on the weakened structure. Once across, they began sprinting back the way they came, avoiding whatever robot guards they could.**

**Meeting up with several white fang soldiers holding down chokepoints, they pulled them along in their escape. Mission was complete and it was time to get out of there, no need to hold the fort any longer.**

**Once they'd cleared the reactor and headed to a safe distance, Jaune turned back to watch as a explosions began to rock the building from within, a sign that the bomb had gone off and the reactor was going critical. He gave it a couple of hours before the whole thing turned into a fireworks display, plenty of time for the people to evacuate.**

"**Alright, mission complete boys. This ought to put a damper on Schnee's mood. Scatter and meet back at the safehouse for debriefing." Hazel said to a round of cheers from the white fang. **

"**Hey." Jaune started to speak before being cut off.**

"**If it's about your payment, you'll get it at the safehouse, I need to see to my men's safety first. Relax, I'm not going to stiff you on it, last thing I want is you coming after my head, especially with… you know." Hazel waved his hands in reference to Jaune's magic.**

"**Very well. I'll make my own way there then." Jaune said before slinking off into the shadows, the less he was seen in public the better. He might not be big fish to the SDC but they wouldn't take kindly to one of their rogues simply running around the place like he owned it. He could do without fighting his way through half the SDC militia again.**

"**Gah! What is wrong with me!" Once again a headache assailed him and he staggered around like a drunk, accidentally knocking over a woman carrying a flower basket.**

"**Ah I'm sorry." Once the nausea had passed, he reached down and helped the orange haired woman to her feet.**

"Hey! It's me!" Nora pointed at the screen and giggled, seeing herself on the big screen.

"But where's Renny? I don't see him."

"Maybe we'll find out in a bit?" Pyrrha shrugged and resumed watching, this version of Nora seemed a lot less excitable than her own.

"**No worries, no harm done. What happened by the way? Why's everyone in a rush?" Nora asked once she was back on her feet. Jaune remained silent for several seconds before answering. **

"**There was a terrorist attack on the SDC reactor, the place is going to blow soon. It should be safe here but I recommend leaving for somewhere further away, just to be safe."**

"**I… see…" Nora seemed down at the bad news before brightening up slightly and reaching into her basket to offer Jaune a flower.**

"**A flower? You don't see many of these in Atlas. Not with the sky being dark all the time. Where'd you get them?"**

"**Well it's a secret! I sell them to brighten people's days, would you like one? They're only one lien." Nora said as she held the orchid out to him with a bright smile on her face.**

"…**Sure, why not." Still feeling bad for running her over earlier, he forked over several lien and walked away with a pocketful of flowers. From the way Nora's smile widened, he figured business must have been bad and so added on a hundred extra lien as a tip.**

"Awww, he does care. That's so sweet! So he isn't a bad guy after all!" Ruby proudly exclaimed, drawing a round of giggles from Summer.

"You have a lot of faith in him don't you? Anything I should know?"

"Yeah… anything we should know about that?" Compared to Summer's teasing tone, Taiyang's was far darker and promising a great deal of suffering to Jaune should the wrong answer be given.

"Hmm? He's just the first friend I made at Beacon and fellow team leader, that's all." Ruby answered, completely missing the point and getting Yang to snigger.

"Sure Rubes, keep telling yourself that."

"What? It's true isn't it?"

**Jaune made his way through the panicking crowds on his way to the station. So far he'd been able to make it through unnoticed, his uniform imposing enough that security officials didn't dare challenge him for fear of immediate punishment.**

**That luck ran out once one of the guards he knocked out at the train platform earlier noticed him. "There he is! That's one of the terrorists who attacked me! he's disguised as a specialist!"**

"**Crap, I really don't have time for this." Jaune sighed and began vaulting over obstacles and people even as gunfire sailed overhead, causing the crowd to panic and disperse.**

**He grit his teeth in pain when one of the bullets managed to breach his weakened aura barriers and embed itself in his arm where the Buster Sword didn't cover.**

**Finally finding himself cornered on a raised platform over the tracks, he mentally counted down the seconds as the soldiers closed in.**

Pyrrha leaned forward nervously, worried about Jaune's wound yet wondering how he was going to get out of the situation at the same time. Her worry faded slightly when she noticed the familiar goofy smile on his face that signalled he had a plan ready.

'**So karma does exist. If I hadn't helped out that flower girl earlier, this would be a far stickier situation.' Jaune grinned at the approaching soldiers and caused them to pause in their strides.**

"**T-there's just one of him, what are you guys afraid of? We can take him!" The lead guard shouted and took a hesitant step forward, followed by another, and another. Gaining confidence as Jaune continued to back away until he was one step away from falling onto the tracks.**

"**You're a little too late, sorry but I can't stick around to play anymore. I have a train to catch." Leaning backwards, Jaune allowed himself to fall as the bullets sailed overhead, none of the guards expecting him to commit suicide by oncoming train.**

**Only that didn't happen.**

**Backflipping downwards, he landed feet first on top of the speeding train. Giving the incensed soldiers a wave, he used his good arm to swing himself through the windows and into one of the passenger compartments, away from the reach of their guns.**

**Giving the frightened passengers a bow, he waved off his sudden entrance as specialist business and headed to the rear of the train where he could sit in peace. Staring out the windows, only darkness greeted him as the train entered a tunnel.**

**Leaning back, he closed his eyes and shut out the pain, running through the bombing mission in his mind to identify areas for improvement. As best he could tell, he'd executed the mission perfectly, deviations from the plan were by the orders of his employer, save the constant migraines that nearly crippled him at the worst possible time.**

'**I'm missing something important I think. I'll need to get to the bottom of this before it causes me any more problems. And that voice, who was that?'**

**Jaune sighed and pushed away the distractions. There would be time for introspection later, for now, he had a bullet wound to treat and payment to collect from the white fang. Everything else could come later.**

And with that, the screen went dark and the lights came back on.

"So did you enjoy that?" Blank asked his audience

"Yup!" Nora said popping the 'p'

"Fearless leader was even more fearless than normal, and he was all magic like 'whoosh' and 'zap'!" The bomber chatted excitedly.

"It was… nice I guess? But I wanted to find out more about Jaune though, there are so many mysteries surrounding him." Ruby said and several of the students nodded along.

Only Weiss disagreed with them which was to be expected given that her family were evidently undeniable bad guys in this universe. "I didn't like it. Why are the SDC the bad guys? We're just a dust company that provides dust to most of the world, without us what would hunters be using?"

"Alternate universe Weiss-cream, no need to be so uptight."

"You're just saying that because it's not your family. How would you react if it was Ruby as some kind of supervillain?" Weiss shot back and Yang's mouth snapped shut, unable to give a good comeback.

"That source of magic, what was it?" Ozpin asked, if he could secure it in their universe that might be a good ace up their sleeves.

"I know what you're thinking and no, it won't work. It's not a what, it's a who. Five letters, beginning with 'S' and ending with 'M'. The version of her there is in a perpetual comma, allowing the SDC to study and harness her cells for magic potential. It ends as poorly as you think it's going to by the way." Blank replied and Ozpin's face soured instantly.

"Take a breather people, next viewing will start after the break."

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as Cloud Strife

Hazel Rainart as Barrett

Nora as Aerith

The SDC as Shinra


	5. Chapter 5: Liquid Courage

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 5: Liquid Courage**

**Inspiration: Hangover**

"Welcome back, here's one that's a little more light hearted." Blank said when his guests returned to their seat and the lights dimmed.

"What's this one about?" Ruby asked curiously as she made herself comfortable in her Summer's arms.

"An alternate reality where Jaune Arc cannot hold his liquor at all."

"Great, so we get to watch the dunce make a fool of himself while drunk… joy." Weiss snarked drawing several giggles from the crowd and a frown from Pyrrha.

"Hmmph, you are all huntsmen and huntresses in training and that makes you eligible to drink, but I must insist that you do so in moderation if you absolutely must partake. One Qrow is enough thank you very much." Professor Goodwitch said before giving the perpetual drunk a disapproving sniff.

"Hey! At least I know how to appreciate the finer things in life unlike you and your… ugh… tea." Qrow spat out the word with distaste before staring into his almost empty bottle. Giving a shrug, he chugged whatever was left and gave a loud burb, instantly getting smacked in the back of his head by Taiyang.

"Alright, show's starting, enjoy." Blank said as the screen came to life and the hubbub died down.

**Ten days before the breach.**

**Sun, Neptune, Ren and Jaune sat around a table, a glass bottle of golden liquid and several glasses were placed at the centre of it.**

"**I don't think this is a good idea." Jaune muttered unsurely, staring at the bottle as though it was about to grow fangs and attack him.**

"**Oh come on, live a little man! Old enough to kill Grimm, old enough to drink." Sun laughed and slugged the blonde knight in the arm, getting him to wince and rub it.**

"**I don't know… my parents insisted that I never drink alcohol even when I'm old enough to do so. Maybe I shouldn't…"**

"**Dude, you should relax a bit. A little drink never hurt anybody, it's a guys night out, enjoy yourself yeah?" Neptune chimed in and smiled when he saw Jaune's hesitance start to waver.**

"**My parents were pretty insistent I never drink. Something about property damage or something. What if I'm a violent drunk?"**

"**Jaune, there are three of us here. If you lose yourself, we'll be able to restrain you. Or do you think you can take all three of us while drunk." Ren added his own two cents and Jaune conceded the point. All three of his friends were stronger and more skilled them him, they'd be able to stop him before things got out of hand.**

"**If you're sure."**

"**Oh why are you still hesitating!?" Sun grabbed the bottle and began pouring, sliding the filled glasses over once he was done.**

"**I'm starting to think you might be a chicken faunus in disguise."**

"**That's racist Wukong, and what even is this anyway?" Jaune shot back and stared at the glass of amber liquid dubiously.**

"**It's not racist if it's coming from a faunus." Sun shrugged and poured himself one before returning the bottle to the centre.**

"That's… true? I think?" Blake started to protest about stereotypes but stopped short when she considered the fact that Sun was the one saying it. Her ears twitched as her mind contorted itself into knots, to the amusement to her team.

"**That right there is grade A Vacuon whiskey, designed specifically for aura users. Most alcohol doesn't do much for us since aura burns it off faster than civies. This though? This is gonna stick in your system, the more aura you have, the longer it stays in system and the greater the effects. Guaranteed to knock you on your ass or your money back." Sun proudly praised the drink and gave a thumbs up.**

"But Jaune has more aura than anyone I've ever met! This… will not end well." Pyrrha clasped her hands together in nervousness as she watched her team leader raised the glass.

"**Well boys, we've had a good year so far. Stomped Torchwick twice, had an awesome dance and we're about to take on our first missions. Cheers!" Sun said and raised his glass.**

"**As I recall from the news, Torchwick was the one doing the stomping until reinforcements saved you. But I'll drink to the rest." Ren raised his glass as well, Neptune and Jaune following suit.**

**Glasses clinking in a toast, the four hunters in training drained their glasses in one swig, immediately coughing as the liquid burned all the way down.**

"**Ack, oh Oum it burns." Jaune gagged as his stomach rioted in protest against the alcohol, threatening to give him a repeat performance of his first bullhead trip to Beacon.**

"**Amazing isn't it?" Sun said once he felt the drink settle.**

"**It's far stronger than anything I've ever had in the past." Ren coughed out, pale face already turning pink.**

"**It's… actually pretty good. I… why is the world spinning?" Jaune muttered and tried to stand. That was a terrible idea and he lost his balance instantly, falling back into the chair and his head met the table before everything went black.**

"Out cold in one shot? Kid's a featherweight. Shame, I was expecting more. So what now?" Qrow asked as the screen remained dark but the lights didn't come on.

"Oh, I see where this is going. This is just like that time when you both went out to celebrate STRQ's first official mission completion. That was when you-" Summer snickered and was about to bring up one of her team's infamous drunken escapades when she was shut down by a vehement protest from Taiyang and Qrow.

""**NO!**"" Both hissed out in unison, eyes wide with terror as the recalled the 'incident'.

"We will never bring up _that_ ever again! And you have no proof! We destroyed all of it!" Qrow hugged his flask close to him for emotional support as cold sweat rand down his neck.

"Are you sure about that? I'm very sure Rae still has a few copies left." Summer casually mentioned and laughed when both males of STRQ paled considerably.

"I don't get it mom, what happened to dad and uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked innocently and Summer gave her several head pats.

"I'll tell you all about it later and we can all have a good laugh." She snickered again when Taiyang actually did pass out this time and Qrow began downing bottle after bottle of alcohol in the hopes of blacking out himself.

**Jaune woke up with a splitting headache and cursed, everything hurt and he felt sticky all over. "Ow, my head! My back! Wha-what the hell did I do last night!?"**

**Rising to his feet, he staggered against his desk as his stomach lurched. Blinking blearily to try and regain his bearings, there was an angry buzzing in his ears that was driving him mad. It took his frazzled mind a while to realise that the buzzing was actually the radio playing in the background.**

**Wiping his hands on his shirt to try and get rid of some of the sweat, he blinked slowly when his hands came away stained red. Staring at it for a few seconds more, the realisation finally sunk in and he leapt back in shock, slamming his head against the wall and causing his stomach to flip again.**

"**Blood!? Gah! Am I… no, I… I don't feel any pain. Ugh, no pain that should indicate that much blood anyway." He hastily corrected when all of his body aches plus the new bump on the back of his head made themselves known.**

**Staring down at himself again, he was shocked to find the entire front of his shirt was soaked in half dried blood. Looking at the desk where he was sleeping at earlier, he noted that much of it was covered in blood as well and a trail of it led to the wooden door of the… office?**

"**Okay… what the hell is going on here!? Who's blood is on me and who's office is this. I… gah, there's a hole in my memories. What did I do? Think Jaune think… okay, the last thing I remembered was drinking with Ren? Y-yea I did that didn't I?"**

**Jaune rested a bloody hand against the wall to support himself as he cradled his throbbing head in the other. He froze in place when there was a knock on the door and it swung open before he could say anything.**

"**Morning boss, we heard you were awake." A masked faunus stepped through the doorway and gave a lazy salute. Jaune's blood chilled when he recognised the mask from the news and the stories team RWBY were telling.**

"White fang!? What are they doing there?" Blake shot up in panic when she saw the faunus walk in.

"He called Jaune boss though, what's up with that? I thought Roman was their boss, they all have the same tacky fashion sense." Yang said and attempted to calm her partner down.

"Not by choice I assure you! I'd rather never work with such incompetent fanatics. And there is nothing wrong with my fashion sense!" Roman shouted out in protest, missing Neo's heavy sigh from behind him.

"Ooooh I see, Jaune-Jaune must have beaten the old boss and taken control! I hope he broke a few legs! Hey! That must be why he's covered in blood!" Nora shouted and Ren gave a small shrug, in the absence of any other information, that theory was as good as any.

"What!? There's no way that noodle beat me! And besides, the white fang would never work with him of all people." Roman sniffed disdainfully, not wanting to entertain the idea that some blonde kid had thrashed him badly enough that his blood literally painted a third of the room.

"As much as I hate to agree with the criminal, he does have a point. The white fang aren't animals, we don't decide leadership through trial by combat." Blake said while glaring at Torchwick.

"**I… uh…" Jaune stuttered as he cast his eyes about the room, searching for a weapon. Crocea Mors was nowhere to be found since he left it back in JNPR's dorm room.**

"**Perry, my name's Perry boss. Why does everyone forget it? It's not even that difficult! Everyone else just calls me private or mook or minion." The white fang member hung his head in depression.**

"**Uh, Perry right. Uh do you mind giving me a quick refresher, just a… memory test so maybe I won't forget your name again." Jaune closed his fist around a bloody letter opener, probably the source of the blood on him, before hiding it behind his back. The terrorist wasn't taking any hostile actions just yet so maybe he could bluff his way out.**

"**Of course boss, what do you want to know?" Perry pipped up cheerfully when he heard someone other than himself use his actual name.**

"**Right, so what did I do to become the boss again. Spare no details." Jaune said in his most commanding tone, pushing aside all the aches and pains in his body to give the image of a commander who didn't take kindly to nonsense of any kind. It must have worked since Perry swallowed a nervous gulp before answering. Come to think of it, his blood-soaked visage might have something to do with it as well.**

Pyrrha blushed lightly as she witnessed a side of Jaune she'd never seen before. Seeing him take command like that made her feel warm under the collar. Sure, he could be commanding during team exercises but never anything so visceral. Several seats away, Yang wasn't in much better shape.

"**O-of course boss! It… actually it started with that." Perry pointed to the radio that was still playing. Jaune's eyebrows furrowed in confusion before his mind caught up and recognised the news broadcast for what it was.**

"**Vale's crown jewels remain missing and the police are at a loss on who the mysterious phantom thief 'A' could be. Several unconfirmed sources state that the heist was pulled off by the white fang's new leader. There were reports that the white fang are working with the well known criminal Roman Torchwick but as of now, leadership appeared to have shifted to someone new…"**

**Jaune's migraine returned with a vengeance as the hazy memory floated back to the front.**

**Bloodshot eyes barely focused on the road ahead, Jaune staggered through the darkened streets of Vale, his drinking companions nowhere to be found. Several hairbrained ideas floated through his addled mind, the product of an overactive imagination and the extremely potent alcohol.**

"**Ahhh… hurts to think, but the white fang… they follow that thief… Rom… romance? Whatshisname. Ugh… they were stealing… stole dust and a giant mech right? Damn, he's good, no wonder he's the boss…"**

"Well it's nice to know someone appreciates my talents." Roman proudly puffed out his chest and smirked at the irate Beacon students.

"Shut up Roman, why don't you follow your minion's example and mute yourself." Blake hissed out at the criminal.

"**Errr I think I remember Blake saying they were a cult… no wait that was Sun. Uh… oh yes, misguided faunus that was it. I wonder… oho, brilliant!" Jaune's mad laughter echoed into the night as the beginnings of his masterplan came together.**

"**All I need to do is be a better thief than their boss and the white fang will follow me. Then I can shift them away from being a cult, it's perfect!"**

"That's… ridiculous. Arc's gone insane." Weiss stared dumbfounded as Jaune giggled maniacally, fully convinced in his fool proof plan.

Roman was about to chime in before biting his tongue and frowning. Cinder put him in charge of the fang despite his protests because he was the best in the business, if someone proved to be a better fit than him… wouldn't that make him expendable? Even more so than the fire bitch already considered him?

Quietly passing a written message to Neo, he kept up appearances that everything was perfectly fine in his dark little corner of the world.

The ice-cream themed girl nodded and promptly destroyed the message. Whenever they returned from this place, she'd have to step up the timetable on their exit strategy before Cinder sent them their… _severance package._

**Stumbling over the uneven pavement, Jaune braced himself against the wall and hissed in pain. A flyer stuck to it caught his attention. 'Crown jewels of Vale on display at the national museum. Artefacts from the collection of Vale's warrior king including his sword and crown available to the public for viewing until the end of the month… perfect.'**

**Humming an offkey tune, the inebriated knight made his way to the museum, eventually ending up in an alleyway next to it. "Front door and windows locked, can't go through them or the alarm will trip… through the wall it is."**

**Eyes glowing with azure radiance as Jaune's alcohol affected aura kicked into overdrive, he stabbed Crocea Mors into the brick wall and began sawing his way in. Once he cut a solid square into the wall, he laughed heartily and kicked the slab in with a loud crash.**

"**No alarm… perfect as expected ahahahahahah!" Enjoying his good fortune, he made his way through the darkened interior until he found his quarry, the sword and crown of Vale's last king. Jaune hummed appreciatively as he beheld them, instead of some overly fancy bejewelled piece that the Atlas bigwigs loved, the sword and crown were both plain by comparison to all the other items on display. A simple longsword and bronze crown, simple, timeless, classic, perfect for the new king of thieves.**

**Shattering the reinforced glass case with a blow from Crocea Mors, alarms started blaring instantly. Jaune ignored it all and retrieved the items, hanging the sword on his other side and putting the crown on, he was briefly surprised when the crown unfolded into a full-face helm that obscured his face from prying eyes.**

**The stomping of feet drew his attention as several pissed off faunus in Grimm masks rushed into the room. "Well hello there, nice night isn't it?"**

"**You! Who the hell are you!? And why the fuck are you messing with our dust collection efforts!?" Perry raised his rifle at Jaune's head. Their mission to relieve the museum of their dust exhibits had been going along swimmingly until someone chopped a hole in the wall, squashing their jammer beneath a ton of rubble and then set off the alarms.**

**Jaune's eyes glowed again as his aura flared, the ethereal glow visible through the translucent eye guard and giving off a creepy vibe that had the terrorists shaking slightly. "Me? I am…"**

**Jaune paused mid sentence as his own name slipped through the many cracks of his twisted mind. 'Eh… I'm sure it starts with A or something. Fuck it we'll roll with it."**

"**A. Phantom thief A, has a nice ring to it don't ya think?"**

"**Grrr… you think this is some kind of joke!? Kill him!" One of the white fang grunts shouted before pulling the trigger and sending a hail of lead towards Jaune.**

**The knight didn't bother dodging, still too drunk to process why standing in the middle of a bullet storm is a bad idea. Semblance activating subconsciously to boost his defence, the bullets simply pinged off him harmlessly, several of the ricochets narrowly avoided putting holes in the shooters.**

"**Cease fire! Cease fire damnit!" Perry shouted as a bullet zinged past his hair, inches away from splattering his brains. Not for the first time, he cursed his lack of aura. And whoever this A guy was he must be some kind of super hunter, who else would laugh and shrug off gunfire without flinching?**

"**Oh are we done?" Jaune asked once the gunfire died down, his ears were ringing slightly from all the shooting and several bullets had gotten stuck in his clothes, absentmindedly wiping them off with one hand, he failed to notice the white fang backing away in fear. **

"**So who are you people anyway?"**

"**W-we're the white fang and we ain't a-afraid of you human scum!"**

"**Oh! You're the cult I was looking for!"**

"**We're not a cult! We're freedom fighters!"**

"**That's what they all say. Don't worry, I'll save you all from your misguided ways. You're all faunus right? That means you follow the strongest, so all I gotta do is beat the ever living crap out of you until you bow down." Jaune said happily, completely oblivious to how his words would come across.**

"What the- THAT'S RACIST! We're not animals damn it! We don't decide leadership through trial by combat! You can't just beat someone until they submit to your rule, that's tyranny! And the white fang isn't a cult!" Blake roared in anger and the rest of her team gave her a wide berth while she calmed down

"**You son of a bitch!" A grunt lost it and charged Jaune, arms outstretched to try and strangle the boy to death before his comrades could stop him.**

**Jaune couldn't help himself as a yawn escaped him, his arm muscles spasmed involuntarily and his fist shot out in a punch, slamming into the faunus face hard enough to shatter the mask. The man was out cold before he hit the ground.**

"**Oh that was easy, anyone else want to show initiative? No? Then I'll just have to go to you." The armoured knight stalked towards the terrorists, aura glow increasing in intensity as his semblance continued boosting him.**

"**Damn you! What the hell do you want!? You think you can stop us!? We'll make a better world for faunus kind no matter who stands in our way!"**

"**Sure… and being part of a cult is totally going to help with that." Jaune snarked as he drew the king's sword for a closer inspection.**

"**We're not a cult!"**

"**Uh huh… you wear grim masks, tacky uniforms and have an unhealthy obsession with stealing dust. You also have late night meetings in abandoned warehouses where you stand around in front of a giant robot idol. I'm pretty sure I've heard of faunus sacrifices in shady bookshops as well, death by multiple gunshot wounds. Sure you aren't a cult…"**

"**That's- uh…" Perry trailed off and exchanged glances with the others, why were they stealing dust again? Because their boss… a human… told them to. And the masks were there to… inspire awe? But most other faunus usually ended up running away from them too even when they were helping. Then there was the robot and what was this about sacrifices?**

"**Oh my Oum, we are a cult." Perry dropped his rifle in shock and nervous whispering spread amongst the goons, none of them paying attention to Jaune anymore.**

The theatre exploded into giggles and sniggers at the admission as Blake frowned and crossed her arms angrily. Torchwick wasn't much better off, grumbling while pulling his hat over his eyes.

"Great. From master thief to cult leader extraordinaire, I'm _really_ moving up in the world." Neo gave him several pats on the back in consolation despite finding it hilarious on the inside.

"**Relax, I'm here to change that. But first, you should leave before the police arrive." Jaune pointed at the glass windows, flashing lights already visible beyond them.**

"**But you're the one who set off the alarms!"**

"**Details, details. Don't sweat the small stuff or you'll never make it in life. Run along now, I'll distract the cops, you lot just get out of here, can't let my new crew get arrested before the big heist."**

"**Heist?"**

"**Oh yeah, I still have to beat Torchwick for title of best thief in Vale, he stole a Paladin from Atlas, I'm gonna have to one up that."**

**"What!? He didn't steal that, the white fang got it for him!"**

"**Details, details. Point is, everyone thinks he did it and that's all that matters. PR matters minion, that's why nobody wants to be your friend. You look like a nutjob in your uniform, seriously do your bosses have to sense of taste?" Jaune said as he started pushing Perry in the direction of the door, he had a busy timetable and no time to waste springing his crew from jail if they got caught.**

"**HEY!"**

"Funny as this is, it's pretty rich coming from good ol vomit boy, I mean this is the guy who thought wearing a bunny onesie the night before initiation was a good idea." Yang shrugged and the others silently agreed when they recalled that insult to common decency.

"**Now get a move on Perry, you can't help me fight for faunus equality if you're locked up behind bars. Shoo. Shoo! I'll distract the cops while you run, oh and gimme your scroll so I can contact you all later."**

**Jaune whistled happily as he pocketed the scroll he liberated from Perry, he'd send them their instructions after he finished cementing his legend. If they tried to run… he had confidence he'd be able to track them down and press gang them into service one way or another. But for now, the cops waiting outside.**

**Strolling out the front doors swinging his sword in a lazy arc, he was immediately beset by several shouts for him to surrender as the police levelled their weapons at him.**

"**Put down your weapons! We have the place surrounded, you're not getting away!" Jaune stared blankly at the cop shouting through a megaphone before sniggering.**

"**Oh but I think I am, ah what was the quote… oh yeah! You'll always remember this as the day you almost caught the Phantom Thief 'A'! Haha! Top this Roman." Jaune's aura flared mid swing and a blast of wind shot out from the king's sword, sending the police flying backwards.**

"**Well, that's new. So long suckers! You'll never take me alive!" Cackling madly as the auraless police lay on the ground groaning in pain, a pale white shroud of aura formed around Jaune as he leapt into the air, landing on the roof of a nearby building and making good his escape.**

"Meh, not enough explosions." Nora pouted and folded her arms.

"Nora, there's never enough explosions with you." Ren sighed when he received an exuberant 'yup!' in response.

"Well the kid has style if nothing else." Qrow shrugged and appreciated the theatrics for what they were.

"Is nobody else worried about what he's going to do to one up Torchwick? Ruby, exactly what kind of people have you been hanging around with?" Taiyang gave his daughter a questioning glare and the girl squirmed uncomfortably.

"Eh… he's normally nice?" Ruby offered hesitantly and glared at Yang when her sister snickered at her expense.

**Jaune's mind snapped back to present and he had to fight hard to resist the urge to repeatedly introduce his head to the desk. 'I am so boned.'**

"**Ahem. Right. So what happened next?" Not allowing the panic and despair to show on his face, he continued to pry and fortunately Perry didn't catch onto his current state of mind.**

"**Right boss. Next was the big heist, I… don't know where you got that talking crow from but the two of you pulled off the hijack of the century then picked me and the boys up afterwards."**

Qrow coughed and sputtered as he spat out the martini he was drinking. "Say what now!?"

'**Talking crow… hijack? Oh. Ooooooh…' Another memory shot to the surface and Jaune found himself lost in it.**

**Three days after the museum break in, the knight was still drunk off his ass, slightly more functional then the three day blank period. All he remembered was several barfights, stealing and eating a whole chicken from a barbeque and recruiting several more white fang members when he drunkenly busted into one of their safehouses and beat everyone senseless.**

**The alcohol madness had subsided somewhat so he could function semi-normally now and plan for the big score. Jaune sat on the roof of one of the warehouses overlooking the harbour, grumbling away.**

**His fool proof plan had disintegrated over the course of the blackout period and he was drawing blanks now. It was still there somewhere but currently lost beneath the waves.**

"**There you are. You're a hard man to track down Mr Phantom Thief." A surly voice called out to Jaune from behind him. Turning back to look, he found himself staring at a fellow dishevelled drunk.**

"**Hello! Wonderful weather we're having today."**

**Qrow stared at the teen and sighed again, the boy was swaying in the wind, as though one good breeze would knock him over. Stupid bullshit jobs, damn drunken idiots, he was on leave damnit, why the hell was he looking for one of Ozpin's lost sheep?**

**Oh yeah, because his nieces asked him to, and Glynda had noted a similarity between her student and the newest diabolical criminal mastermind to plague the streets. He blamed his semblance. It was only one in the morning, too damn early for this shit. He needed a god damned drink.**

"Huh… wasn't expecting to appear like that. Man, it must suck for the other me, get a day off and have to spend it hunting down someone. It's not like I don't do enough hunting on a day to day basis already." Qrow shrugged and relaxed into his chair. It was nice to see someone else being the universe's chew toy for once… even if it was technically another version of himself.

"**Name's Qrow, I… well you could say I work with Ozpin. Come along kiddo, you got a lotta explaining to do."**

"**Crow? Not a parrot?" Jaune frowned under his helmet as the gears in his mind began churning again.**

"…**My name is Qrow, Qrow Branwen. Parrots have nothing to do with me and I swear if Yang had something to do with this…" Qrow trailed off and frowned, he wouldn't put it past his niece to have made some kind of pun at his expense.**

"Well you do repeat yourself a lot. I mean you've already said your name three times in two sentences." Yang grinned and stuck out a tongue at her uncle.

"Mmhmm, and you do have a colourful… personality and vocabulary to go along with it." Taiyang joined in the teasing with the same shit eating grin as his daughter, causing his brother in law to slam his head against the headrest and slump.

"Oum… why are there two of you… why can't you two be more like Ruby?"

"Aw don't worry uncle Qrow, you'll get used to it eventually. You're going to be around us for a Xiao Long time after all." Ruby said cheekily and several gasps could be heard.

Qrow buried his head in his hands and began sobbing about how his favourite niece had been corrupted as well. Taiyang grinned proudly and Yang scooped her sister up in a big hug and squeed.

"I knew there was a pun master in you somewhere! Gimme a hug!"

"Ack! Get off me Yang! Need. To. Breathe!" Ruby struggled in Yang's iron grip while their parents looked on proudly.

"Weiss… it's spreading." Blake stared at the sisters in horror, her look mirrored by the heiress.

"You know, my father's offer to attend Atlas Academy instead of Beacon is still open, I'm sure I can talk him into securing another slot."

"I might just take you up on that."

"**Oh I remember what I was gonna do now, thanks Mr birdie." Jaune leapt to his feet and secured his swords to his side again.**

"**Do? You're not causing anymore havoc, you're going in the drunk tank until you're sober again."**

"**Nope!" Jaune said with a pop.**

"**You're not a parrot but I could always use a bird on my crew. Whadaya say?"**

"…**Do you even understand how much trouble you're in Arc? You broke into the museum, stole priceless artefacts and put several police squads in the hospital. Not to mention all the property damage you've caused in the last three days." Qrow sighed and his hands slowly inched towards Harbinger, he'd rather not fight the boy but the kid clearly wasn't coming in without a fight.**

"**I had a good reason I swear!"**

"**Oh yeah?"**

"**Yup! It's all about the white fang and their PR problem."**

"**The white fang is a terrorist organisation who's stated goal is the extinction of humans." Qrow deadpanned.**

"**Exactly! Whoever's their PR manager should be fired, I mean they went from peaceful protest movement to doomsday cult in what, a year? They're like, the greatest public relations disaster in the history of forever. It's why no one takes their goals seriously. How are you supposed to believe in an organisation that can radically change their goals so quickly?"**

"Huh… he does have a point actually." Blake furrowed her brows as she processed Jaune's words. Briefly wondering exactly how much of the white fang's woes were self-inflicted.

"**Which is completely none of your business. Let the authorities handle them. They're there for a reason you know."**

"**Oooh yeah, because they've been so effective recently. They're so good at their jobs that team RWBY is the one kicking ass and taking names… Hey. Wait a minute." Jaune trailed off sarcastically and tutted.**

"**Oh believe me, I will be having this conversation with my nieces soon. First year students should not be messing with international terrorist groups… no matter how incompetent the system may seem." Qrow's lips curled into a snarl at the thought of Ruby and Yang getting injured or worse.**

Team RWBY sunk into their seats as the adults glared at them, not expecting their 'adventures' to be brought up like that.

"It was for a good cause." Ruby whined as the glares intensified.

"Miss Rose, your dedication to helping others is admirable, but I must insist you leave criminals and terrorists to the police or fully trained hunters." Goodwitch adjusted her glasses and Ruby continued to wilt under the glare

"**Well somebody has to do it. Or a lot of people are going to get hurt." Jaune shrugged and replied honestly. He always wanted to be a hero, and heroes don't run away and leave problems to others, not when someone else might not be able to resolve the issue the way they can.**

"**Yeah, yeah, well the white fang have already been… wait are going to…? Are they planning another attack!? Kid, if you know something spill it now!" Qrow's glare sharpened and his fingers twitched towards his weapon again.**

"**Oh yeah, it's going down in a few days and I have the perfect plan to deal with it and fix the white fang PR problem at the same time… well the Vale branch anyway, can't do anything about the cultists overseas."**

"**I don't think so. Tell me what you know and maybe we can sweep your drunken rampage under the rug yes?"**

"**Nope. I'm the only one who can fix the issue, if you try they'll all just run and hide again."**

"**And what makes you so special?"**

"**Eh, I'm the new boss of the white fang in Vale."**

"**You're what!?" Qrow shouted incredulously.**

"**Yeah, convinced a few of them to see the error of their ways at the museum, got them to leave the cult and join my crew. They been spreading the message, mostly that Perry guy, promised them that I'd help reform the fang into something better and give faunus a better image." Jaune nonchalantly said as he checked his scroll, several more messages from Perry and some of the other fang grunts indicated several more cells pledging to his cause.**

**He was pleased if a little worried about some of the responses. Pledging their loyalty just because he was a boss that didn't call them animals or threaten to kill them painfully for failure was a bit much. Exactly what kind of bosses did they use to have?**

"**But there's a problem. We're having a bit of a leadership crisis right now, the fang in Vale are mine and they're no problem. The one's outside the city answer to Torchwick and they're the one preparing for the attack."**

"**And where is he? I will take care of him personally." Qrow said with a sinister grin, relishing the potential opportunity to execute the man responsible for causing his nieces so much grief.**

"Oooh ice cold, do you go round killing people off so casually?" Roman snarked from behind the safety of the barrier.

"Actually, yes. I am a hunter, sometimes I hunt Grimm, other times I hunt humans. You'll just be another face I'll forget once I get the next mark." Qrow replied casually.

"Uncle Qrow! You can't just kill people like that!" Ruby shouted at her uncle's blatant disregard for life.

"You're still young Rubes, a hunter's duty is to protect humanity, sometimes from itself. Sooner or later you'll have to bloody your hands as well, it's the only way you'll stay in this business."

"QROW! THAT'S ENOUGH!" Taiyang glared at his brother in law and his jaw set in a firm line.

"You can't protect them forever Tai, sooner or later they'll learn exactly what it means to be a hunter in this world. Make no mistake Roman, if I meet you once we get out of this theatre, I'll kill you myself and nothing will protect you from me. Count on it."

"Better men than you have tried, all have failed."

The students were left to stew in silence, alone with their thoughts. None of them had ever taken a life and none of them ever did, the idea that they would have to do so eventually didn't sit right with them at all. Ozpin could only sigh, he'd hoped to preserve whatever innocence they may have had left before the world took it from them, children should have a right to be children.

"**No clue, the plan is for him to appear on the day of the attack itself. He's hiding in a safehouse somewhere in the city and none of my fang know where it is. Only way to get to him is to wait for him to show up on his own and blast him then. If you stop the attack early, he'll escape and try again and sooner or later he'll succeed."**

"…**Alright, I see your point. So say I buy into this, what's your plan to deal with the attack?" Qrow conceded the point and shifted his hands away from Harbinger, assuming the boy wasn't operating on some alcohol induced hallucinations, this was too big to let slide. Ozpin wasn't expecting him back with his wayward student just yet, he supposed he could tag along for the time being until the situation resolved itself one way or another.**

"**The fang obey Roman because their old boss told them to, and he's a good thief. Nothing I can do about the old boss but I can upstage Torchwick and give them a reason to doubt his ability. Thing is, he stole a Paladin and I need to steal something bigger than that to get eyes on me. The museum was a start but it's not enough."**

"**How much bigger are we talking?"**

"**I'm going to steal a ship. General Ironwood's flagship to be precise." Jaune said in a completely serious tone, causing Qrow to blink several times in disbelief before he realised Jaune wasn't joking.**

"**You're insane. Screw this, I'm bringing you to Ozpin now. Do you have any idea what you're planning to do? Atlas isn't Vale, Ozpin won't be able to protect you and if you steal the tinman's personal ship… that's grounds for war. It isn't just illegal, it's treason!"**

"**Nope! See this?" Jaune drew the king's sword and displayed it for Qrow to see.**

"**I remember doing a project on this for Dr Oobleck. During the great war, Atlas was still Mantle and the army only defected halfway through the war when the warrior king convinced the army high command that Mantle was on the road to ruin and pledged his support in the rebuilding efforts. His upholding of that promise was the birth of the close relationship between Vale and Atlas that still exists today."**

"**Okay… and?"**

"**And, one of the post war agreements was that Vale would be able to requisition whatever they needed from the army in times of crisis as long as they presented the king's sword even after the monarchy was dissolved. Even if it's been nothing more than a museum piece for the last eighty years or so and I'm not royalty, that law still stands. Ironwood has to give up the ship or he's the one committing treason." Jaune stated and Qrow's jaw dropped.**

"Oi Oz, is that-"

"Yes Qrow, there is such a law, and while this is most definitely not how anyone ever expected it to be used, Mr Arc… does have a point." Ozpin reluctantly admitted.

"Well I'll be damned. Say, you don't think I could borrow that sword do you? Man, I can't wait to see ol jimmy's face once he learns about this."

"I really don't think James will appreciate your brand of humour Qrow."

"**You have balls of steel, I'll give you that. Alright, I'll get a call through to Atlas and give the good general a heads up. He can get the ship into-"**

"**No. It's all about the image, I have to be seen as the one who hijacked the ship just like how the public blames Torchwick for stealing the Paladin when it was the white fang who did it. If Ironwood hands the ship over, I'll lose credibility with the fang and be seen as a collaborator. Because the fang really **_**really**_** do not like Atlas. The sword can be presented afterwards and it'll be fait accompli."**

"**You've given this a lot of thought but I don't know…" Qrow said unsurely, on one hand things looked like they'd be fine but on the other… so many points of failure.**

"**Eh I don't really need you though, I've already got my in. it's just every captain needs a parrot you know, you're a crow for some reason but I'll settle for it. If you'd rather not, I'll just have to find another bird somewhere else."**

"**What captain?" Jaune rolled his eyes at the question, not really sure how Qrow could miss the obvious like that.**

"**A pirate captain of course, what else. I'm gonna be a sky pirate, already have a crew and first mate ready, I'm just missing the bird."**

"**SOLD! I'M IN CAPTAIN, WHEN DO WE PLUNDER IRONWOOD'S FLEET?" Qrow did a one eighty and instantly agreed to Jaune's plan once the words sky pirate left his mouth.**

"Uncle Qrow, what the hell?" Yang stared at her uncle in a mix of shock and disbelief. The drunk crow had the decency to blush at the sudden attention.

"What? My childhood dream was to become a sky pirate okay? Sue me." Qrow then started grumbling under his breath about lucky alternate universe counterparts who got to live the dream.

**Qrow looked on in amazement from his perch up in a tree, below him several dozen white fang members milled around in camouflage gear, blending into the snowy surroundings. Somehow the kid had pulled it off even with the alcohol still clouding his mind, in two days he'd shipped a good chunk of his fang across the border into Atlas and secured operator manuals for one of Atlas's prized battleships.**

"**Still can't believe you pulled this off."**

"**Too early to celebrate, we don't have the ship yet. And it wasn't that hard really, you'd be surprised by just how many people detest the system. The white fang proper may have limited influence in Atlas, but there are plenty of disillusioned people willing to throw us a bone if it means sticking it to the man."**

**Qrow nodded and held his breath, waiting for Ironwood's ship to pass overhead. A little bit of misdirection and a good bar brawl had caused enough of a delay for Ironwood that the general missed his flight, the plan was for him to catch up on a separate flight at the border… only his ship would be long gone by the time he arrived.**

"**If nothing else, this'll teach Jimmy to not rely on those tin soldiers anymore." Qrow scratched at the uncomfortable specialist uniform he was dressed in, the white fang had managed to procure two sets for the only humans on this operation and the proper authorisation codes as well. With Ironwood's ship being a glorified taxi for the general, Qrow and Jaune would outrank everyone else aboard as soon as they boarded, from there it'd be a piece of cake to order the knights to arrest everyone else on suspicion of being a traitor. Of course, they'd have to disable communications first before their ruse could be discovered by a quick check via CCT, and that was where the white fang jammers came in, it'd worked on the paladin shipment, it'd work here.**

"You know, it's a little disturbing how he managed to put all this together in so little time." Blake quietly stated what was on everyone's mind, internally grateful their Jaune was never part of the fang.

"He's always been good at tactics and planning." Pyrrha offered as she recalled every one of Jaune's unorthodox plans that worked out for them.

"Fearless leader is fearless leader, just a lot more fearless than normal now." Nora quipped as several diabolical plans floated through her imagination.

"Nora no, we will not be getting Jaune drunk so he can help you steal pancakes." Ren sighed and poked her in the forehead, stopping her plans in their tracks.

"Awww…"

**The roar of the engines silenced the would be pirates as they held their breaths, waiting for the trap to spring. As soon as the flying fortress passed overhead, Jaune and Qrow fired their grappling pistols into the side of the ship while the white fang activated the jammers.**

**The winches activated and hauled the fake specialists into the air towards the belly of the beast. Keying several codes into his scroll, Jaune remotely unlocked one of the cabin windows and entered it. As soon as they were clear, the white fang started shooting.**

**Alarms sounded and the sound of panicked crew members rushing to their stations could be heard from where Jaune and Qrow were hiding.**

"**Alright Arc, we're in. Leave the talking to me while you deal with the controlling the knights, they'll never buy the lie that you're a specialist with you being so drunk." Qrow said and privately marvelled at how Jaune was still functional and semi sane, whatever drink was doing this to him was something else and he needed to get a shot of it before all was said and done.**

"**Me drunk? What about you? I can smell the alcohol on you Qrow. When was the last time you were sober?"**

"You really should be drinking less, it's not healthy you know." Summer gave her old teammate a disapproving glance and the old crow just shrugged in response.

"**I can pull off the old veteran look, you… not so much."**

"**Tch."**

**The hijackers lapsed into silence as they carried out their tasks, the uniforms proving a god send as barely anyone thought to question them. Gaining access to the bridge was a simple task and the guards were relieved to see two specialists appear in the middle of their crisis. A quick excuse that they were Ironwood's temporary replacements due to the debacle back in the city satisfied any curiosity they might have had.**

**Jaune hummed a tune as he fiddled with his scroll, grinning when the legion of Atlessian knights aboard accepted his pass codes and the system handed operational command over to him. Next came the onboard surveillance systems, allowing him to track everyone on the ship.**

**As the screen displayed a live feed from the cameras, his face fell. "Qrow, we have a problem."**

"…**What kind of problem?"**

**The doors hissed and opened up, allowing a third specialist to enter. One with white hair and piercing blue eyes.**

"**Alright, I need… Qrow! What are you doing here!?"**

"**Damnit, I hate my semblance."**

"Sister?" Shock coloured Weiss's face as her sister stepped into view. Several seats away, Qrow slammed his head against the seat in front of him and let out a long suffering sigh.

"Great, ice queen is here."

"**So much for plan A, hit the deck kid!" Qrow shouted and drew harbinger, firing at Winter once Jaune ducked out of the way.**

**Panicked shouting erupted as the bridge crew scrambled for cover when two of Atlas's finest started throwing down in the middle of the room. Jaune sought shelter behind a console as several rounds soared overhead, fingers already keying in commands to have plan B activated.**

**Several sleeping gas canisters installed in the ventilation system released their payload and the knockout gas began circulating the enclosed ship. Jaune hastily put on a gas mask to avoid the effects and waited for Qrow to finish things on his end.**

"**What do you think you're doing you old drunk!? This is too much for even you!" Winter snarled as she parried and countered with her sabres.**

"**What can I say? It's a pirate's life for me." Qrow grinned and threw himself to the side, avoiding one of the Schnee's glyphs from freezing him in a block of ice. A flurry of fur and fang obscured his vision when Winter's summoned beowolf rushed him.**

**A quick stab through the chest finished it off and he froze in place when a time dilation glyph appeared under him, slowing him down considerably. Two swords rested at his neck as Winter forced his head to tilt towards her.**

"**You're under arrest for impersonating an Atlas Specialist, I suggest you surrender now."**

"**Nah, I have better things to do ice queen, say are you feeling sleepy yet?" Qrow grinned when Winter's grip slackened slightly, the blades wobbling as the gas began to take effect. The specialist stepped back and clutched her head as her vision began to waver, all around her the bridge crew were collapsing one by one.**

"**W-what did you do?"**

"**Plan B of course, good night ice queen." Qrow chuckled and slammed harbinger down on the afflicted Schnee, breaking her aura and knocking her out before she could think to blow out the windows.**

"HEY!" Weiss snarled and glared at Qrow who was barely holding in his laughter.

"Relax ice queen junior, your sister is still alive but damn if I'm not enjoying this."

"**And that's a wrap." Qrow managed a slur as he felt the gas affect him too. Scratching the back of his head, his personal magic activated and switched into his crow form.**

"**Good thing the gas doesn't work on birds."**

"**You can turn into a bird? I don't suppose you can turn into a parrot can you?" Jaune asked as he stood up to survey the wrecked bridge.**

"**No such luck captain, it's a talking crow, take it or leave it."**

"**Meh, beggars can't be choosers."**

"Chirp, chirp." Qrow sang as the students affixed him were a questioning gaze, the most intense of which came from Ruby.

"Uncle Qrow! You can turn into a bird!? Why didn't you tell us!?" She whined and her uncle leaned over to ruffle her hair.

"A man's gotta keep some secrets you know, mysterious is my middle name." Taiyang grinned at Qrow's little boast before throwing his own little jab.

"Really now? As I recall, your real middle name is Hu-"

"Not another word Tai!" Qrow vanished from his seat and reappeared with his hand firmly clamped around Taiyang's mouth.

"If you shut up about this, I'll… I'll stick around for one of your oumdamned pun recitals." Qrow spat out bitterly as if the words physically hurt him.

"Deal."

**Jaune shrugged and sent a message to the white fang to stop shooting, with nearly all of the ships crew out cold and the mechs under his control, there wasn't a reason to continue wasting ammunition on a diversion.**

"**Alright, it's done, the AKs are moving everyone to the hold, we can dump them at the border and shoot out a flare to signal the border patrol for pickup." Jaune said as several silver robots entered and began carting the limp bodies out.**

"**I don't suppose we can make em walk the plank?" Qrow asked and received a deadpan stare in response.**

"**I really don't think they'll be walking anywhere any time soon. I was planning that if plan A succeeded but that didn't work out."**

"**Damn ice queen always ruining my fun." Qrow bitched and managed to send the Schnee an irritated glare before huffing.**

"**So we have the ship, what's next on the masterplan?"**

"**Pick up the crew and return to Vale, the attack will be going down soon. Communication with Roman's group is a mess but there's something about underground tunnels from Mount Glenn and a really big bomb."**

"…**You cannot be serious. That will kill thousands!"**

"**Huh?"**

"**Shit, Mount Glenn is overrun with Grimm and the tunnels to Vale were sealed long ago. If they blow it open, Grimm will flood the city, thousands will die. The attack must be stopped."**

"**That's what we're here for, have a little faith."**

"You know, I never actually realised how close to being a complete disaster the breach was, why can't we beat the crap out of Roman again? If he's evil enough to do that why do we have to be civil to such a monster?" Yang asked and glared at the criminal with blazing red eyes.

"Gimme a break, you think I wanted to do it? I'm a thief, I need people alive to steal from and sell my goods to, if everyone's dead where the hell does that leave me blondie?" Roman shot back and folded his arms in anger.

"Could have fooled me, you seemed pretty damned eager to set it off."

"You say that like I have a choice in the matter."

"Then enlighten us if you would… although I think I can already guess, the one forcing you wouldn't happen to be called Cinder would it?" Ozpin said as he sipped from his mug.

"So you already know, she's gonna kill me for this." A look of despair crossed Roman's face as he stared blankly at his feet. Several pats from Neo gave him the reprieve needed to steel himself.

"Fuck it, if I'm going down might as well put it on the table yeah. Crazy bitch showed up outta nowhere one day with strange ass powers. I've been in business a long time and I've seen semblances and I've seen dust, what she did was none of the sort. Found her sitting in one of my safehouses, made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

Yang burst out laughing at that point before continuing to glare at Torchwick. "Wow you're pathetic aren't you, afraid of an exchange student from Haven? What a wuss."

Roman eyed her balefully and shook his head. "Hopelessly naïve, not sure why I bother, if you fight her you die simple as that. I've hidden from both Vale and Atlas for years, she found me in a day. I wasn't first choice you know that, she brought along the last idiot to turn her down, burned him to ashes from the inside out slowly. I can still hear the screams when I close my eyes. Survival is the only thing that matters, if that means being her slave so be it."

"Then why didn't you run away or go to the police?" Ruby asked innocently, drawling a bark of laughter from the master thief.

"Sure, turn myself in, because that'll work out so well for everyone. Not even the best minds of Atlas and Vale were able to track me down and she just waltzed into the most secure safehouse I own, where am I supposed to run where she can't find me? She isn't human, there's something very wrong with that bitch and I want nothing to do with it, but she just won't leave me alone. Fuck, even being arrested by Atlas is part of her plan, my life's been shit ever since she appeared." Roman swore and slammed his fist down on the armrest, denting it.

He wasn't even being paid for his work damnit, months spent stealing nothing but dust and paying for hired help out of his own pocket had depleted his reserves. Do this, do that, don't question or I'll give another demonstration… Cinder was the bane of his existence, and loathe as he was to admit it, there really was nothing he could do. Ironically, being imprisoned by Ironwood was the safest action he'd taken in months… although if Blank were to be believed, that would end in his death all the same.

"**That's right, I stole the ship from right under Atlas's nose." Jaune said and hummed thoughtfully, internally fighting a losing battle to keep the panic down. Looking around the office again, he now recognised it as Ironwood's personal office aboard the ship, the office that he commandeered as his own planning room.**

"**Where is Qrow?"**

"**The crow? He's making Emerald and Mercury walk the plank right now. Um, I suppose I should inform you that he made an unscheduled deviation from the flight path, we're currently hovering over an active volcano that he plans to drop the stowaways in." Perry answered sweating lightly, hoping Jaune didn't decide to shoot the messenger.**

"**Walk the… I should stop-" Jaune cut himself off as two distinct screams could be heard and two bodies fell past the office window. Qrow's cheering wafted into the room shortly after.**

"**YEAH! FILTHY LANDLUBBERS WALKED THE PLANK ARR! I'M A PROPER SKY PIRATE NOW! SUCK IT RAVEN! SUCK IT! YO HO HO AND A BOTTLE OF… RUM!"**

"**And uh, he's also raided the ship's rum supply."**

"You dropped Cinder's lackies into a volcano? Huh, maybe you ain't so bad after all. Those two have given me plenty of problems of their own." Roman said with a modicum of respect.

"Your approval fills me with shame." Qrow grunted and tactfully ignored the looks on his family's faces with a frown on his face.

Even if he was secretly ecstatic that some version of him was out there living the dream shared by both Branwen twins. That Raven couldn't share in the joy was a major plus in his books. That'll teach her to go back to the tribe, HA! Who's not a sky pirate now?

**Jaune was secretly glad that his already pale face couldn't pale any further. He stole the crown jewels, hijacked a state-of-the-art battleship and was now involved in the cold blooded murder of two unknown individuals. Then there was the bloodstains all over his chest, where the hell had that come from?**

**His head ached again as more recent memories surfaced.**

**The breach was in full swing and their arrival was almost too late to make a difference. White fang communiques indicated that the attack was forced to start early when team RWBY crashed their operation in Mount Glenn, forcing the operation to go ahead or risk being canned entirely.**

**Grimm were pouring out of the hole by the bucket load but were being held off by several Beacon teams and the white fang loyal to him. Torchwick had shown up in another stolen Paladin but strong as the mech was, it paled in comparison to his new toy.**

**Reinforced mech armour proved ineffective against battleship grade cannons, his opening salvo destroying much of the mech and the surrounding Grimm. The thief surrendered shortly after, waving his hands in surrender so as to not get hit by another volley.**

**Jaune took the opportunity to step out of the ship and onto the main deck to look down on his defeated opponent. Aura cloak courtesy of his semblance flared in the wind, eyes glowing through the helm and the king's sword raised in the air, he set an imposing sight captured by more than a few cameras.**

Pyrrha shifted uncomfortably in her seat and adjusted her collar, a blush already spreading across her cheeks. Jaune's new look was very, very welcoming in her opinion.

"Ooh yeah, mama like." Yang was slightly more vocal about her appreciation and a tiny bit of drool leaked out. Summer giggled at her daughter's reaction while Taiyang glared, anything he was going to say though was cut off by a hand on his shoulder.

"Ease up Tai, kid ain't that bad. I'll have to fill you in on another universe we watched earlier, Yang's in good hands. So relax, and enjoy the show." Qrow said and offered the overprotective dad a drink. Taiyang grunted and accepted it without any further protest, he'd get his answers eventually.

"Cool, Jaune-Jaune's like a superhero now." Nora added her own thoughts and began plotting again.

Ren sighed and knew Jaune's fashion choices were about to be ruthlessly slaughtered by both Pyrrha and Nora as soon as they returned.

"**Having trouble down there Torchwick?" Jaune smirked behind the visor as he stared at the chaos unfolding below. Nothing like raining overkill on Grimm to brighten up the morning.**

"**Who the hell are you!?"**

"**The new best thief in all of Remnant of course, Phantom Thief A at your service. I'm also the new boss of the white fang here by the by, you're obsolete Torchwick." Jaune bit back laughter as several white fang members 'gently' hauled the defeated thief away.**

**His grin widened when professor Goodwitch arrived to seal the breach. Everything was proceeding swimmingly, with all of Vale bearing witness to members of the white fang fighting to protect both humans and faunus in the city from the Grimm under his command, their image had gotten their much needed boost. Whatever evidence the Huntsmen found to incriminate the fang could be laid at the feet of Torchwick and with the media inevitably focusing their attention on him, Jaune's truth would be the only truth that mattered.**

**History is written by the victors after all.**

"Credit where credit is due, the kid has style." Roman admitted, a little sore over seeing himself blown up by a battleship but he'd grant the kid his win. Maybe, he'd be able to recruit the boy in the future, now wouldn't that be a kicker?

**The next couple of hours passed in a flurry as he was bombarded by hundreds of questions from everywhere about the breach and his sudden appearance.**

**Answering every last one of them to the best of his ability, he thought he did a pretty good job painting the reformed white fang in a good light. Spinning a tall tale about how he was nothing more than a concerned citizen who happened to be in the right place at the right time to make a difference and how Torchwick was the one who enslaved desperate faunus to be his muscle in a dastardly plot to overthrow Vale.**

**That more than a few of his men had stories to tell about Roman's less than civil way of treating his employees did wonders to boost his credibility. It was easy enough to tell by the end of the impromptu press conference that he had the sympathy of plenty of the reporters, hopefully that would go a long way towards sealing the public opinion.**

**For the average white fang member on the ground though, it was a more surreal experience. Being thanked by humans for saving their lives and homes wasn't something that had ever happened before. Hate, derision, apathy, they were used to all of that, gratitude though? That was something else.**

**In one move, their new leader had done more to advance their cause towards equality than all of their attacks put together. And whether Jaune knew it or not, his image as a larger than life messiah had been cemented among the fang.**

**Jaune himself was bushed as the last of the alcohol started to flush from his system and the exertions began to catch up with him. Making his excuses to leave, he retreated to his office while Qrow fended off several persistent reporters and stopped Goodwitch from carting him off with her semblance.**

**Sinking into his chair, Jaune rested his head against the table and let out a yawn. It wasn't as comfortable as he would have liked but it would do, there was still work to be done in the morning after all.**

**But before sleep could claim him, several loud bangs on the door dragged him back to wakefulness. Frowning as anger surged through his system, he grabbed the letter opener and wrenched the door open.**

**Cinder, Emerald and Mercury were waiting for him outside, several white fang guards were unconscious on the floor beyond, disabled by a combination of Emerald's semblance and well-placed kicks to the head from Mercury.**

"**You ruined months of work. Normally I would kill you for this, but as it stands, I have a new vacancy in my organisa-" Cinder never got to finish when Jaune's semblance activated, aura enhanced strength and speed sending the letter opener straight through her defences and into her stomach.**

**Burying the blade up to the hilt, Jaune ripped the blade free before stabbing again and again and again. Cinder barely had time to scream before her stomach and chest were stabbed to bloody ribbons and she fell to the ground, bleeding out rapidly.**

**Bloodshot eyes glared at her lackeys and they backed away from the deranged teen in fear.**

"**I've spent the last couple of days trying to save the damn city and fix the white fang. I, am tired. And I, want to sleep now. So help me god… I WILL SHANK THE NEXT IDIOT TO DISTURB MY REST!" Jaune roared and both fists shot out in a double punch to Emerald and Mercury's faces, sending them flying.**

**They came to a stop at Qrow's feet and recognition flared in his eyes. "So you're the ones who attacked Amber. Heheheh… we're gonna have a nice little chat. Captain, you don't mind if I ask them a few questions do you?"**

"**Knock yourself out, I'm going to take a nap. Too tired for all this bullshit now." Jaune yawned and slammed the door shut, not even bothering to remove his blood drenched specialist uniform before resting his head on the table and allowing slumber to take him.**

"So I finally have a name." Qrow rubbed his hands together and began plotting several painful executions to avenge his earlier failure to protect the fall maiden.

"Huh, that's almost like trying to wake Yang up early. Only less punching and more stabbing." Blake commented as she recalled the first time she tried waking her partner for class. They needed a replacement window that day.

"I need my beauty sleep damnit!" Yang growled as her team and parents shared a laugh at her expense.

"**Alright… what's on the schedule?" Jaune asked Perry once he felt calm enough to speak again. His memories were mostly back now save a few sketchy point. He could fix this, he just… needed to falsify a new identity and run off to hide in vacuo.**

"**Um, according to Qrow, there is a meeting with Beacon's headmaster and general Ironwood in a few hours. Mostly about the operation and the fate of this ship. Oh yeah, there's a message from Sienna Khan as well about your leadership, she too requests a meeting about the white fang's future."**

"**I see. No rest for the weary huh." Jaune sighed bitterly and resolved himself to deal with the fallout, come what may.**

"**I'm… sorry?"**

"**No, no forget it. My choices, my responsibility. I don't suppose you can get me a change of clothes? This isn't exactly proper attire to meet with anyone, let along headmaster Ozpin and general Ironwood." Jaune gestured at his bloodstained clothes and shrugged in a what can you do fashion.**

"**Of course captain, there should be spare uniforms lying around, I'll go retrieve them now." Perry saluted and left the office, leaving Jaune alone with his thoughts.**

"**Well this is a mess. Ugh, I knew drinking was a bad idea. Pyrrha's gonna kill me for this." Jaune retrieved his scroll and hesitated for several seconds before steeling himself and giving Pyrrha's scroll a ring.**

**His partner's worried face filled the screen in short order. "Jaune!? Where are you? You've been missing for more than a week! A-and then you appeared on the ship! What's going on Jaune?"**

"**Haaah… it's a long story Pyr. It all started when Ren and I left for our guys night out…"**

The screen went dark and the lights came back on, the theatre was silent for several seconds before chattering broke out as everyone strived to make their thoughts heard at the same time.

Blank had a small laugh as RWBY and NPR formed a consensus that Jaune would never be allowed anywhere near alcohol Sun had come in contact with. Pyrrha and Weiss were of the opinion that he should be barred entirely while Yang and Nora refused to accept that. The potential for entertainment was too high to simply pass up. Ren and Ruby were on the fence while Blake was more concerned with how Jaune managed to shift perception of the white fang from a terrorist group to a group of heroes in such a short time, as expected.

The adults were lost in their own conversations about Salem's plans and how best to derail her plans. Roman and Neo on the other hand were merely basking in the moment, seeing Cinder stabbed to death by an actual drunk was hilarious and a good form of catharsis.

"Ahem, next showing will begin soon. Feel free to refresh yourselves whenever. Be back before the movie starts though."

* * *

Author's notes: I live. Destiny 2's new DLC is big fun and I was going to release a D2 inspired chapter to commemorate the launch, but it got too depressing so that idea is currently shelved. All I'll say is that it was going to be set after the fall and would have been based on the lore of the Luna's howl quest line. For the FFVII story though, I'm leaning towards Blake as Tifa mainly because of the whole white fang/avalanche deal even if Yang would be a closer match for fighting styles. Was originally planning for Jaune as Zack but Jaune has more in common with the original cloud. Aside from the obvious blonde hair blue eyes schtick, original cloud also suffered from severe motion sickness, wanted to become a hero but his skills were ultimately not up to par and only achieved greatness after tragedy took the people close to him. And yes, both of them have ended up in a dress.


	6. Chapter 6: Folding was never an option

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 6: Folding was never an option**

**Inspiration: JoJo Bizarre Adventure Stardust Crusaders**

"Welcome back, I trust you're all refreshed and ready for another viewing?" Blank asked and received a chorus of acknowledgments in response.

"Right, since we covered the vice of drinking in the last universe, here's one about the vice of gambling. I think you'll enjoy it, subject matter notwithstanding."

"Cool, is fearless leader a master gambler here?" Nora asked curiously.

"Not really, he just has nerves of steel, now shows about to begin." Blank answered and the lights dimmed, screen coming on to display the deserts of Vacuo.

**The burning sun beat down on the backs of four individuals as they entered the welcome shade of a café. Taking the opportunity to enjoy the respite from the desert heat, the four travellers removed their travelling cloaks and folded them up. Jaune, Weiss, Yatsuhashi and Ozpin took their seats at the bar and heaved a collective sigh of relief.**

"Hubba hubba!" Yang and Pyrrha were practically drooling at the sight of Jaune's new look. Their crush was built like a brick shithouse and the black coat with tight shirt did wonders to show off his physique.

"Mr Muscles indeed." Nora nodded sagely and snapped a photo on her scroll before sending it to Pyrrha since the spartan was too out of it to do anything.

"**Heh, this reminds me of a joke, what do you call a smart person in Vacuo?" Weiss asked as she wrung the sweat out of her hair and bit back a curse at the discomfort.**

"**No clue." Jaune said and reached into his coat pocket for the photos they needed information about.**

"**A tourist. Although, I seriously question the intelligence of any tourist that wants to come here." Weiss snarked and stared at the drinks behind the bar, wondering which she should order.**

"Well whaddaya know, you can tell a joke after all princess." Yang said and laughed at Weiss's affronted look.

"Exactly what do you mean by that Xiao Long? Are you saying I can't be funny? I can be funny! Right guys?" Weiss asked and pouted when none of her team members met her eyes.

"Traitors all of you."

**It took several minutes for the barkeep to step out from the kitchens to address them, Junior carefully wiped down an empty glass as he took in the sight of the four out of towners. "Good day lady and gentlemen, what can I get you today?"**

"**Information. The building in this photo, do you know where it is?" Ozpin handed over the photos as Jaune distributed his set to the rest of the patrons.**

"**This is a café, I'd prefer if you at least order something before asking questions." Junior stared at the group with a raised eyebrow before picking up the photos.**

"**Fine, four iced coffees please." Ozpin said and slammed several lien cards down on the bar top. Junior nodded and accepted the lien, preparing the drinks and serving them in short order.**

**The travellers downed their beverages in a single go, appreciating the respite the chilled liquid gave them. Their uplifted moods sank almost instantly when Junior returned the photos and shook his head.**

"**Sorry, I've never seen that building before."**

"**I see, sorry for the trouble then." Ozpin bowed his head and bit his lip. Vacuo was a big place with countless settlements scattered across the desert and even more people passing through daily, finding someone who could identify Tyrian's base was a long shot at best.**

"We're searching for that madman?" Weiss asked as she recalled Tyrian's earlier showing.

"Indeed, backstory time, this is an alternate universe where aura and Grimm do not exist. But the world is far from perfect and monsters still exist, Tyrian is one of the biggest ones around and your group are trying to stop him and save Jaune's mom in the process. By the way, in this universe, Goodwitch is his mother and Ozpin his maternal grandfather." Blank supplied helpfully.

"Mr Arc is my son and Ozpin is my father? That's… new." Goodwitch muttered and adjusted her glasses, not quite sure what to make of things yet. Ozpin merely sipped his coffee, interested to see what a world without Grimm would be like.

**When further questioning of the patrons turned up nothing but negatives, they sighed and prepared to move out. The clock was ticking and they didn't have any time to waste here, every second that passed was another second closer to Glynda's death.**

"**Wait, I know the building in question." A man playing with a deck of cards called out just before they could leave the café. Ozpin immediately rushed over to the one who spoke, followed shortly by the rest of the crew.**

"**You do!? Where is it? tell us!"**

"**That's rude, do you really expect me to give you the information like that?"**

"**Ah right, I'm sorry. How careless of me." Ozpin fished out several hundred lien cards and offered them to the man. **

"**Here's five hundred lien for the information."**

"**Five hundred?"**

"**Not enough? How bout a thousand?" Ozpin retrieved another set of cards and placed them on the table.**

"**No, no, I'm not interested in your money. I'm a gambler you see, I live for the thrill of gambling. We'll have a wager, if you win I'll tell you the information for free. I'm Arthur Watts by the way." Watts smirked as he performed several card tricks and irritation could be seen on Ozpin's face.**

"Watts? Hmm, a disgraced scientist from Atlas if I recall. James mentioned that name once or twice, I do believe he's been in hiding ever since his fall from grace." Ozpin quipped.

"I don't like that look on his face. Makes me want to punch it in for some reason." Yang growled out as her eyes briefly flickered red, something about the cocksure look Watts was giving rubbed her the wrong way.

"Yang, we've been over this, you can't just punch everyone you don't like." Taiyang admonished his daughter with a small glare.

"Oh come on dad, don't tell me you aren't getting bad guy vibes from this guy!" Yang protested and folded her arms.

"Well, she's not wrong you know." Summer agreed and Taiyang shot her a betrayed look in response.

"**A wager? We don't have time for a game of poker right now." Ozpin disagreed and prepared to offer even more money for the information.**

"**There's no need for that, the thing about gambling is that anything can be bet on. See that dog over there?" Watts pointed to a corgi stretched out on a nearby wall, basking in the sunlight.**

"Hey, that's Zwei! What's he doing here?" Ruby asked when she recognized the dog.

"**See, I have two pieces of steak here." Watts grabbed the plate and chucked the delicious meat in Zwei's direction.**

"**How about a bet on which piece of meat the dog will go for first? A quick and simple bet yes?" Watts said in a smarmy tone and Ozpin was about to deny the bet when Weiss stepped up.**

"**Sure I'll take the bet. I'll bet on the right one." Weiss took a seat and waited for Zwei to notice the steaks, the right piece was larger than the one on the left and she was certain the dog would go for the bigger one first.**

"**Very well, I'll bet on the left one then… oh, it's noticed the meat." Sure enough, Zwei's nose twitched when the aroma wafted over to his resting position and he rose.**

"**There is still the issue of your wager miss, I've bet my information, so what's your bet?"**

"**Huh? Er, I don't know. What do you want? The money the old man was offering?" Weiss asked as she wasn't sure what to offer in response.**

"**Hmm no, I don't need the money. I know, how about you wager your soul?" Watts knit his hands together and leaned in closer.**

"I have a bad feeling about this." Blake muttered as her cat ears flattened against her skull. Watts was giving off all kinds of bad vibes and almost every time the concept of souls had come up as a cost or a wager in her books, they never ended well.

"Yeah… this Watts… he's too confident. He must have some trick up his sleeve." The Schnee heiress agreed with a frown, worried about her on screen counterpart.

"**Er… okay?" Weiss hesitantly agreed, slightly weirded out by the request but didn't see any harm in agreeing to it. What's the worst that could happen.**

"**O-oh it's headed for the one on the right! I've won!" Weiss's cheers cut off abruptly when Zwei diverted from his path to grab the steak on the left before the one on the right.**

"No! Bad Zwei, Bad!" Weiss scolded when Zwei threw away her victory and Blake gave her a smug look.

"I knew that demon was trouble from the first moment I saw it. Now you can see it for yourself."

"**Damnit I lost!" Weiss cursed and slammed a fist into her open palm.**

"**Great now what are we going to do? We need that information." Ozpin sighed and rubbed his temples, headache already forming.**

"**Sorry, sorry." Weiss apologised and made to rise.**

"**Hold up. There's still the matter of your payment since you lost." Watts said and four pairs of eyes turned to him.**

"**You wagered your soul and you lost, I'll be taking it now." Before Weiss could question what he was going on about, coldness pervaded her entire being and her travelling companions could only stare at her in a mix of shock and horror.**

**Reaching into her back was a greenish humanoid monster and it was currently ripping a spectral version of her out of it. Once Weiss's soul had been fully extracted, the stand moulded it like putty before clapping its hands together and then pulling apart. A single poker chip bearing an image of Weiss's face fell out and clattered onto the table.**

"W-what the heck just happened to me!?" Weiss asked in a trembling voice as she just watched her own soul get ripped out and turned into a coin.

"Blank! What was that!? I thought there weren't any Grimm in this universe!" Ruby practically screeched as she watched her partner's body flop to the floor in a heap.

"Ah yes, like I've mentioned, aura and by extension semblances don't exist in this world. Other supernatural powers do exist however and that is called a stand. They have a variety of different effects, similar to semblances but far more potent. This one has the ability to extract souls and store them elsewhere, if the soul isn't returned in time the original body dies however and the soul's fate is to be trapped forever or move on to the afterlife if it is ever released."

"…What monstrous power. Can I just say how glad I am that that shit doesn't exist here? It… it doesn't exist right?" Qrow asked the million-dollar question on everyone's mind and the theatre let out a collective sigh of relief when Blank confirmed its nonexistence.

"**Weiss! You bastard! What did you do to her!" Jaune roared and glared at Watts while Ozpin and Yatsuhashi prodded the prone girl.**

"**Damnit, she's not breathing! Her body's gone cold." Yatsu whispered in a terrified voice.**

"**She wagered her soul and lost. It's part of my collection now. Allow me to introduce myself again, Arthur Watts, lieutenant of Tyrian at your service." Watts gave a mock bow and grinned when he gazed upon Jaune's murderous expression.**

"**Behold the power of my stand, Osiris. It allows me to take the souls of anyone I beat in a game. The moment they lose in a wager, their soul is weakened and it's so easy for my stand to remove it." Anything else Watts was going to say was cut off when Jaune picked him up by the collar and raised a fist to beat his face in.**

"**I wouldn't do that if I were you. If you kill me the girl's soul is destroyed as well. No afterlife for her, only oblivion." Watts smirk never wavered once as Jaune growled in his face.**

"**And why shouldn't I beat you until you release her soul? I don't have to kill you to hurt you."**

"**My stand won't allow the souls to go that easily. I couldn't release it even if I wanted to, the only way to get her soul back is to beat me in a wager for it. And you can't simply force me to make a bet I refuse to either, both parties have to willingly bet it for the wager to count." Jaune let out one final growl before shoving Watts back into his chair.**

**The gambler was unruffled and merely took the chance to straighten out his clothes and pat Zwei on the head when the dog leapt into his lap. "Good Zwei, enjoy your treat."**

"**You! That dog!" Yatsuhashi pointed at the contented corgi with a shaking finger.**

"**You cheated!"**

"**How rude, I never cheated. I made a bet, the girl made a bet, I won and she lost, we just happened to be betting on my dog that's all. That's all there is to it, if she didn't find out about my little trick, that's her fault really. Gambling is much like relationships in that regard, it's all about fooling one another and the first one to cry loses." Watts said smugly before taking a bite out of a bar of chocolate.**

"That's… that's messed up. Even for me." Roman spoke quietly, slightly freaked out by the turn of events.

"Really? Aren't you a criminal?" Yang shot back half heartedly in an attempt to distract herself.

"Say what you will about me blondie, I have lines I won't cross." Roman had very, very few friends given his line of work and even fewer people that he trusted. In fact, it was really just Neo who was more of a daughter to him than a friend. The idea that they would be working to undermine one another behind false smiles was… disturbing to say the least.

"**You sonofabitch!" Yatsuhashi's tirade was interrupted when Ozpin took a seat in front of Watts, a bottle of gin in one hand and a glass in the other.**

"**Fine, so we just have to beat you in a wager right? Then I'll bet my soul in exchange for hers." Ozpin said and began pouring the gin into the glass until it was filled to the brim.**

"**Oho? And what do you have in mind?" Watts asked curiously, waiting for Ozpin to finish his work.**

"**You are familiar with surface tension I believe?"**

"**I am, but I fail to see your point." Ozpin's reply was to dump a handful of coins on the table.**

"**It's a simple bet. You see this glass? It's almost overflowing but not quite yet, we'll take turns placing coins into the glass. Whoever causes it to overflow loses. You agreeable to that?" Ozpin shot the gambler a challenging look.**

"**Hmm, I'm fine with it, you'll allow me to check the glass and coins first though won't you?"**

"**Of course, go ahead." Ozpin nodded his assent and Watts began inspecting the glass, staring closely at it and running his hands over it to make sure it was just a glass. Next he moved on to the coins, ensuring they were all identical and held to hidden tricks.**

"**Jaune, watch him with Star Platinum's eyes. Make damn sure he doesn't pull any funny business." Ozpin motioned to his grandson to use his stand to ensure Watts didn't get a chance to cheat once the match started.**

"**Got it gramps."**

"Star Platinum? What's that?" Pyrrha asked.

"It's Jaune's stand. A close quarter combat-oriented stand who's stand out features include incredible speed and supremely enhanced senses."

"**Well there's nothing wrong with the glass or the coins so I guess we can begin, you don't mind if I go first do you?" Watts returned his hand to his sides and waited for Ozpin's signal.**

"**Just checking, if I win, you will give back Weiss's soul right?"**

"**Of course! I have my pride as a gambler you know, welshing on a bet is something I'd never do. And besides, my stand locks us both into the bet, I couldn't stop the soul from returning even if I wanted to… but. That's only if you win." The look on his face was down right predatory.**

"**Hmm, then by all means place your coins in What." Ozpin's face remained stony as he waved his hand to indicate Watts should go ahead. Internally he was smirking at his good fortune.**

'**Heh, I've already won this. You never should have accepted this bet, I've done this surface tension trick so many times I could do it blindfolded. That glass can hold a maximum of eight coins before it overflows. You won't win here.'**

"**It's Watts, not What! W. A. T. T. S. Watts. Haaah… you don't mind if I put in more than one do you?" Watts snarled as he lost his composure momentarily at Ozpin's butchering of his name.**

"**Go ahead? But be careful you don't spill the drink yes?"**

**Watts picked up five coins and slowly lowered them to the drink's surface. Taking several deep breaths to steady his hand, he exhaled lightly and released the coins. All five dropped into the drink and the gold liquid sloshed around gently before settling, not a single drop spilling over.**

"**Whew… it didn't spill. Now Ozpin, I do believe it's your turn." Watts wiped away a bead of sweat from the nerve-wracking performance and waited for the old man to make his move.**

"**Daring aren't you. Then, it's my turn now. I think I'll just go with one coin, less taxing on my heart that way." Ozpin picked up a single coin and held it to the surface of the drink, giving a show of steeling himself. Only Jaune noticed what the old man was actually doing. **

'**A cotton bud to add extra gin to the glass? And you asked me to watch Watts for cheating? Damn gramps, the soul of a gambler is in you alright.' Jaune resisted the urge to smirk as he caught on to the plan.**

"Heh, this brings me back. I used to practice tricks like this when I was younger." Ozpin commented with a small smile and shrugged when his students stared at him blankly.

"I will have you all know that yes, I was actually young once upon a time. I wasn't always headmaster of Beacon you know."

"Ozpin young? I… I can't see it. I can't see it at all." Nora whispered as she tried to wrap her head around that impossible image. By her side, Ren and Pyrrha nodded as well, none of them could picture it, no matter how they tried, the same silver haired man always appeared the way he did.

**Once he added as much as he needed to, Ozpin released the coin and allowed it to sink to the bottom. "Done, your turn Archie. I really don't think the glass can take anymore coins, looking pretty full now."**

'**Heh, there's no way he'll get another coin in. he so much as touches the surface and it'll spill. It's my victory.'**

"**Arthur! My name is Arthur Watts! Don't get it wrong again! Never mind, there's a shadow here, I'll be placing in the coin from the right." Watts schooled his expression as he stood up and moved to the side with coin in hand.**

**Jaune and Ozpin watched him like a hawk, making sure he didn't pull any last minute sleight of hands to cheat. Watts ignored them and raised his coin over the surface, waiting for his moment. One minute passed, then another, and another.**

**Finally, before the tension could go any higher, Watts released the coin, allowing it to sink to the bottom. The liquid wobbled but ultimately stilled without spilling over. Watts let out a shaky breath and wiped away even more sweat before regaining his composure.**

"**WHAT!? THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! THERE'S NO WAY YOU MANAGED TO FIT ANOTHER COIN IN THERE! IT SHOULD HAVE OVERFLOWED!" Ozpin shouted in denial as he watched the liquid settle. He'd calculated it perfectly, there was no way another coin could have gone in.**

"**No way? Interesting choice of words, but fact is I managed it. it's your turn now old man." Watts smirked and took another bite out of his chocolate bar.**

**Ozpin's hands shook as he raised the coin to the glass, he could already tell there was no way the coin was going in without spilling the drink. Whatever miracle allowed Watts to pull of his final coin wouldn't be repeating itself for him.**

**His hands shook for several seconds before the cold invaded him and the coin clattered to the table. Like Weiss, Osiris had extracted his soul and seconds later, a new poker chip rested on the table next to Weiss, this time depicting Ozpin's face.**

"**Gramps! What the hell did you do!?" Jaune roared in anger as Watt's smirk grew even bigger.**

"**He accepted defeat in his heart so my stand could claim his soul. There was no need to see the wager to the end. That's two souls down now, would you care for a wager?" **

"Huh, I lost as well? Odd, there shouldn't be a way for Watts to pull of a win. My counterpart couldn't have made a mistake. How interesting."

"Oi Oz, aren't you worried at all? You just lost your soul!" Qrow stared at his boss in disbelief, unable to wrap his head around Ozpin's nonchalance.

"I have faith Mr Arc will find a way to win. He hasn't disappointed once." Ozpin replied and sipped his coffee. Seeing his soulless body on the ground was strange to be sure but it was hardly the first time with his constant reincarnations. He'd attended his own funeral more times than he cared to count and after awhile the experience just lost its novelty.

"**You bastard, you cheated, you definitely cheated!" Yatsuhashi snarled and clenched his fists.**

"**All I did was place my coins into the glass, ask your friend, I never did anything to cheat during the match."**

"**Jaune? Is he telling the truth?"**

"**Yea, I was watching all the way with Star Platinum, he never cheated once." Jaune picked up the glass, causing some of the liquid to spill before emptying it over the side for a closer inspection. The first thing to catch his eye was a small brown smudge at the bottom of the glass. **

"**Chocolate. So that's how he did it." Jaune frowned and slammed the glass on the table.**

"What? I don't get it, how did the chocolate help Watts cheat?" Yang asked and no reply was forthcoming, most of the audience drawing blanks themselves.

"**I don't understand." Yatsuhashi picked up the glass and stared blankly at the brown stain, unsure of what he was looking at.**

"**It's melted now but it used to be solid. Tipped the glass slightly so it appeared fuller than it actually was. Not enough to be noticed but enough to allow him to slip in one last coin should he need to."**

"**B-but how did he get the chocolate to melt on command? There's no way he could have timed it."**

"**He moved to the side remember, his shadow kept the piece from melting, once he left the sun's rays did the rest of the job." Jaune spat out and returned his glare to the grinning Watts.**

"**Oho, so you figured it out. A little too late to save the old man though, shame you couldn't figure it out midway through. So, care for a little wager for the old man and the girl?"**

"…Asshole he may be, that's some insane improvising." Qrow muttered and slipped a few more lien cards into the swear jar and knit his hands together, drink temporarily forgotten.

"To come up with a way to cheat on a gamble chosen at random so quickly and pull it off too? You don't see that every day."

"Uncle Qrow! You can't praise the bad guys!" Ruby pointed accusingly at her uncle who shrugged in response.

"Just calling it as I see it Rubes, reminds me of your friend from the previous universe, only evil this time."

"Hmmph! Jaune is way better than that man and don't you forget it."

"**You bastard, there's no way you're leaving this place alive!" Yatsuhashi snarled and his anger only grew when Watts laughed at his rage.**

"**Heh, you say that like I've never heard that before, do you recall what you did on this date two years ago?" Watts pulled out a binder and opened it up, displaying the contents to Jaune and Yatsu. Rows upon rows of poker chips met their eyes and both cursed in response.**

"**I remember perfectly. Two years ago, I met the Malachite family in a Vale nightclub. Had several matches with them as well. See this one, Melanie Malachite, so overconfident, the look on her face when I tore out her soul was exquisite."**

**Watts shifted his finger and pointed to Militia's image next. "Then Militia, so desperate to save her sister, wagered and lost as well. Finally, their mother, Lil Miss Malachite. Put up a good fight but ultimately became part of my collection. Their bodies are long gone, but here in my collection they remain, your friends will be joining them soon, unless you can win their souls back of course."**

**Jaune's burning anger only grew as Tyrian's lieutenant continued listing the stories of various victims, mocking their lives and efforts as he relished in the tales of his victories.**

"Fucking son of a bitch." Roman breathed out a curse and his fingers itched for his missing weapon. He was a thief, he stole money, goods and dust but by Oum stealing souls was a line that should never even be approached. This Watts didn't just cross the line, he played skip rope with it.

"H-how many souls has he stolen? How many lives has he destroyed?" Weiss asked, her pale face completely ashen.

"Too many." Ozpin's answer was short and to the point, only the trembling grip on his coffee mug indicated the rage brewing beneath the surface.

'**He's a monster, a complete and total monster.' Was the thought that passed through both Jaune and Yatsuhashi's heads.**

"**Fine, I'll face you in a game of poker for their souls." Jaune spat and took a seat at the table once Ozpin's limp body was set up in a chair next to Weiss.**

"**But before we begin, I'd like to try something, shuffle that deck will you?" Jaune motioned towards the cards and Watts merely raised an eyebrow before complying. A few seconds later and he was done.**

"**Alright, pick a card, any card and look at it." Watts complied again and stared at the card in hand, the six of hearts.**

"**You hold the six of hearts don't you?" Watt's eyebrow rose higher and he huffed lightly before lowering the card.**

"**Shall I read out the cards in order from the top of the deck? Jack of diamonds, six of spades, queen of hearts, ace of hearts, two of diamonds, four of clubs, three of clubs, ace of spades…" Jaune continued listing through all remaining fifty one cards as Watts laid them out one at a time, every card appearing in the order Jaune said.**

"**Hoh."**

"Woah, is Jaune-Jaune a magician?" Nora stared with wide eyes as Jaune's calm demeanour never wavered once.

"I'm not sure about that Nora, we'll just have to wait and see." Pyrrha said, secretly impressed with Jaune's ability.

"**So you got them all correct, what's your point?"**

"**I saw each and every card you shuffled with Star Platinum and memorised their order." Jaune's stand, a purple man briefly flickered into view before fading away. **

"**How interesting, but that just means I have to keep you from seeing the cards while I shuffle."**

"**Don't you get it, this means you won't be able to cheat without me noticing. I just wanted to let you know that." Jaune said in his no-nonsense tone.**

"**Good." Watts chuckled and retrieved a fresh unopened deck of cards and handed it to Jaune for inspection. The knight spread the cards out on the table and noted none of them contained markings of any kind, a perfectly normal deck of cards that hadn't been tampered with.**

**Watts ran his hand along a nearby phone directory, flipping through the pages at random before stopping. '531… no, page 556.'**

**Staring down at the page number to confirm his guess, he grinned when the page number read 556, exactly as he counted. 'Heh, I'm on my A game today, I can still tell which page I'm on just by feel alone. Star Platinum may have impressive eyes, but I can memorise by touch, as soon as I shuffle the cards, I'll know where every card is.'**

"Okay, that is load of crap. No one's that good." Yang complained as she glared at the screen.

"Not entirely true Ms Xiao Long, there are plenty of people in Remnant who have a sense that excels in comparison to all others. Faunus traits come to mind and there are humans as well who have supernaturally sharp senses, although that's usually a result of a semblance or as a way of making up for some other disability." Goodwitch explained and the brawler retreated into her seat to stew angrily.

"It doesn't matter, Jaune will beat his ass anyway."

"**Okay, open the game." Watts cut the deck and revealed the king of hearts before chuckling. Jaune did the same and drew the ten of clubs.**

"**Looks like I'm the dealer. But first, this is poker, and you need chips to bet with." Watts stand reappeared and grabbed the Weiss and Ozpin chips before slashing at them several times with its arms. There was a poof and where one chip was, there now existed a pile of six.**

"**What the hell did you do!?" Yatsuhashi roared at the man and backed down when Jaune raised an arm to stop him.**

"**Poker is a game that allows you to call, raise and fold depending on how you like your cards. You can't just win with a single hand… unless everyone goes all in of course but that really shouldn't be happening. In any case, I've split your friends' souls into six chips each, you win six of them you get your friend back immediately. Here's six blank chips to represent your soul, lose all six and your soul is added to my collection." Watts placed a pile of blank white chips on the table and handed six of them over to Jaune.**

"**Of course, with two souls to your one, it does give me more breathing room doesn't it but that's your fault for trying to retrieve both at the same time. Now, let's deal." Watts finished shuffling the cards and started dealing them out.**

"**To Jaune, to me, to Jaune, to me…" Watts was about to deal the last card when Star Platinum appeared and grabbed his finger, snapping it like a twig in one smooth motion.**

"**ARRGH! WHAT THE HELL!?"**

"Yeah! Take that bad guy!" Ruby cheered happily upon seeing Watts get his comeuppance. The rest of the theatre cheered along, even Roman and Neo who merely held up a sign and waved it in the air.

"**I told you, I wouldn't let you get away with cheating." Jaune said in a monotone as he waited for the screaming to stop.**

"**Cheating? But he was just dealing the cards right? I didn't see him make any suspicious moves." Yatsuhashi asked in confusion, on the one hand he was glad Watts was in pain but on the other he was clueless as to what Jaune was referring to.**

"**Look at the deck in his hands, what do you see?"**

"**Uh…the second card! The second is sticking out!" Yatsu finally noticed the cheat and recoiled in shock.**

"**He was dealing my cards from below the top, everything on the top was going to him. And, that would have given him…" Jaune took the chance to flip Watts' cards over.**

"**Three tens and a jack."**

"**Keh, what a bastard, breaking my finger just like that." Watts glared at Jaune before a card embedding it self several inches into the hardwood table distracted him.**

"**No, I'm being merciful here. I would have cut of your finger for that but I need you in proper condition to play until I get their souls back."**

"Hardcore. Me likey." Yang said and wiped away a hint of drool.

"Just wait, it gets better. Most people tend to remember this Jaune as nothing more than a powerhouse capable of fighting his way out of any situation. His actions don't do much to dissuade that image but it's his observational skill and ability to plan on the fly that make him a threat." Blank said.

"So it's fearless leader except with more muscles and confidence… sounds about right." Nora shrugged and shovelled more popcorn into her mouth.

"**Grr… heh, fine I'll accept this broken finger as punishment for being caught cheating. This doesn't change anything." Watts finished bandaging his broken finger and spoke in a shaky tone.**

"**Yare yare daze, I can't trust you to shuffle or deal evidently. Let's get someone who isn't playing to be the dealer." Jaune looked around and spotted a kid bouncing a soccer ball on his knee on the street.**

"**That boy over there should be fine."**

"**Fine." Watts snarled out as he tried to tune out the pain. **

"**Yatsu, you mind bringing the boy over here?"**

"**Yeah I got it." Yatsuhashi left Jaune's side and returned several minutes later with Oscar. The boy a little confused but ready to deal the cards, the promise of a few lien for his efforts certainly helped win him over.**

"**Not bad, to cheat you need to take advantage of your opponent's psychological blind spots. I might have underestimated you since you saw through my second dealing, no matter, I won't be underestimating you again."**

"**I'm counting on that."**

**A nervous Oscar dealt out the cards, slightly put off by the tension between the two players and all their talk about souls on the line.**

"**It's fine boy, just deal the cards and ignore everything they're saying." Yatsuhashi placed a calming hand on the boy's shoulder to deal with his nerves.**

"**O-okay." Oscar gulped and finished dealing out all the cards to the two players.**

"**Then I'll begin by wagering one chip of Weiss's soul. Next, I'll be changing two cards… you only have six pieces before I own your soul, best choose your moves carefully eh?" Watts dumped the discarded cards on the table and retrieved the replacement two dealt out.**

"**I'll change three cards." Jaune discarded three and had them replaced before staring impassively at his opponent.**

"**Oh, what a scary expression. Having problems with your hand? Or maybe you have an unbeatable one? I think I'll play it safe and bet another Weiss." Watts mockingly threw another chip into the pile.**

"**Call." Jaune moved a third chip to match the bet instead of folding, bringing the total pot to six.**

"**Very nice, it's showtime then. Show your hand." **

"**Two pairs, nines over eights." Jaune displayed his hand, two pairs and a random jack of clubs that didn't fit anywhere.**

"**Oooh… not bad. Unfortunately." Watts leaned back into his seat with a smug expression and flipped his cards over.**

"**Two pair, queens over jacks. I believe this is my win." Jaune said nothing as Watts scooped the pile and brought it over to his side of the table. Instead of becoming angry, Jaune's expression merely switched to a more contemplative one.**

"Oh come on! He's cheating! He has to be! Grr I wanna break some legs!" Nora tossed the bucket of popcorn into the air and whined. Ren and Pyrrha did their best to calm her down but honestly weren't in much better shape, their leader was down to half a soul now, things weren't looking good.

"Of course he's cheating. But I think the boy has a plan of some sort, there's no way he's taking this lying down." Qrow muttered and leaned in closer, interested to see how the Arc would dig himself out of the hole.

"**Ooh, that was close, I nearly lost there. Only three chips left Jaune, feeling the pressure yet?" **

"**Next hand, deal." Jaune ignored the taunts and tossed a blank chip into the centre of the table before waiting for his cards.**

"**Confident aren't you, it might not be just the next hand but you last." Watts sniggered and picked up his new cards. Three kings, a five and a three, exactly as planned. Watts stared at Jaune who hadn't moved to pick up his cards before discarding his three.**

"**I'll draw one card… hmm what's the matter Jaune? Aren't you going to look at your cards? Hurry up and pick em up so you can decide if you need to change them or keep them."**

"**I'll be keeping them as they are. They're all I need after all." Jaune said without touching any of the cards.**

"WHAT!?" Shock rippled through the audience at Jaune's unexpected proclamation.

"H-he has a plan right? Somebody tell me he has a plan!" Weiss shrieked in horror as it looked to her like Jaune was throwing away all of their souls in some suicide attempt.

Neo wrote something on her scroll and passed it to Roman. The master thief looked at it and shook his head in disbelief. "No way the kid's doing that. Not with so much on the line."

Neo pouted and put her hands on her hips before tutting in silence.

"I see your point Neo, but it's not just his soul on the line, it's his grandfather's and his buddy's as well. No way he'll take that risk." Roman disagreed with his assistant.

"Something you care to share with the rest of the class Torchwick?" Qrow asked when he noticed the disagreement going on in the corner.

"Nothing, my assistant merely believes the boy is going to force Watts to fold. Which is highly improbably by the way, since the kid only has three chips to Watts fifteen." Neo rolled her eyes in response.

"**I… I'm sorry. I don't think I heard you correctly. You… want to keep your cards without even looking at them!?" Watts stuttered out, unable to wrap his head around Jaune's actions.**

"**You heard me correctly, I'm playing with these five cards, I don't need to replace any of them." Jaune said in a monotone that held a tiny bit of impatience, nothing but confidence exuding from him. The confidence of a man secure in his victory.**

"**Oi, Jaune, what the hell are you playing at man? You're down to your last three chips. What do you mean you're keeping them, you haven't even looked at them!" Yatsuhashi came close to screaming his lungs out at his friends brazen actions.**

"**I know I heard that! I'm asking if you seriously intend to play those cards without looking at them! How the hell can you play with cards you haven't even seen!?"**

"**These cards are fine. I'm playing with them." Jaune ignored the outbursts and only stared into the eyes of his opponent, never reaching for the cards once.**

"**By the way Yatsu, I need a favour."**

"**Uh, sure. But why aren't you looking at your cards!?"**

"**In addition to the last three chips of my soul." Jaune collected an additional six blank chips from the pile Watts set on the table earlier and added them to the pot.**

"**I'll bet all of Yatsuhashi's soul as well."**

"**WHAT!?"**

The cry was echoed in the theatre as no one expected that sudden move… except for Neo who merely smirked. Things were moving exactly as she thought they would.

"**I… fine. Watts, everything you do has been calculated to perfection. You might not be powerful but you are strong, I… am too emotional. If I played you I'd probably lose as well. But. I have faith in my friend, so if he's asking for my soul to bet against you then so be it. I believe that he'll beat you even if I don't know the significance of these unknown cards." Yatsuhashi nodded his assent and put his faith in Jaune, having confidence that the knight had some plan in the works.**

"**Hehehahahhahaha! Oh my, the both of you have been overcome by the stress haven't you. Neither of you are thinking straight anymore. If you want to hand over your souls so easily then by all means go ahead, you're just saving me some time." Watts facepalmed with his good hand and laughed at the insanity he was witnessing.**

"**Boy! I said to change one card, hand it over now!"**

"**Y-yes!" Oscar gulped and handed over the last card to Watts. Poker face remaining strong, Watts added the fourth king to his hand.**

'**Moron, do you seriously think you have a chance to win? I've done what you asked Mr Watts, the cards I dealt to the blondie are nothing more than trash cards that won't ever form anything. My skill never fails.' Oscar hid his thoughts and continued playing the role of the terrified kid while certain in Watts's impending victory.**

'**Ah Jaune my boy, you thought you were so clever weren't you? Calling in an outsider to deal the cards so I couldn't cheat. Heh, everyone in this café is one of mine. So is everyone else in the area. It doesn't matter who you called, they're all in my pocket. I know for a fact those cards of yours are trash, your little act to psych me out is just that, an act! You can't get the king of gamblers to fold with a simple bluff.' Watts maintained his poker face and shifted his chips into the pot to match Jaune's.**

"Everyone is in his pocket!? Shit, the kids in trouble alright." Qrow muttered and took a big swig on his drink to settle his nerves.

"That's insane, everyone is working for Watts?" Weiss whispered in shock as the odds decreased even further.

"Watts must have known that Jaune's group was coming this way. This was a trap for them from the very beginning." Pyrrha bit her nails nervously as she pieced the villain's plans together.

"**Heh, fine. I'll call with Weiss soul, in addition! I raise with all six chips of Ozpin's soul. That brings the total to fifteen!" Watts declared and shifted the other stack into the pot.**

"**Wait a minute, Jaune doesn't have anymore chips to bet with! What are you trying to pull?" Yatsuhashi pointed out in confusion, all the mind games going on was seriously messing with him.**

"**Not quite. I'll need you to write down your acceptance for my stand to work though." Watts handed over a pen and a sheet of paper.**

"**Like I said, Jaune doesn't have any more souls to wager! What the hell are you doing!?"**

"**Oh but you still have a soul. Pyrrha Nikos is still in the hospital is she not? All I need is your confirmation and you can raise with it. Otherwise, you can always fold." The smug look on Watts's face was eye wateringly hateful.**

'**Now, lose your cool. Let me see that composure of yours shatter like glass. How dare you try to bluff the great Watts!'**

"**Fine." Jaune wrote his acceptance and added the paper to the pot, his actions causing the first true crack in Watt's otherwise calm façade.**

"W-what is that doofus doing?" Weiss asked in despair.

"He'll win." Pyrrha stated with full confidence, her earlier nervousness having disappeared.

"P-money?" Yang shot her a look, unable to see what was giving her such confidence.

"I know Jaune, he would never put our lives on the line if he didn't have full confidence. I don't know what his plan is but I know he won't fail us."

"**O-oi, are you serious Jaune? You're going to bet Pyrrha's soul as well!? She isn't even here!" Yatsuhashi's panic level was rising at Jaune's indecipherable actions.**

"**Is that going too far? Who knows, if we lose here she's dead anyway. Tyrian's other henchmen will finish her off before she can recover. This way she'll help us win." Jaune answered as he chewed on his cigar.**

"Wait a minute, that cigar wasn't there before." Ren noticed the newest addition to his friend's apparel and there was some muttering from the audience.

"A dead man's last cigar? How cliché." Roman fingered his own supply before returning it to his pocket.

"Must be part of Jaune's plan. There's no way it's a coincidence." Blake's ears twitched as she observed the screen carefully, paying full attention to the minute spasms on Watt's face.

"**Wait, where did you get that? What did you just do!?" Watts pointed to the cigar in Jaune's mouth and blinked when he thought he saw a flash of purple. All he knew was that the cigar was now lit and he didn't see it happen.**

"**Hmm? Did I do something?" Jaune exhaled and breathed out a cloud of smoke.**

"**I'm having a smoke to clear my mind, is there something wrong with that? I don't recall smoking being against the rules. Are you not feeling well?"**

"**Y-you!"**

'**I-I didn't see him get the cigar or light it. Kuh, such confidence… no, no way. There's no way he managed to use Star Platinum to switch out the cards before I could notice.'**

**Beads of sweat ran down the back of Watts's neck, the heat of the desert mixed with the tension was starting to get to him. The fact that Oscar was shooting him worried glances was only compounding the problem, if Jaune noticed that Oscar was working for him, he could call of the match and it would mean instant defeat for Watts.**

'**Damnit brat, don't look over here. If he notices, we're finished!'**

**Watts stared at his hand, four kings was an amazing hand, nearly unbeatable but unfortunately not invincible. 'Damnit, it's four kings. The only hands that can beat it are four aces, a straight flush or a five card with the joker. Keh! If he has any one of those hands I lose.'**

**Watts glared at Jaune, the knight's impatient expression a perfect poker face, giving nothing away. 'I know the cards he has are worthless, and he didn't look at any of them, so if he is to win, he must have swapped out all five at the same time with Star Platinum… no, that's impossible. There's no way his stand is fast enough to pull it off. There's no way he managed to switch out all five cards under the eyes of the undefeated Watts!'**

**The lit cigar continued to taunt Watts. When Tyrian's lieutenant looked to his cards again, ready to call Jaune's bluff, the words died in his throat when he looked up again. The cigar was gone, in its place was a large glass of refreshing fruit juice that Jaune was currently sipping from.**

"**WHAT THE HELL! IT'S JUICE NOW!?" Watts shot out of his seat and pointed at the glass with a shaking hand. Looking around, he couldn't find the discarded cigar anywhere, the thing having disappeared as mysteriously as it appeared.**

"**Y-You! You're messing with me! How dare you mock me! Fine, let's do this! My cards are-"**

"**Hold it." Jaune interrupted Watts before he could reveal his hand.**

"**It's my turn to raise."**

"**W-what?" The word came out as a whisper, Watt's composure was thoroughly shattered now.**

"**Rr-r-r-r-raise!? You have nothing left to raise with!"**

"**But I do, my mother is still in the hospital back in Vale thanks to your boss. I raise her soul, since you made me bet Pyrrha's soul I'll make you give me the secret of Tyrian's stand if you lose this wager. So, what will it be? You gonna call or you gonna fold?" Jaune slammed his fist against the table as he delivered his ultimatum.**

"H-he's betting my soul now too? Mr Arc, just what kind of plan do you have!?"

"**O-oi, Jaune what the hell!? You can't bet Goodwitch's soul! She's your mother for crying out loud."**

"**Yes, she is. We're here in Vacuo trying to cure her condition, if we fail here she dies in pain. When I win, we'll be closer to saving her, if I lose… which is not going to happen by the way, her soul is taken and she'll be free from the pain. No matter the outcome, she wins." Jaune stated with supreme confidence and Watt's face paled even further.**

**The gambler fell out of his chair and backed away in fright, hyperventilating as the stress got to him. The cards crumpled in his hands as the terror sank in, before he had no stakes in the wager aside from what he won this day, but now? Now he was bound by his own stand, if he matched the bet and lost, he was finished. **

'**From his reaction, he must know the secret of Tyrian's stand! But, traitors get tortured to death. If he speaks, he's as good as dead. If you're that confident, then you must have a winning hand. I can believe in that right?' Yatsuhashi grinned as Watts folded like a house of cards before them.**

"**So! Do you bet or not!? Let's here you say it loud and clear, WATTS!" Jaune said, raising his voice for the first time in awhile and striking even more fear into the downed man.**

"**I'll say it.. I'LL SAY IT!" Watts staggered to his feet and approached the table, his appearance was dishevelled and a far cry from the calm and collected gambler from earlier. Sweat and mucus ran down his face as he tried to keep his balance, mouth working but only incoherent stammers coming out.**

'**I'm the world's greatest gambler! I'll take the bet, I'll call damnit! Call! Call! Callcallcallcallcallcallcall…' The word repeated itself countless times in Watt's mind but when he tried to say it, nothing but choked screams came out.**

"**Ca-c-c-c-c-c-ca- ah…. ahhhhhhh!" Eyes wide with fear, his black hair began turning white as his stand worked against its owner for the first time since he gained it. No matter how much his mind screamed for him to take the bet, to call the bluff, he couldn't do it.**

**His stand… no his soul wouldn't allow him to do so. He'd already accepted defeat in his heart.**

'**I-I-I can't speak. I'm too terrified… ahahharghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!' The life seemed to leave him as he collapsed into a chair, unable to meet the steely blue eyes boring into his skull as fear claimed him. With a final gasp, Watts passed out where he was sitting, completely defeated.**

**Oscar fell back in fright upon seeing the sudden changes to his employer. "Ahhhh! H-he's sitting there but he's already passed out!"**

"**Yare yare daze, he got so nervous he fainted on the spot. How disappointing, and I thought he'd remain awake long enough to fold as well." Jaune adjusted his armour and raised one eyebrow when the soul poker chips as well as the folder containing Watts macabre collection began to rattle on the table.**

**With a violent poof, all the souls trapped within were freed in an instant. Weiss and Ozpins souls returned to their bodies and several groans indicated they were waking up. The other souls floated off into the air, some returning to their bodies if they were still around, others passing on if they had been extracted for too long.**

**Jaune spared the departing souls a small smile and swore he heard several faint 'thank yous' on the wind. "He accepted defeat in his heart so all their souls were released. I wanted to get information about Tyrian's base and his stand from Watts, but I don't think that's happening any time soon."**

"H-he did it, he actually did it!" The awe in Roman's voice was palpable, a sentiment shared by most of the audience. Neo merely smirked and wagged a finger in Roman's face, chastising him for doubting her intuition.

"That was insane, I feel like I'm minutes away from a heart attack." Taiyang spoke and clutched his chest before wiping away a sheen of sweat.

"Tell me about it, want a drink Tai? It'll take off the edge." Qrow handed a bottle over to Taiyang who took it without protest and started chugging. Summer was going to scold him for it before deciding otherwise and requisitioning her own bottle.

"Oh come on, why can't I get a drink too, you're not the only ones dying from the suspense!" Yang whined as the adults of her family drank away while she was left with nothing but a soda.

"Still, what kind of cards does Jaune have to give him such confidence?"

"**Holy shit, he had a four of a kind kings! What the heck was your hand Jaune!?" Yatsuhashi exclaimed when he noticed the crumpled cards that Watts had dropped. When he reached over to reveal Jaune's hand, his face lost all colour and he felt woozy.**

"**So it really was a handful of shit like I thought." Jaune shrugged and looked away as Yatsuhashi shot him a betrayed look.**

"**I knew it, I knew the cards were crap." Oscar whispered as he backed away from the knight with a few screws loose.**

"**WHAT THE HELL JAUNE! YOU BET ALL OUR SOULS ON A PIECE OF CRAP! THE HELL MAN! YOU DIDN'T EVEN LOOK AT THE CARDS! WHAT IF YOU LOST!"**

"**Tch, if I had looked my nerve would have broken and I'd never be able to pull of the bluff. Heh, star Platinum is fast, but not fast enough to swap out an entire hand. I knew the cards were rigged the moment I lost the first hand, a two pair beaten by a stronger two pair? Heh, enough to get me to match the bet but not enough to win me the hand. Forcing him to fold was the only way to win, but jeez, with such a crap hand, I would have freaked out for sure if I saw it." Jaune admitted and shook his head.**

"**B-but, how'd you know you could get him to fold? He was in control from the very start."**

"**I saw it. When he was facing gramps, when he placed the first five coins in the drink, he was nervous, that wasn't an act. The truth is, he's a coward who only feels confident when he's in control. Even with his little chocolate trick, there was always the chance he could make a mistake and cause the drink to spill, for a self-professed master gambler, he sure doesn't like chance." Jaune spared Watts a cold glare, the man was regaining consciousness although his mind was clearly broken. Only the ramblings of a mad man left him now, any sanity had long fled him.**

"**Easiest way to win is to let him beat himself. Once I broke his finger, he was so concerned with not underestimating me that he did the opposite and overestimated, made me an insurmountable wall in his mind. After that, it was just a matter of stripping away the sense that he was in control. A cigar, a drink, amazing how a few little details make so much difference isn't it. As my dad used to say, all you need is confidence."**

"There is confidence, and then there is this. Balls. Of. Titanium." Qrow whispered in awe.

"Mind your language Branwen… but yes, this version of Mr Arc is most impressive." Goodwitch lightly chastised the veteran hunter but otherwise agreed with him.

"Once again, he doesn't fail to impress. I knew he had potential." Ozpin sipped his coffee with pride at seeing his student excel, that his counterpart had his soul back in his body helped.

"I can't believe he pulled it off." Weiss muttered to herself while lost in thought. She didn't think such people actually existed, oh sure she'd heard her father complain at dinner over business rivals snatching victory from the jaws of defeat through nothing but their own confidence but she always put it off as bitter ranting. To think such absurd confidence actually existed, it was actually easy to see how someone with lesser nerves might fold early in the face of such overwhelming presence.

"Renny, what's a word for being more fearless than fearless? Because we need a new word for this Jaune-Jaune."

"I don't know Nora, but I'll tell you when I think of one."

"**Back to square one, I don't think Watts will be telling us about Tyrian, not with him in this state. Haaah, yare yare daze, at least we took out one of Tyrian's lieutenants, so it wasn't a complete waste of time. Pack your things, we'll move once Weiss and gramps are back on their feet."**

The screen faded to black and the lights came on after Yatsuhashi nodded in response.

"I trust you all enjoyed that showing?" Blank asked and received a bunch of nods

"Can we see more of that universe later?" Yang asked, interested to see more about such a strange world and the Jaune that inhabited it.

"Of course, but there are other universes that are just as entertaining for you all. Enjoy your break, the next viewing will start shortly."

* * *

Author's notes: Chapter done. JoJo the series is full of amazing fights with over the top action and most battles would make a good chapter honestly. But the encounter with Gambler D'arby is one of my favourites despite the fact that Jotaro doesn't pull a beatdown with Star Platinum aside from breaking a finger. He won by outthinking his opponent instead of a straight fight, essentially he was playing a completely different game that went by his rules, ensuring that he won.

A lot of people only remember Jotaro Kujo for the Ora Oras but Jotaro also excels at mind games and strategies. A key example of this would be the final fight against DIO, there was the trick with the magnets, stopping his heart and finally stopping time at the end of DIO's own limit.

This encounter exemplifies one of the core points of Jaune's identity in the series I think, he'll never be the best fighter unless RT changes something drastically, his biggest ability has always been his mind and insane learning curve. Much like the real life Jeanne D arc, he's a leader, not necessarily a fighter.

In any case, next chapter might be a ways off, have some university projects to finish before I can start writing again. The next chapter will be the plot tumour that inspired me to write this fic in the first place. 'Pride of a fake hero'

* * *

Cast list

Jaune Arc as Jotaro Kujo

Ozpin as Joseph Joestar

Weiss Schnee as Polnareff

Yatsuhashi Daichi as Avdol

Pyrrha Nikos as Kakyoin

Arthur Watts as Daniel D'arby

Tyrian Callows as DIO

Zwei as D'arby's cat

Glynda Goodwitch as Holly

Junior as barkeep

Malachite family as Moors family

Oscar as kid dealer


	7. Chapter 7: Pride of a fake hero

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 7: Pride of a fake hero**

**Inspiration: Fate Stay Night (Unlimited Blade Works)**

"Welcome back, this next universe is one that's special to me, a possible future that shows the dichotomy between the dream of being a hero and the reality of actually being one." Blank said once his audience had returned to their seats fully refreshed.

"Possible future? Ooh, ooh, are we going to see another King Jaune again?" Nora bounced excitedly as she recalled that version of her leader.

"King Jaune?" Taiyang asked in confusion, not having been around for that viewing.

"Oh yeah you weren't around for that one dad, in that universe, Jaune founds his own kingdom after saving the world from the Grimm and becomes king. Then he goes back to the past to save it too." Ruby answered cheerfully.

"It's close… except this Jaune is a lot darker. Unlike the king, he never found the light and ended up drowning in darkness." Blank said and several unsure whispers met him.

"Not that I'm questioning you, but that version of Arc was willing to torture his enemies to death just to punish them. How much darker can he possibly get?" Weiss asked as she recalled the friendly ghost who took great pride in the suffering he wrought on those who wronged him.

"Torturing people to death? What?" Taiyang would have said more before Qrow's hand on his shoulder silenced him.

"That version of the kid lost his entire team to you know who's efforts. You shut down after losing Summer, the kid kicked into overdrive instead and got his revenge. Very bloody revenge."

"If there's one thing you should know, it's that things can always be worse. Some say that the worse thing about being a hero is that sooner or later, you're going to leave on a quest and never return, leaving everyone else behind." Blank would have shrugged if he had a body, as it was he just flickered in place instead.

Summer bowed her head slightly, remembering leaving on her final mission and never returning. Leaving her family behind to mourn her. A quick squeeze from her husband's hand and a hug from her daughters helped alleviate the guilt.

"But, there is something worse than just dying on a mission. It's returning alone after being betrayed by their own ideals time after time. In almost every possible future of your world where Jaune Arc survives to adulthood, he will become a hero in the eyes of the people, a legend in his own right. But his legend is always mired in tragedy. And this Jaune is effectively broken by the burden he carries. A boy who dreamed of becoming a hero but found that all that was left at the end was a weapon, shattered by his own dreams."

"So we're watching a tragedy, great, just great." Yang threw her arms in the air and complained, not at all interested in watching a version of her crush sink into despair.

"I suppose you could say that about his life and it is a perfectly valid interpretation but it's not completely hopeless. Ah I'm rambling now, let me just start the movie." Blank chuckled and dimmed the lights, the screen coming on shortly thereafter.

**The petrified Grimm dragon overlooked the ruins of Beacon, stone wings casting the destroyed courtyard below in shade as autumn leaves drifted on the wind. The setting sun cast the world into red and gold as the stars slowly became visible in the evening sky.**

**Three knights stood in the empty courtyard, the two blonde ones facing off against the silver. An older Jaune gripped Crocea Mors tightly in hand as he met Archer's unwavering gaze with one of his own. Archer held no weapons and merely sat atop the half destroyed Huntsmen statue, looking down on his challengers. Not a word passed between them as the standoff continued.**

"**In the beginning, I couldn't tell who you were. The other heroic spirits, their legends were defined, with enough time I could identify them. But not you." Jaune was the first to break the silence as he stepped forwards.**

"**You called yourself a faker, a heroic spirit with the ability to copy any weapon he sees, and not just that, but also gain a copy of the skills of the weapon's wielders. Allowing you to fight with them in a near perfect mimicry of the original. With all the weapons and skills in your arsenal, narrowing down your true identity was impossible. Too many possibilities, and no legend or fairy tale ever recorded an existence like yours."**

"Copying weapons? Isn't that how Velvet fights? I'm pretty sure I saw her use her camera to create a copy of Crescent Rose once, does Jaune's opponent use hardlight dust as well?" Ruby asked curiously, remembering the bunny faunus second year student. Among hunters she was a bit of an oddball, most hunters generally had a specific weapon they used, Velvet was the only person she had ever heard of that used copies of other people's weapons as the primary form of combat.

"It's a superior version of your friend's ability and no dust is involved, just magic. It's the one and only magic available to him." Blank answered.

"Magic? Does it have something to do with that heroic spirit Mr Arc mentioned?" Ozpin perked up at the mention of magic, his mind kicking into gear as multiple theories each fought for their place in his mind.

"Heroic spirits are individuals who've achieved so much in life that they've become immortalised in legend. This is occurring during the grail war, a conflict sparked by the creation of an artificial fifth relic."

"A-a fifth relic!? That's impossible." Ozpin's denial was swift, there were only four relics, all creations of the brother gods. With them having abandoned Remnant, it was impossible for a fifth to be created.

"The gods may have left Remnant but echoes of their powers still remain, potent as ever. The Grimm are of the god of darkness and while the god of light's power is less tangible, it is no less present. The fifth relic, the holy grail was created by gathering these echoes and coalescing them into a single object, drawing upon the power of the other four relics in the process. It has the power to grant a wish, any wish." Blank said as the audience's attention was now fixed on him.

"The hell's a relic? And a wish? So I can what, wish to be the richest person in Remnant?" Roman asked sceptically.

"A relic is exactly that, a leftover from the gods containing some of their power. A fifth artificial one was created and you could make that wish. You'd get it too, just not in the way you expect. The grail is flawed, tainted by the darkness in the hearts of its creators. Any wish made on it will inevitably lead to the end of the world. If you wish to be the richest, the grail will grant that wish by causing everyone else to die instantly, leaving you as the only one left and the richest by default." Roman's mouth clicked shut on hearing that answer.

"Okay… messed up as that is, where does the heroic spirit bit come in?"

"The grail needs to be charged before a wish can be made, more power has to be drawn from the other relics to power it, to that end, the grail war system was created. Copies of legendary figures are created and a link to their souls in the afterlife is established, allowing the copies to function in the same way the originals would. Every one of them has a wish that they want granted and they'll fight until only one remains, the conflict charges the grail and the wish is given to the victor. The spirits are each assigned a class that reflects their legend and fighting style. Jaune's partner here is Saber while his opponent is archer."

"But if the grail leads to the end of the world why are they fighting for it?" Ruby asked in confusion.

"Many reasons, not all heroes are made equal. Some have their legends written in blood and they desire nothing short of the end of the world. Others fight to ensure that the end never comes. Your friend here is trying to destroy the grail, to ensure that its evil can't taint Remnant any further."

"Admirable goal." Ozpin muttered and sipped his coffee.

"**And so you realised the truth. Must have been when I used that parry and thrust combo. Took you long enough to figure it out." The silver haired knight smiled mockingly and gave a slow clap to congratulate Jaune.**

"**Ah, at first I was trying to figure out where in history you were recorded, but then I saw that move you did to shut down lancer with a copy of my Crocea Mors. That's when it clicked, you shouldn't have been able to pull that off, not even with your ability to copy my skills." Jaune shrugged and his glare intensified.**

"**Me, copy you? Don't get so full of yourself. As if I'd need to copy you, a worthless fraud." The arrogant tone caused Jaune to grind his teeth and grip his sword tighter.**

"Grr… I don't like this man, break his legs fearless leader!" Nora cheered and Ren tried to calm her down again, keeping more popcorn from spilling.

"Heheh, which one?" Blank chuckled before falling silent.

"**Of course you wouldn't need to copy me. That was Pyrrha's move, of all the things she tried to teach me before Cinder murdered her, that was the one I could never get down. You couldn't have copied the move from me even if you tried." Jaune smiled bitterly as he recalled the nightly training sessions before the fall, ironically, it was one of the very first moves his late partner tried to teach him. A simple parry and counterstrike, but it was the one move that he could never get down right.**

"Wait, I'm dead again? Oh no." Pyrrha clasped her hands together and pulled her knees up into a ball. Ren and Nora pulled her into a group hug to comfort her.

"**How nice, you realise you're a failure." Jaune ignored the jab and continued speaking his thoughts.**

"**Yea, that was when I realised I was making incorrect assumptions about the nature of the grail war. I thought, that just because every other spirit had a clear legend in history you would too. But that's not the case is it, I can't find your legend because there's nothing to be found. Your legend hasn't been written yet, has it?"**

"**With the relics, the concept of time being a linear progression doesn't apply. Whether a legend is written in the past or the future is irrelevant and the hero can be summoned to the present regardless. Your identity is out in the open now, so tell me, why do you hate Jaune Arc so much?" Saber asked as she stepped to the side, this showdown would be between the two men and she would serve only as witness to it.**

"**Why do I hate him? How can I not hate him? Jaune Arc is a fraud, a faker and a hypocrite. An idiot who dreams above his station, a fool who marches forwards without any care for the consequences. Someone like him belongs in a grave where he can't cause anymore problems, you know, out of all the spirits gunning for the grail, I'm the only one who doesn't need it to have my wish granted. Just by being here I can wipe the stain that is Jaune Arc from the face of the Remnant and my wish is fulfilled."**

"Hey! Take that back you jerk! Sure Jaune isn't the best at fighting but he's trying his best to improve! Where do you get off insulting him like that!?" Ruby growled at the screen, angry at the man who insulted her first friend in Beacon.

"Calm down Red, it's just a movie. And if this guy is from even further in the future, then your buddy must have done something to really piss him off." Torchwick called out and received several angry glares.

"Quiet criminal, that's our friend you're talking about, keep your nose out of it." Weiss said frostily.

"Heh, didn't think I'd ever see you defending Jaune Weiss-cream." Yang playfully poked the Schnee heiress in the side.

"Hmmph, the doofus can be annoying… but I'll admit he's come a long way since he first came to Beacon."

"**That's enough Saber, my dreams are still fragmented. But I remember enough of it to know that I'm the one person he'll never be able to accept, and the reverse is also true. Archer… no, heroic spirit Arc is the one person I will never acknowledge."**

"Wait, what?"

"**So you're not completely naïve after all. Pity that doesn't change much." **

"**But why, I don't understand why you have to fight. Archer, you are the culmination of the ideals and dreams of Jaune Arc aren't you? Why would the ideal hate itself?" Saber asked from where she stood off to the side.**

"**It is precisely because I am the ideal of Jaune Arc that I cannot accept his existence. I didn't become a hero the same way you did Saber. You go down in history as a knight straight out of the fairy tales, a hero who saved the kingdom, rode off into the sunset and obtained your happily ever after. Me? I saved the world and I got to watch it all burn to ashes in front of me." Archer laughed, a sad broken noise.**

"**You're right about one thing though. I did become a hero just as Jaune Arc always wished to be. I am the Jaune Arc who walked the path of the hero to the finish line. And that is precisely why I know it's a mistake. Out of my own hypocrisy and selfishness, I sought to become a hero and I found only regret waiting for me at the end of my journey."**

"Wait, silver hair is Jaune as well? W-why would he hate himself so much?" Yang asked in confusion.

"…That Jaune made mistakes in his past and he can't forgive himself for them. It's why he hates his old self, having to see another him make the same mistakes he did, leading down the same path he once walked. He can't stand it." Blake replied as her head bowed. She knew inside that if she ever ran into her own white fang past self, she'd probably react in a similar manner.

**Archer traced a copy of Crocea Mors in its original unaltered state and toyed with it. "In the war against Salem and her forces, I found my strength wanting. Jaune Arc wasn't strong enough to make a difference, so I used the relics to give myself the power to win. In exchange for my semblance and all of my aura, I gained magic, true magic. The power to instantly know the full history of any weapon I see and gain a copy of the skills of their wielders from the relic of knowledge. And the power to create copies of said weapons from the relic of creation. With that new power, I started winning. Killing Grimm by the thousands, entire hordes would cease to exist once I buried them beneath a rain of steel, even ancient Grimm fell before my might. With it, I became… invincible." Hollow eyes stared back at Jaune.**

"**Then what changed? What happened to twist you into what you are now?" Saber asked and Archer snorted before tossing the Crocea Mors copy away, allowing it to shatter into motes of light.**

"**What changed was I won. I beat Salem by severing her connection to the Grimm, exiled her to the moon where she would never again be able to affect Remnant. With their master gone, the Grimm just fell apart, returning to darkness and collecting in the Grimm pools. I saved the world from the Grimm and became known as a hero for that."**

"He turned Remnant into a world without Grimm? Isn't that a good thing? Why would he regret that? What, was he angry they didn't make him king of the world or something?" Roman chewed on a cigar, trying to wrap his head around the idea that anyone would regret wiping out the Grimm. Cinder excluded of course.

"His victory must have come at too high a cost." Ozpin replied with a little sadness, once more his student was responsible for ending Salem's threat and once more he was the one to pay for it.

"**The world entered a new golden age. Without the threat of the Grimm, hunters could put their weapons down and the kingdoms could expand, reclaim land lost long ago. Humanity was thriving after so damned long. But it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows though, without the Grimm, there wasn't a need to suppress negative emotions out of fear of a Grimm invasion. Humans began doing whatever they pleased out on the frontier, the number of ex hunters who decided to carve out their own little kingdoms by enslaving frontier villages was depressingly high. I thought I could rest after winning against Salem, but no. I got dragged out to fight again and again and again against the worst humanity had to offer." Archer laughed bitterly as he recalled the first time he took a human life.**

**An Atlas academy dropout who couldn't have been older than twenty. Drunk on the power his aura afforded him over the common masses, he was part of a bandit group that made life for a mining town complete hell.**

**Word about his actions spread and he wound up being called in to deal with the situation. After fighting against Salem's forces for so long, he overreacted and cut him down with a hail of blades before the bandit even noticed his arrival. The corpse left behind barely resembled a human. The rest of the bandits joined him in the afterlife shortly after.**

**The people cheered for their saviour but all he felt was emptiness inside. All his life he wanted to become a hero, to save others from the Grimm just as his family had been doing for generations. And now all the skills and powers he had were just used to end the lives of other humans. He was sick to the core.**

**And over the years that initial regret and bitterness faded away into numbness as his own kill count reached the high thousands. Bandit groups, warlords, terrorist cells, all fell beneath his magic. The more the people cheered, the more his hate towards others became directed inwards. He killed thousands to save millions more, but at what point does one cross the line between being a hero and being a monster, the line that used to be so clearly defined was getting harder and harder to distinguish as time passed.**

"**You want to know how long the golden age I ushered in lasted? Twenty years. Twenty fucking years of relative peace for the kingdoms. And then the second great war broke out when expansion efforts conflicted. The kingdoms came to the conclusion that there was no need for four kingdoms when one would suffice. As it turns out, all that technology that went into creating better weapons to combat the Grimm also created weapons that absolutely destroyed the squishy humans. The world burned in the flames of war and it's all my fault."**

"**It wasn't your fault, it was-" Saber began but was cut off by a headshake.**

"**Of course it was my fault. I'm the one who wiped out the Grimm, I'm the one who allowed the worst excesses of humanity to be put on display. I'm the one who created a no win situation for humanity. Once the second great war started, it didn't matter which side I helped, every action I took only lead to more deaths and another step closer to the end. I stained my hands with so much blood to save others and it was all for nothing in the end. You know it's ironic really, the Grimm have been slowly driving humanity to extinction but they're the one thing, the only thing keeping humanity from wiping itself out. The world's a powder keg, and I lit the fuse." Archer closed his eyes and for a few seconds the crestfallen man beneath the snark could be seen before it was wiped away and the arrogant look returned.**

"That… is really depressing." Qrow took a large swig from his flask and grimaced, his words summed up the thoughts of the silent theatre.

Ozpin bit his cheeks as he stared into his half empty coffee mug, his distorted reflection staring back at him in the brown liquid. For so long now he blamed Salem's machinations for the failure to unite humanity, but if that was the future that awaited them after the Grimm threat was dealt with…

No, he wouldn't accept that. Ozpin shook his head to drive away the negative thoughts. Clearly something had gone wrong in that version of the future, but just as everything went to hell for Archer, there was a future where things had gone better for king Jaune. He just had to have hope that the future would turn out alright.

'Hope huh, when was the last time I had any?'

"**Time after time after time I marched onto the battlefield trying to end the conflicts and save whoever I could. Blood crazed soldiers and automated weapons don't give a damn about civilian casualties, so I killed to stop the bloodshed of innocents. Killed and killed and killed some more. But it never ended, there was always another battlefield on the horizon, always another target. I never dreamed of a world without conflict, I just wanted to help create a world where there's no longer any needless crying, where children wouldn't have to grow up as orphans from the Grimm. Then one day I realised just how shallow my motivations truly were, how little effort I actually put in to understanding my goal. Become a hero and save everyone? What a joke. You can't save everyone. Saving the many means abandoning the few, I just pretended not to notice that fact." **

"**And so you gave up on the dream? Tossed aside everything you ever cared for? Became a coward!?" Jaune's glare intensified as he roared at his future self.**

"**Became a coward!? Hahahahah… you say that like we were ever anything but cowards! Always too afraid to face the consequences of our own actions until it's too late and we get it shoved in our faces. The very existence of Jaune Arc is twisted by his foolish dream. To create a world where no one has to be killed, I slaughtered thousands. Despite wishing for my hands to be stained with blood no further, I continued carving a bloody path across Remnant without hesitation. Even when I said I didn't want anyone to be sad, I ultimately drove the whole world into despair. That, is the true identity of the heroic spirit Jaune Arc, wouldn't you agree that the world is better off without someone like that in it?" Archer summoned a copy of Crocea Mors and tossed it to Jaune.**

"**Crocea Mors, a blade responsible for so much death and suffering in the first great war, all in the name of a revolution to bring about a brighter future. A weapon that defines the term necessary evil. Kill yourself Jaune Arc, spare the world from the evil that is you."**

"**I don't believe you're as far gone as you think yourself to be Archer, even if you've been betrayed by your own ideals. That's why you're here trying to kill your past self, to atone for your mistakes." Saber said before shutting up when another round of hollow laughter met her ears.**

"**Atone for my mistakes? I'm already dead Saber, whatever sins I had died with my original self. When I continued my campaign to end the war, I made enemies of all four kingdoms when they wouldn't see reason. My magic made me almost untouchable and as long as I lived, none of the kingdoms could commit to a full scale assault lest they get their armies destroyed by me. So in their eagerness to destroy one another, they pulled a reckless gambit knowing that I wouldn't be able to stop myself." Archer's eyes glazed over as he remembered receiving the news. **

**Reports of the kingdoms mobilising their forces had been trickling in for weeks now from what few contacts he had left. Word on the street was that the kingdoms were tired of the bloodshed and gearing up for one final battle, winner take all. Jaune had laughed when he heard it, a fatalistic smile wouldn't leave his face. His time was up, the kingdoms wouldn't tolerate his interference any longer and were willing to throw away the lives of their men just to remove him from the picture, just so they could get back to happily slaughtering one another.**

"**Four armies met in battle close to a minor settlement, bait to draw me out. I couldn't just let the fighting continue and destroy the town so I marched for the front lines. Three days I fought without rest against all four of them, bloodied the initial waves and their reinforcements. For three days I stood alone against the world, its greatest hero now its greatest villain, eventually I ran out of life force to power my magic and died where I stood. The armies of remnant now a pale shadow of what they once were. The day I died was the day my total kill count exceeded a million."**

"Shit." Ruby exhaled slowly and no one had the heart to chastise her for her choice of words.

"The kingdoms wouldn't do that… would they?" Pyrrha asked in a small voice.

"Of course they would. The kingdoms are lead by the councils, and they're corrupt to the core. The only thing that matters to the powers that be is their own safety and comfort. As long as they remain in charge the rest of the world can burn while they kick back with a glass of wine." Roman said derisively.

"I suppose you'd know all about that wouldn't you Torchwick? It's not like you were planning to do the same." Blake hissed and glared.

"One, I have no choice. And two, as a matter of fact I do. To the councils, the only good hero is a dead one. Dead ones serve as martyrs that inspire the sheep, live ones have a tendency to do the right thing at the councils' expense, like your dear friend did."

"And what worth could your words possibly hold, you're a criminal and I'd prefer if you don't try to corrupt my students." Goodwitch adjusted her glasses and spoke.

"Can it Goodbitch, what you call corruption I call telling the truth. Did you think I was always a criminal? Years ago I was huntsman too, trying to be a hero, make the world a better place. Then mount Glenn happened. My team was part of the evacuation efforts you know that? We were almost to Vale, the Grimm were miles behind us and the council in all their wisdom had the tunnels collapsed on our heads. They buried us all alive so they wouldn't have to deal with the refugees, killed damn near everyone. But I survived, and I found Neo in the train wreck, took me two days to dig our way out, rest of my team didn't make it, and Neo? Throat injury means she'll never speak… ever. The council passed it off as a tragedy, that if only the refugees had made it faster but with the Grimm right on top of them they had to be sacrificed for the good of Vale. And that was it, not even a memorial to those who died, just a few words and Mount Glenn becomes just another memory to forget. That's when I learnt that in this world you look out for number one, because the rest of the world sure as hell won't." Roman was hyperventilating at this point and only Neo tugging on his sleeves got him to calm down and his eyes slowly lost the manic gleam in them.

"Right… sorry, got a little lost in my memories there. Point is, the world isn't as black and white as you think it is. Try to be a hero and you'll end up dead or betrayed. Most don't learn that lesson until it's too late." Roman grunted and shifted his hat to cover his eyes, slumping back into his seat and tuning the rest of the world out. The rest of the theatre for its part was silent after Roman's outburst.

"**I never wanted to be famous or rewarded for my actions. I just wanted to live up to my family legacy and create a world where everyone could be happy. But I never got that at all, instead I became a legend and my legacy was a world full of suffering."**

"**So you regret it all then. Beacon, JNPR, RNJR?" Jaune asked with a blank face.**

"**Of course I regret it. It all lead to my fate after all."**

"**Hmmph, so I guess we really are different people after all." Jaune smiled softly, the first smile to grace his face since he figured out the truth of the man known as Archer.**

"**If there's one thing I'll never regret in my life it's going to Beacon. Ren, Nora, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang… Pyrrha. The bonds I forged with them, I'll never regret it no matter what the future holds. I'll never become you." Jaune declared and threw away the copy of Crocea Mors, levelling the true blade against his future self. **

"…**Idiot, can't you see, every step you take only puts you on the path towards becoming me. If you continue going down this road, one day you'll find my face staring back at you in the mirror. I **_**am**_** your destiny!"**

"**And that's another difference, I don't believe in destiny! There is no fate but the one I make! So no, I'll never become you."**

**Silence reigned supreme as the last rays of the sun began to fade and the sky was coloured in indigo hues. Archer was the first to blink, heaving an exaggerated sigh and shrugging his shoulders.**

"**Well that's true I suppose. If you foolishly insist on going down this path, I am going to kill you here so you'll be too dead to become me. There never was a future waiting for you." Leaping off the statue to land on the ground, Archer began to advance.**

"**Saber, whatever happens here, stay out of it. This is a fight I must have alone."**

"**But-"**

"**No Saber, Archer is a wall that I must overcome myself. Trace…"**

"**On." Archer finished and copies of Crocea Mors formed in their hands, two fakes in Archers and one in Jaune's free hand.**

"**Through the resonance in our souls, you have my magic as well but none of the experience. Do you really think you can keep up with me? One mistake and I'll skewer you." No further words needed to be exchanged as the two Jaune rushed each other, blades clashing in a shower of sparks.**

**Amidst the ruins of the academy, they danced, a tango of steel and death. Archer continuously pressing the attack with the additional decades worth of experience overwhelming his younger self despite his own lack of aura. Bit by bit Jaune was forced backwards until finally, a misstep allowed Archer to bring his full might to bear in a single hit, shattering the copy he wielded and disarming him of the original Crocea Mors. Backpedalling to avoid a fatal wound, Jaune summoned a copy of one of Magnhild's grenades and detonated it at point blank range, using the blast to stun Archer and create distance between them.**

"**Did you think your projections would be on the same level as mine? That just because you can create a good looking copy that it would be enough? You lack focus, your copies have no substance and they're so damned fragile. A joke, just like you." Archer mocked as blood flowed from a cut on his forehead from where shrapnel had lanced past.**

**Jaune growled and summoned more weapon copies to hand, this time a replica of Crescent Rose appeared in scythe form. Pulling the trigger and using the recoil to grant him a burst of speed, Jaune slashed at Archer, aiming for his neck.**

**The silver haired man parried with his swords and struck back, only for Jaune to dodge out of the way again using Crescent Rose to recoil boost himself away. Switching to rifle mode, Jaune fired until the magazine ran dry, forcing Archer to block with a hastily summoned shield. His fighting style was rough and nothing more than a pale imitation of Ruby's but the longer he fought, the smoother his moves became and the closer he got to achieving the same grace his long time friend had.**

"Woah, Jaune's a scythe buddy now… Awesome!" Ruby squealed in excitement at the sight of Jaune using her pride and joy to beat his older not so nice self. Several mumbles of agreement were the only response she got as the rest were still lost in their thoughts.

**Cracks appeared in Crescent Rose and before long it shattered from the strain. Undeterred, Jaune resummoned Crocea Mors to his hands and began clashing blades with Archer again. One by one, his projected weapons shattered, but every time they clashed, the blades lasted longer and longer and Jaune got stronger and faster.**

**Finally separating from one another when both Jaune's shattered their weapons at the same time. Archer spat to the side and regarded his younger self with a cold look. "So that's how you're still standing. Every time we exchange blows, the soul resonance increases and you gain more of my skills and experience. You're copying me."**

"**Is that so? Heh, then we're both copycats. Just you wait, keep on fighting and I'll catch up to you before you even realise it." Jaune reformed his weapons and grinned.**

"**Catch up to me? Even with my soul bleeding over you still don't realise your own stupidity. You never had a chance of winning in the first place!" Archer roared and closed the gap between them instantly with a burst of magic. Jaune barely got his own swords up in time to block the fatal blow, as it was he was still pushed back several steps by the sheer force of the strike and his aura flared in response to the damage that threatened to break his arms.**

**Jaune's vision flickered as Archer's magic entwinned with his own, forcing upon him the memories of his future. Brown, greys, never ending sorrow. He saw himself crying at Pyrrha's funeral, an empty casket lowered into the earth, no body left to bury. He saw himself screaming to the heavens when they buried Weiss. He saw himself kneeling in the dirt holding a too still Ruby after the reaper turned Cinder to stone.**

**As the battlefields transitioned from one to another, the number of his friends left diminished. Until eventually he was left all alone, standing on a hill of corpses in the middle of an ocean of blood. But it didn't end, always another fight to get to, always someone else in need of saving, always too weak, too slow, too late to make a difference.**

**Until finally, he found himself alone in a barren wasteland dyed red and black with human blood and twisted metal. A field of broken swords his only companions as he was beset by enemies on all sides. Out of magic, out of options, out of time. Closing his eyes and breathing one last broken sigh, he waited for the artillery strike to hit his position.**

'**That's how his life ended? I don't pity him. I don't pity him. I don't… but if that's the fate waiting for me at the end of this road… that my… our ideals were nothing more than a hopeless fantasy and our dream a never ending nightmare. Then my heart really is going to shatter.'**

Ruby's earlier excitement had vanished and several sniffles escaped the hooded girl as she buried herself in her mother's arms. Pyrrha and Nora were both openly crying while Yang's hair was ablaze and her blood red eyes scanning for something, anything to destroy. Weiss and Blake weren't as close to the blonde knight as the others but even they were put off by what they were seeing. To have his dreams trampled on so thoroughly by the world, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

"Damn kid, for what it's worth I'm sorry you had to go through that." Roman muttered from where he was seated. In another world, he could have become Archer, if he hadn't given up on the system and instead continued to press onwards with his dream of becoming a hero. The other adults merely nodded along with grim faces.

**Archer's swords cut through Jaune's and shattered the copies, the weight of the blow carrying through and scoring twin furrows in Jaune's chest plate, sending the knight tumbling to the floor. Jaune was breathing hard as his mind snapped back to the present, cold sweat beaded his forehead and the urge to vomit was rising. He could only back away and try to regain his bearings.**

"**Going to throw up are you? From your expression you must have seen it, the fate waiting for you. All of it is true. **_**That's**_** what catching up to me means. Have you got it into your thick skull yet? Let me show you again, the world I ended up in." Pale blue light began leaking of Archer's body as the spirit dragged up his magic to the surface. **

"**I am the bone of my sword.**

**Steel is my body and fire is my blood.**

**Have emerged victorious from a thousand battlefields.**

**Never once understanding others and never once being understood.**

**He was always alone, drunk with meaningless victory on the hill of swords.**

**Thus my life had no meaning, nothing more than a man made out of swords.**

**Unlimited Blade Works."**

**Cracks appeared in reality itself and bright light poured out of the fissures. When the faded the world had changed, the ruins of Beacon had been replaced with a wasteland. Barren earth stretched from one end of the horizon to the other. Giant gears hung in the sky as part of some clockwork assembly, the metal rusted over so badly none of the gears would turn anymore. Thick black smog covered the sky and the stench of ashes was omni present. But by far the most striking aspect of the new world were the swords stabbed into the ground, an infinite number of blades glimmering in the dirt despite the lack of sunlight, purest silver and gold untouched by the corrosion that affected everything else.**

"What is that?" Ozpin dropped his mug in shock, the hot liquid spilling everywhere but the man didn't even notice.

"It's a reality marble. The truest manifestation of his soul." Blank answered

"A new semblance? So it's an illusion?" Goodwitch asked as she tried making sense of what she was seeing.

"No, it's the ultimate expression of his magic, his own personal world. A technique only available to individuals who have their cores completely twisted. A reality marble is the complete rejection of reality, replacing the real world with the wielder's own version. It can only be used by someone who's very soul rejects the world for being wrong, spitting in the face of reality and the gods as it were. Archer's reality marble is the unlimited blade works, a world filled with infinite swords, every weapon he's ever seen, every variation he can think of, they all exist here for him to use. Whether it is in a straight fight or as nigh unstoppable bullets, hence the title of Archer."

"**Hurts to breathe doesn't it, that burning feeling in your lungs. Look around you boy, this is what you end up as. A broken machine with nothing left, fit only to serve as a weapon. This is where the path of the hero leads. Do you understand your foolishness now? A dream to save everyone only ends with you being unable to save anyone. You're defective, a faker, a fraud who should never have existed. Luck was always by your side, allowing you to make it further than you had any right to, but sooner or later, that debt has to be paid. And you can't afford that price. I am your ideal Jaune Arc, and that is why you can never beat me."**

**Jaune grunted as he rose to his feet, with a roar, silver light wrapped around the broken hilt of Crocea Mors, restoring the blade to pristine condition. Dashing towards Archer with semblance enhanced speed, Jaune launched a flurry of blows, gritting his teeth when each was parried almost effortlessly, Archer's combat abilities having increased just by being in his world.**

"**Well of course you'd reject me. As the realisation of the ideals of Jaune Arc, you must reject me more than anyone else in this world. How else would you be able to march forwards on your doomed journey?"**

**Their swords clashed repeatedly in the world of swords. Neither willing to give up ground even when pressed, wounds began to accumulate on them as they exchanged blows without any thought for defence. Until finally, Archer locked one of Jaune's swords in place with his own.**

"**Even after all this, you still desire to become a hero?"**

"**It's not that I want to become a hero, it's that I will become one!" Jaune roared and struck with the other sword, only for Archer to lock that down too and they ended up standing back to back.**

"**Will become one huh? Indeed, becoming a hero is the only thing Jaune Arc has ever been passionate about… even if your motivations don't come from the heart."**

"**Hrrrk!" Jaune growled and struggled to free himself to no avail.**

"**Your reaction tells me you already know the truth. My memories of my past are mostly gone, faded away from the monotony of war. But there are a few things that stuck with me. The stories my grandfather and father used to tell me. Of how they were huntsmen who saved those who could not save themselves from the Grimm. I, who never had a defining goal of my own latched on to those stories like a drowning man. The thought that someone as lacklustre as myself had such a legacy… I wanted to live up to it. I wanted to prove myself. That was where our journey began. Fairy tales about the knight slaying dragons and saving princesses, they always inspired us, we wanted to be like them, like our forefathers. But life isn't a fairy tale." Archer smiled bitterly and spat on the ground.**

"**It's only natural for a child to idolise his parents. But that only left us with a curse of trying to live up to something no one, not even our ancestors could. Your dream is second hand, picked up only because you have nothing else to aspire to. Just copying what someone else believes to be right. Someone like you who's empty to the core thinking that you can save others? That's the height of hubris!" Jaune's Crocea Mors shattered when Archer's own versions cut through the steel.**

**With a flourish, Archer flipped his weapon into a reverse grip and stabbed it into Jaune's leg the enchanted blade going straight through aura defences, causing the knight to scream in pain. Ripping the weapon free in a shower of blood, Archer spun around and slashed Jaune in the chest, rending his armour and sending him flying backwards. The knight tried to rise but only made it halfway before sinking to his knees, precious lifeblood leaking out of his wounds and pooling around him.**

"No!" Pyrrha gasped out when Jaune went down and didn't rise again.

"So what if his dream wasn't originally his own. So what if his dream came about from a selfish point? There's nothing wrong with wanting to save people!" Ruby pointed at the screen with tear filled eyes and declared her thoughts.

"Just because it didn't end well doesn't mean the dream was a terrible one. Just because you've failed doesn't mean you just give up and stop moving forwards. Stand up Jaune!" All her life Ruby only wanted one thing, to become more like her mother, to become a hero that could help others. Jaune was her first friend in Beacon, and out of all her friends, really the only one who understood her dream. The rest of her team, NPR, they were here to become hunters for their own reasons, but Jaune was the only one who desired to become a hero, the same as her. And she wouldn't let anyone disparage that shared dream, not even an older version of her friend.

**The oppressive aura of the reality marble was severely inhibiting Jaune as he struggled to move, the weight of a misspent life pushing him down into the darkness. His thoughts were muddled and slow, his soul drowning in an endless ocean of despair. Dimly he could make out Archer saying some things but the words were hard to grasp.**

"**Running around in your arrogance, trying to force the world to accept your vision even though you're nothing more than a worthless fake. Trying to save the world… you never even knew who to save or how to do it! Look around you, this is the result of your hypocrisy. Your ideals are bankrupt, putting others before you, trying to make everyone happy so you too could find happiness in that… nothing but a fantasy. If that dream is all you have, then let it drag you down and drown you in the darkness forever."**

**Jaune stared blankly ahead, his vision fading in and out of focus from his injuries. 'He's right isn't he? My dream was never mine to start with, I just adopted it as my own as a child. Because of how beautiful those stories sounded. I wanted to become a hero… but I'm nothing more than a fraud in the end. Lying to my parents, lying to my friends, lying to myself… I'm just the same idiot who snuck into Beacon with forged transcripts aren't I?'**

"That's not true. You're not the same person you were when you first came to Beacon. You've grown and improved far more than anyone I've ever met in so short a time. Stand up Jaune. I don't believe my leader would give up so easily. If you can't break down the wall in front of you, you'd find a way around it. That's the man I'd follow into battle. So stand. Up." Ren said with a voice full of conviction.

"Yeah show your older self who's boss fearless leader!" Nora pumped her fist in the air to show her own support. Pyrrha sat next to her and didn't say anything, but her eyes belied the confidence in her partner.

'**But despite all that, there's something I can't help but feel he's forgetting.' Jaune's vision turned black as he sunk back into Archer's memories, running through the many battlefields he fought on and their aftermath.**

**A ruined snow covered village on the outskirts of Atlas. 'Hell.'**

**A burning wasteland filled with disintegrating Grimm corpses as cannon fire boomed in the background. 'Hell.'**

**The mining town where he made his first human kill. 'Hell.'**

**The sword covered battlefield where he drew his last breath. 'The hell that awaited.'**

**As Jaune sank further into his own consciousness, he awoke inside the Unlimited Blade Works. A different version, one without the rusted gears or the thick smog. The sky was aflame, the radiant glow of the sunset painting everything in the colours of fall. Tufts of green grass were scattered around, waving gently in the breeze. Another Archer stood in front of him with his back facing Jaune. Unlike the one he was fighting, this one resembled his past self more and lacked the hostility, only an air of melancholy hung around him.**

"**You've lost a lot of things haven't you." Jaune was the first to speak once it was clear 'Archer' had no intention of doing so.**

"**Is that how it appears? Hmmph, you've got it all wrong. I'm here because I stubbornly refused to lose anyone else but it all slipped through my fingers anyway. Maybe if I was stronger, faster, more skilful. Maybe if I'd trained harder… but, that's how it's always been for me hasn't it?" Archer spoke in a sad voice as the world faded away in Jaune's vision, replaced by a familiar nightmare.**

**Vale was burning and Grimm ran rampant through the streets. The Grimm dragon rampaged across the huntsmen lines while hacked robots added to the chaos. Screams of the dying echoed to the heavens, crying out for salvation… but no god answered the prayers of the damned. This was it, the fall of Vale, Cinder's masterstroke, the very first hell Jaune Arc bore witness to.**

"Fuck." Qrow cursed and slipped a lien card into Ruby's swear jar, the sentiment echoed by everyone in the silent theatre. They'd heard about it earlier from King Jaune, about how their world would be upended during the Vytal festival, but this… seeing it happen in front of them wasn't something they could be prepared for.

**Jaune saw a younger version of himself arguing with Pyrrha over something. Neither backed down and resignation was written all over Pyrrha's face. Unbidden, Jaune spoke up even though he knew that this was nothing more than a memory, that his younger self wouldn't be able to hear him and act in time.**

"**Hey. That's hell you're walking into."**

**As he predicted, nothing changed, the characters in this tragic play continued acting out their roles exactly as he remembered it.**

"**Go, get to Vale and call for help."**

"**Huh? And what are you gonna do?" Jaune asked and his face blanched when he saw his partner turn to face the top of the tower where Cinder had gone.**

"**No Pyrrha you can't! You saw how powerful she is! Pyrrha I won't let you do-" Pyrrha cut Jaune off with a kiss, stunning the knight and ensuring he couldn't stop her.**

"**I-I'm sorry." Pyrrha managed to stutter out before shoving Jaune back, sending him stumbling into a rocket locker and the door slammed shut.**

"**WAIT STOP! NO DON'T! PYR PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!" Jaune was begging hysterically when he realised what Pyrrha was trying to do. His pleas fell on deaf ears as his partner stepped backwards without another word. The rocket locker activated and that was the last time he laid eyes on his partner.**

"No…" Pyrrha whispered in small voice as she started shaking like a leaf. In just about any other scenario, she would have been happy to see herself gain the courage to plant a kiss on Jaune… but not this. The finality in it…

This was what started Jaune down his path of darkness. And it was all her fault.

She found herself wrapped up in another group hug from Nora and Ren, this time even team RWBY joined in to comfort their friend.

"Shh, just let it all out Pyrrha, it's gonna be okay. It hasn't happened yet, whatever caused this, we can still avoid. You, me, Renny, Jaune-Jaune and team RWBY. We won't let this happen to you." Nora whispered in a caring tone, her normal exuberance gone.

Unable to keep it in any further, Pyrrha broke down and cried.

**Older Jaune closed his eyes and sighed, even after so long the memory still stung. He lived to see another day, his partner didn't. Cinder made sure of that. "My partner who should have gone on to do great things for the world died that day. What was the fucking point of worthless old me surviving that hell? Why was I spared and she wasn't?"**

**Another memory tugged at the edges of his mind, and slowly the air of depression around him faded, replaced by one of hope instead. A small smile formed as the memories flowed through him, of all the times spent with his partner and how even after she was gone, her memory continued to grant him strength. And he took his first step forwards.**

"**Hey, that's hell you're walking into." Jaune stopped in his tracks as the voice of 'Archer' reached him. His tiny smile blossomed into one that reached his eyes.**

"**This is what you forgot. I admit, at first it was just admiration for my family legacy. But eventually, that admiration changed and my dreams became built on a wish. The wish for this hell to be undone. The unfulfilled dream of a woman who only wanted to help others but who lost everything in the end."**

**The burning school faded away, replaced by a new memory. The snow covered buildings of Argus could be seen over the treetops but Jaune's attention was fixated solely on a statue of Pyrrha serving as a memorial to the fallen.**

**Jaune struggled to say something, anything, but words failed him. Regret and guilt ate away at him from the inside and he didn't even have the guts to apologise.**

"**It's beautiful isn't it?" A voice distracted him from his inner turmoil, a woman bearing a striking resemblance to his lost partner stood several feet from him, a bouquet of red flowers in hand.**

"**Yeah. Uh, why here?"**

"**She trained here. Sanctum Academy. Everyone was crushed when she chose Beacon over Haven. No one wanted to see her go, but it was where she wanted to be. I'm just glad she was surrounded by such amazing people."**

**Jaune's eyes misted over as he fought the urge to start crying again, if he started now, he wouldn't stop. "She should be standing here."**

"**She is." Jaune remained silent and could only stare at the woman.**

"**She understood that she had a responsibility, to try. I don't… think she would regret her choice. Because a huntress would understand that there really wasn't a choice to make, and a huntress is what she always wanted to be."**

**Jaune remained silent for a few seconds longer before looking back to the statue. "Pyrrha never got the chance to graduate. But she was a huntress."**

"**Thank you."**

**Jaune would have said something more but Ren calling his name distracted him. When he looked back to where the woman was, she was gone, only the bouquet of flowers remained, placed atop the statue's pedestal.**

'**She knew she probably wasn't going to win, that she probably wasn't going to come back. But even so, she knew she was the only one who could try. Thank you for everything Pyr, and please… keep watching over me.'**

**The memory faded away again, leaving Jaune standing in the purer Unlimited Blade Works. Step by step he climbed the hill, at the very top his goal awaited. A familiar sword, one he knew just as well as Crocea Mors waited for him. As he reached out for it, 'Archer' spoke one last time.**

"**You intend to go down this path? Even if that means your life will be that of an unthinking weapon?"**

"**Yeah, even if that life ends up dripping with hypocrisy. Even if I end up failing. I will continue striving to become a hero." Hands grasping the hilt of the sword, a flame alit and began burning away the doubt plaguing his mind, leaving only determination.**

"**How can I do anything less?" Drawing Miló from the ground and raising it into the air proudly, the blade emitted a blast of light that washed away the visions, returning Jaune to reality.**

"Go get em kid." Roman said quietly from where he was seated. Regret wasn't something he'd felt in a long time, but this universe, something in it resonated with him. The ghosts of his old teammates… he wondered if they were watching him, if they were disappointed in his actions. When he finally left for the afterlife, he wondered what kind of a welcome they would give him.

Beaten down by the world, losing valuable friends, unable to change anything, the Jaune on screen was a mirror, forced him to confront things he wanted to remain buried. Roman Torchwick the master thief looked inwards and found himself face to face with the ghost of Roman Torchwick the hunter.

"Neo? When we get out of here, fuck Cinder. I'm done working for the bitch." Torchwick paused lightly once the words were said, they felt so right for some reason, the first correct decision he'd made in a really long time. And… it felt good, like a weight lifted from his shoulders

Neo silently nodded and smiled, happy to see her surrogate father getting his act together again.

**Jaune's kneeling body continued staring forwards blankly as Archer waited for the beaten knight to finally keel over and die. His eyes twitched with barely concealed fury when white light coated the dying knight and his wounds began to stitch together, leaving only unmarred skin behind.**

"**What!? Kuh, aura enhancement! The semblance I threw away so long ago. The one thing that kept me going for so long until I traded it in for magic. At this point, he hasn't traded it in yet!" Realisation struck Archer like a brick and his face was marred by a frown.**

"**This body…" Jaune whispered under his breath just loud enough for Archer to hear it.**

"**You bastard, you wouldn't!" Archer roared and hurled both copies of Crocea Mors in hand towards Jaune, trying to skewer the knight before he could finish the invocation. He was too late.**

"**Is made of SWORDS!" Jaune finished with a roar of his own and blue light flashed in his hands, revealing copies of Miló and Akoúo̱. Thrusting the shield forwards, Jaune blocked the incoming swords and rose to his feet, determination written all over his face.**

"**I won't be beaten by you! I don't mind being beaten by somebody else, but I absolutely refuse to lose to myself!" Pointing Miló at Archer, Jaune's actions were a direct challenge to his future self, a declaration of his intent to beat his other self down in a straight fight. No tricks, no cheats, no running away, only victory.**

"**Haah… so you're finally on the threshold, but so what. I passed that level long ago, I don't know where you found the strength to stand again but even with your second wind, it should be blatantly obvious just how far out of my league you are."**

"**And? My arms and legs still work, it was my spirit that was beaten. I accepted that you were correct, that my struggles are all for nothing. My spirit was weak, and I gave up… but then I remembered. I remembered what it was that I was fighting for all this time. Even if despair awaits me, I'll continue moving forwards. You're just a man trapped in the past, just as you reject me, I'll use every last scrap of strength I have to defeat you!"**

**And with that, the battle was on again. Sparks flew as both Jaune's did their level best to kill one another. Miló and Akoúo̱** **broke repeatedly, and each time they did, Jaune would project a new copy. Every wound he took would vanish in a silver glow as his semblance worked overtime to keep him on the same level as his future self.**

**Archer himself was slowly beginning to be pushed back even if he still held the advantage. The longer he fought on, the more of his skills and experience transferred over to Jaune, allowing the knight to close the gap between the two.**

"**Why!? Why won't you just give in! You've already seen the fate waiting for you! You know that you will become me! Weighed down by endless regrets and failures! Why do you still resist!? Can't you see the truth? Saving one person and saving the many is mutually exclusive! You can only do one at the expense of the other! Kill one to save ten, abandon ten to save a hundred, sacrifice a hundred to save a thousand! All you end up as is a killer, that's all you'll ever be!"**

**Jaune said nothing as he continued to thrust the javelin forwards, seeking out openings in Archer's defence. Occasionally switching to rifle mode and taking pot shots to keep Archer on the defensive, his focus was centred entirely around driving his older self back.**

"**If you can't see the truth then die here, be smashed to pieces alongside your foolish ideals before you can become a monster like me. I'll just have to wipe out every trace that you ever existed!"**

**Duck, dodge, slash, jump, overhead slice, dodge. The dance intensified as the combatants' skill levels began to homogenise. Archer glared into the determined blue orbs that used to greet him in the mirror every morning, not a shred of hesitation or doubt could be found in them. He grunted in frustration as he kicked Jaune away, the knight barely faltering from the heavy blow as he rose and resumed the attack.**

'**Why? Why am I even bothering with giving him a fair fight? All I need to do is retreat and bury him under a rain of swords. If I just do that, I'll win… so why does it feel like I'll lose if I do that!? He's already dead on his feet, why won't he stay down!?' Archer's thoughts came to a screeching halt when he stabbed his younger self through the chest, only for Jaune to grab his hand, pull himself along the blade and stab him through his shoulder with Miló in xiphos form.**

**With a soundless yell, Archer ripped his shoulder free and slammed a boot into Jaune's midsection, sending the knight tumbling backwards again and pulling him free from Crocea Mors. Jaune skidded on the floor before rising to his feet unsteadily, the wound already closing through his semblance.**

"**Nothing will change! Nothing ever changes! Why do you still stand!? You should have realised the pointlessness of your struggle by now! Just. Stay. Down!"**

"**Heh. What nonsense. You're here before me, you never once backed down, do you seriously expect me to do any differently?" Swaying slightly, Jaune took a deep breath and centred himself, raising Pyrrha's weapons into a combat stance again.**

'**Of course, how could I forget. I should have known better, Jaune Arc is a man who just doesn't know when to quit. No matter how badly the odds are stacked against him, surrender is never an option. Never once backing down, never once retreating, never giving up, not as long as he had something to fight for. I'd recognize that look anywhere.' Archer's face contorted into an angry frown as a resounding clack could be heard from the sky. The rusted gears that had long ago ceased to turn moved by a single tooth.**

"**You. You're making the same mistakes I did long ago. A fool believing he could save the world just because he had a little power and in the end doomed it all with his pride. Defiance, even in the face of oblivion." Archer closed his eyes and tapped into the power of the Unlimited Blade Works. Several swords shot out of the ground and hovered the air next to Archer.**

"**And you'll end up the same as me, losing all hope and drowning in despair." The swords launched towards Jaune, silver streaks in the air crackling as they broke the sound barrier.**

**Hunkering down behind his shield, Jaune took the oversized bullets head on, unable to dodge in time. The overwhelming kinetic force of the strikes sending him flying backwards even through his successful block, the badly dented Akoúo̱ shattering mid flight into motes of light.**

**His arm was broken but Jaune ignored the pain. Snapping it back into place with a small cry, his aura got to work repairing the damage. Rising to his feet yet again, he coldly regarded his future self with a determined look.**

"**Losing hope? Drowning in despair? I've already done that. I clawed my way back from the darkness with the help of my friends. Maybe my wish is fake, maybe I really am nothing more than a fraud passing off someone else's ideals as my own. But so what!? I saw a beauty in that dream, the same beauty you once saw! Do you think I wouldn't realise my own hypocrisy!? No one is more familiar with it than I am! Throughout my stay in Beacon, I was weak. Always the one who needed saving, always the one dragging everyone down, always the one who couldn't stand alone! I was too weak where it counted and Pyrrha paid the price for it!" Jaune took a step forwards and the reality marble trembled in response, the endless smog in the sky shifting as a non-existent gale stirred them.**

"**But you know what? I still stand! I am still alive! My partner may be gone, but her spirit is still with me! And you know what else? Ren, Nora, team RWBY, they're all still alive! Unlike you, I haven't lost them yet, and I never will! I who had nothing, gained everything through them! Even if my dream was originally a sham, there was still beauty in it, but now it's grown into something far more than just a childhood fantasy of becoming a hero. You remember don't you? That as long as they draw breath, they will never stop fighting the good fight, trying to make the world a better place. I'm not fighting just to become a hero! I'm fighting for my friends! To make a world where they won't have to cry anymore! That is my dream! AND MY DREAM IS NOT A MISTAKE!" Jaune's declaration was punctuated by a burst of magic.**

"Well said." Ozpin put down his replacement coffee mug and rose to his feet, giving his student a standing ovation. An action matched by the rest of the audience, including Torchwick and Neo.

**For the first time in years, the endless smog covering the world of Archer's soul cleared up revealing the clear blue sky hidden away. Jaune's own reality marble clashing with Archer's taking advantage of the turmoil inside the silver haired man's heart to supplant his.**

**With a reformed Miló and Akoúo̱, Jaune charged forwards with the last of his strength as his semblance faded away, all his aura spent and his magic reserves dry. He had gone way past his limits and this was all that was left to him. One final strike was all he could give, and it would have to be enough.**

**Archer's right eye closed in pain as a migraine assaulted him, the memories he lost to time resurfacing through the soul resonance. Just as his memories fed into Jaune, so too did Jaune's memories feed back into him.**

"**Hrrk! Enough of this, DIE!" Thrusting his hand out, Archer fired several hundred swords towards Jaune, the missiles nothing more than silver streaks promising death in one hit. None found their mark, due to his distraction, most of the swords landed harmlessly around Jaune, leaving sizeable blast craters wherever they impacted. The ones that stayed on target Jaune either deflected with Miló or blocked with Akoúo̱, the knight refusing to be deterred from his path.**

"**If you are my destiny, then I'll strike you down and carry on moving forwards! I refuse to believe that my future can't be changed! I CHALLENGE MY FATE!" **

**When the exhausted Jaune reached Archer, the man's arm snapped overhead in a flash, Crocea Mors ready to be brought down in an execution strike that Jaune could not possibly avoid.**

**Archer's vision flashed as an old memory played itself. A simpler time, before everything went to hell and his path to damnation was cemented. **

**Before the fall.**

"**When I think of destiny, I don't think of a predetermined fate you can't escape. But rather... some sort of final goal, something you work towards your entire life."**

**Pyrrha had told him that years ago. He made a mistake, pushed her down the road to hell instead of supporting her. With everything that happened afterwards, he just… forgot about that encounter, there were more pressing issues to deal with. He didn't understand the significance then and he hadn't thought about it in years.**

**But now?**

**It was back to haunt him in the form of his younger self. And perhaps it was nothing more than a trick of his tired mind, but Archer swore he could see the ghostly image of his partner hovering behind Jaune. No disappointment in her eyes, only expectation.**

'**She was the first person to believe in me after all. Ah… this is cruel. I'm being forced to look into an old mirror. There really was such a man once.' Archer's hands trembled but he couldn't bring himself to strike downwards, allowing Jaune to close the distance and plant Miló in his chest.**

"**I've won Archer." Jaune said as they stood locked in place.**

"**Ahhh, and I've lost." Extricating himself from the blade, Archer fell onto his back and stared up at the clear blue sky overhead. Slowly, the reality marble fell apart and the Beacon courtyard returned, the night sky was full of stars and the shattered moon hung overhead, a mundane sight that was spectacularly breath taking this evening.**

"**I couldn't save anyone you know. I couldn't save Pyrrha, I couldn't save Weiss, I couldn't save Ruby… one by one I buried my friends. I'm tired of losing everything, tired of burying my friends. I wanted to live up to their memory, but the more I tried, the more it slipped away from me." Archer closed his eyes and admitted, no words of condemnation came from Jaune.**

"**When I went to my death, I had nothing left. Everything was just a fading memory. Even my precious friends who were dearer to me than my own life, they were fading away like a half remembered dream when I drowned in the darkness of my own making. All the blood I shed, all the lives I ruined, the faces just blended together after a while. Unlimited Blade Works, the manifestation of my soul, everything rusting away under the strain except the weapons. For a long time, that's what I thought I was, that my destiny was to be nothing more than a weapon that fought until it broke. Somewhere along the line, I was worn down and I gave up on things ever becoming better. I didn't want you to share my fate, there was nothing I could do to help you either."**

**Jaune looked into the starry sky as though searching for answers before smiling and throwing back a laugh. "We really are liars and frauds. You just became better at lying to yourself than I ever did. You know, I had a whole speech ready, about how I wasn't going to lose against a version of myself who couldn't even be bothered to try. But now I realise you were always trying, just not at what I was expecting"**

"**Oh?"**

"**Couldn't help me? Because of you, I have magic and I have the skills you spent a lifetime honing. Not only that, I still have the aura and semblance you sacrificed to the relics. My friends… are still with me. And you've given me the tools I need to keep it that way. I won't lock them away in a tower, I'll fight alongside them with everything you've given me, to carve out our own piece of heaven here on Remnant. You keep saying that there is no hope, but really, out of all of us, aren't you the one gambling the most on hope? You're the one who rushed to the past in the hopes of changing it after all."**

"**hehehe… hahhaha… AHAHHAHAHAAH!" Archer joined in the laughter of his younger self as he saw the irony in the situation. Tears streaked down his face, whether it was from regret, sadness or mirth, he couldn't tell and he didn't think it mattered anyway.**

"**And forgetting everyone? Just a weapon? Hardly, maybe you didn't notice it, but I definitely did. Unlimited Blade Works isn't a weapon factory or storehouse for your arsenal. It's something so much more, it is the core of who we are after all. You just allowed your doubt to cloud it with smog so you deceived yourself. Earlier you said you wanted to show me the world you ended up in, now allow me to show you the truth of that world." Jaune smiled gently and dug into his reserves. He was exhausted to the bone but this was something that needed to be done, to put the tired ghost of his future to the peaceful rest he had long been denied.**

"**This body is made of swords. **

**A body of steel and a heart of glass.**

**Have emerged unvanquished from a thousand battlefields.**

**Never once retreating from battle, these hands will never let go of victory.**

**Their master stands alone on the field of blades, united in spirit with his comrades.**

**For all my regrets, this was the path I chose, I never needed any other meaning.**

**The fate I forged for myself, Unlimited Blade Works."**

**Once more reality shattered, to be replaced with a reality marble. This time, the gears were missing and no smog filled the sky. It was the same sunset world Jaune found himself in when he was buried by Archer's regrets.**

"**A world of sunsets? Ain't that a thing…"**

"**Perhaps, what you see as sunsets though I see as sunrise. This world isn't reality, who's to say the sun can't rise again after setting?"**

"**Heh, it'd just be like us to do the impossible wouldn't it?"**

"**Of course, do you even need to ask? Now, does this look like a weapon factory to you? Does any of this look like it was designed for war or mass slaughter?" Jaune asked as Archer stared at the many swords littered around the landscape, each one sticking straight up as though in defiance.**

**At first he wasn't aware of what he was supposed to see, it was just another version of his reality marble, less corrupted but surely the purpose was the same… ah. There it was. Staring him in the face all this time. He really was blind to not have seen the obvious.**

"**Hahahahhah… hehaehahaheahhah! Oh I really am a fool. To think you who only had this for minutes would be able to point it out to me who has had decades of experience with it. This is my complete defeat Jaune Arc." Archer smiled and closed his eyes, for the first time in so long he was actually smiling from the heart. **

**Miló and Akoúo̱ stood proudly on the highest hill the eyes could see, surrounding it were the weapons of his old friends. Crescent Rose, Ember Celica, Gambol Shroud… they were all there. Each and every one of them testament to the bonds that never truly broke.**

"**Unlimited Blade Works was never meant for combat. That it serves that purpose is just an extra benefit. You see it don't you? Even after you lost everything, it's all recorded in the weapons you stored in your soul. Every battle, every weapon you ever saw, they're all here. That's why your weapons didn't corrode like the rest of your world, the world itself is immaterial, it was always in the weapons. This world… it's your desire to never lose anything else ever again."**

"**It's a war memorial. A testament to the lives I had the fortune to interact with, their histories stored in the weapons they carried around as an extension of themselves. My complete defeat indeed... Jaune."**

"**Yeah?"**

"**Your friends. Don't make the mistake I did. Don't push them away again. Never let them go you hear me. Never EVER let them go."**

"**Of course, I've had to relearn that lesson so many times now, but this time, this time it's gonna stick. I may be a failure at most things, a faker and a fraud but I still have my pride. I can't make a world where the people I love won't cry again if I'm the one making them do so."**

"**Heh, then I'm done here. Ahahhahah! This was not the fate I thought would be waiting for me when I came to the past. But you know what? I'm happy with it."**

**And with that, Jaune Arc breathed his last, finally released from his burdens.**

**Jaune released the magic and allowed the reality marble to fade away as his other self faded into motes of light, with him dead, the grail no longer needed to sustain him. Turning to saber, he addressed his companion that had loyally stood by and watched the whole ordeal.**

"**Only one remains Saber. Once we defeat him, we can destroy the grail for good."**

"**Indeed. How are you feeling?"**

"**Tired. But strangely, better than I have in a long time. Come on, let's go."**

**As the two knights set off for their final battle, the screen faded to black and the lights came on.**

"And that's that." Blank said and several red eyes rose to meet him.

"It was nice and all but… what happens during the Vytal festival… can it be avoided?" Qrow asked, and to his surprise, it was Roman of all people who answered him instead of Blank.

"What do you think? Were you paying attention to the movie at all? Did you seriously not get your answer there? And did you already forget that Blank was going to let you keep your memories and change things?"

"Do you have to be an asshole Torchwick?" Qrow grumbled and slid several more line into the swear jar.

"If that's what it takes to get it into your skull then yes. I'm right aren't I Blank? This isn't just for your own boredom is it? You're giving us a chance to change our fates since nothing is set in stone yet."

"Huh… honestly wasn't expecting you to be the one to figure it out first, I thought it'd be Ozpin, but then what do I know. Entertaining as this is for me, I did want to give you all an option to fight your destiny and win, or maybe I'm just doing it all for some cheap laughs. It's up to you how you want to take it. If you're still a bad guy by the time I'm done here, then it's a memory wipe and your fate is sealed, if not… well you can fill in the blanks yourself."

Blank scanned the theatre and saw that the students were still down in the dumps from what they saw despite the ending. He would have sighed but their reaction was kind of predictable really, how else were they going to react to that?

"Take five people, feel free to refresh yourselves. You clearly have a lot on your mind at the moment so I'll leave you be."

* * *

Author's notes: Done, this was the story that inspired me to start writing this in the first place and with it I've broken a 100k words. Shirou VS Archer adapted to fit the RWBY verse. Jaune is basically Shirou, both of them burdened by their family legacy and wanting to become a hero for selfish reasons. Tragedy was what set them on their path, whether it was the fall of Beacon or the Fuyuki fire. An easy life was never in the cards for them, and after they started their journey, their own lives were less than worthless to themselves, putting the lives of others above their own, something that causes their friends a lot of problems. Both even had a supposedly undefeatable figure to serve as their inspiration, Pyrrha and Artoria. By the time RWBY vol 6 rolled around, Jaune was pretty much halfway between Shirou and Archer at that point with his depression in full swing. At least up until seeing Pyrrha's statue, he couldn't move on. I had to rewatch End of the beginning and Lost for this, and all I have to say is I'm not crying, you're crying.


	8. Chapter 8: ALTAIAGFFA

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 8: A long time ago in a galaxy far far away…**

**Inspiration: Star Wars IV A New Hope**

"Welcome back everyone, so that last universe was a little heavy, I've decided to switch things up a bit. Here's one that's less personal and far grander in scale than anything I've shown so far." Blank said once his audience had returned to their seats.

"Grander in scale? I hope to god you don't mean grander as in more carnage." Qrow commented before throwing back a drink.

"Eh… about that… yeah… moving on. This one's another reality entirely, and as a change of pace, Jaune is more of a supporting character. Here's the first movie starring Ruby Rose."

Ruby's squee of excitement was deafening and Blake hissed in annoyance, her faunus ears hurting from the sudden assault. Yang just chuckled while Weiss was complaining about over excited dolts.

"I'm bringing in a few new faces for this, they'll be rotating in and out depending on the universe. Oh, and I did get permission from the boss for this one and every other universe not staring Jaune bar a few exceptions." Blank said and before anyone could question him, there was a bright flash and three new faces were added to the theatre.

"Oh my head, did anyone catch the number of the bullhead that crashed into me?" Jaune sat up and grabbed his head in pain.

The last thing he remembered was sitting down for a nice bowl of pumpkin pete cereal with his team and the next his head felt like he'd gone and challenged Cardin's mace to a headbutting competition. Several loud cries of 'Jaune' were the only warnings he got before he found himself at the bottom of a dog pile courtesy of his friends.

"Ow. Everything hurts." The knight could only grumble as the others made no move to get off him. He was confused as all hell but he'd let them squeeze the life out of him for now, he could get answers later.

Two additional grumbles came from the other new additions when they got to their feet. "Grk, where the hell are we? And what happened to my office?"

"I have no idea sir, but I see headmaster Ozpin here, maybe this is his doing?"

"Oh great… ice queen and tinman are here. Why, what did we do to deserve this?" Qrow buried his face in his hands and sobbed exaggeratedly, getting Ironwood and Winter to glare at him.

"Qrow! Don't you have somewhere else to be drunk at!? What ar- Torchwick! Why are you out of your cell!?" Winter was about to begin her tirade when Blank's cough interrupted her.

"Ahem, if you'll allow me to explain."

(One explanation later)

"This… isn't what I was expecting, but know this, I do not trust you, whoever you are. Ozpin may do so but I'm watching you." Ironwood glared at Blank and took a seat.

"Do whatever you want, maybe you'll change your tune maybe you won't, I don't care either way. Now that everyone's seated, feel free to request whatever refreshments you want. The show will begin shortly." Blank shrugged off the hostility from the Atlessians.

"Ehm so how does this work actually? We just watch other versions of ourselves?" Jaune asked while scratching the back of his head nervously, he'd managed to extricate himself from the bottom of the pile but no one had given him a clear answer on why such a welcome was necessary in the first place. That several of his friends looked like they'd been crying didn't help soothe his nerves either.

"That's pretty much it Jaune. And before I lose the courage again…" Pyrrha answered and immediately pulled the blonde knight into a searing kiss once he turned to face her, drawing several shouts of disbelief from the peanut gallery.

"Damnit P-money, no stealing a march on us!" Yang accused as her eyes flared red.

"Buh, wha?" Jaune's face was completely flushed and it only grew redder when Pyrrha left her seat to plop herself down on his lap, all the better to hug him close.

"Mine." Pyrrha stuck out her tongue at Yang before leaning into Jaune and planting another kiss on him. She giggled at the gibberish he was spewing before getting comfortable and waiting for the movie to start.

"Don't worry about it Jaune, I'll explain everything later. But for now, let me have this bit of selfishness."

"O-okay Pyr." Jaune managed to sputter out, as his emotions ran riot. He froze in place when two additional arms wrapped around his neck.

"Tch, cereal girl went and stole the best seat in the house, but… this ain't so bad." Yang grinned from her new seat right behind Jaune as she rested her head on Jaune's shoulder.

"Y-yang!? Wha-what are you doing?"

"Shhh... don't ask so many questions and just enjoy it lover boy."

Jaune wisely shut up and remained in place, he'd take the win for it was even if there was some weird tension between Pyrrha and Yang while he was caught right between the two of them.

Summer was giggling at the antics while Taiyang was growling in place, the only reason he hadn't already left to have a nice _chat _with Jaune was because both his wife and brother in law were holding him back.

"Ease up Tai, show's starting, now just sit back, relax and eat your damned popcorn!" Qrow muttered and shoved a fistful of the stuff into Taiyang's open mouth when he tried to protest.

"Your friends are… certainly interesting characters." Winter muttered with a raised eyebrow and Weiss sank into her seat from embarrassment.

"They aren't usually this bad." Her protests came out as a whine and she was spared further awkwardness by the dimming of the lights and the screen coming on.

**Several planets hung in the void of space as the camera panned to display a brownish world. A spaceship entered the screen, its guns blasting backwards as it continued to take return fire. It's pursuer, an even larger ship came into view shortly.**

"Woah. This is incredible…" Ruby whispered in awe at the sight of the two ships duking it out in space. Nothing on Remnant even came close to that level of spectacle.

"If we had that kind of technology, the Grimm wouldn't be a threat anymore. We could even expand beyond Remnant." Ironwood's eyes were equally wide although for entirely different reasons.

**The smaller ship put up a valiant fight but it stood no chance against the more powerful imperial star destroyer. Eventually, it's deflector shields failed and a lucky shot disabled its engines, allowing the imperials to reel in the stricken ship with its tractor beam.**

**Inside the ship, the walls shook as several explosions went off from the damage. Soldiers in uniform rushed to their battle stations in a bid to hold off the advancing invaders for as long as they could.**

"**They shut down the main reactor, we'll be destroyed for sure." A gold human shaped robot spoke in panic as its companion, a diminutive white, orange and green robot beeped in response.**

"**This is madness. We're all doomed… there'll be no escape for the princess this time." The gold robot said, receiving several beeps in protest.**

"That voice… I do believe that's Ciel, one of Penny's teammates." Ironwood muttered under his breath.

"And given that other robot's colour scheme… Penny?"

"Indeed, although in this universe, they go by the designations C1EL and P3N1" Blank answered.

**The tension mounted inside as the soldiers took cover wherever they could, waiting for the inevitable breach. The sound of clamps locking the ship into place echoed through the ship and the safeties came off.**

**Finally, the moment they'd been dreading arrived. Sparks showered off the door as the breaching charge went off and blew it apart, allowing laser fire to pour through the gap as stormtroopers rushed in to take the ship.**

**Unwilling to go down without a fight, the rebels returned fire, shooting and killing as many boarders as they could before the sheer numbers overwhelmed them. Smoke and venting coolant clouded the room as the corpses of the fallen were trampled underfoot and the rebels retreated deeper into the ship.**

Ironwood grunted and stared at the screen unimpressed, the invaders tactics were piss poor and of the sort that would get a cadet drummed out of officer school. "Whoever came up with that boarding strategy should be shot for treason. You don't throw away the lives of your men by using them as meat shields for the rest."

"Well, it is the empire. To them, most lives are worth less than zero. As far as casualty rates go, this operation is pretty economical for them." Blank said and Qrow sputtered in disbelief, choking on a mouthful of whiskey.

"The hell? Then why would anyone even fight for such an army?"

"For survival mostly. In this universe, the empire controls most of the galaxy and they make old Mantle look progressive in comparison. Life is hell and the easiest way to better your lot is to become a soldier, if you can rise through the ranks you're set for life, if you can't… then someone else will climb over your corpse to the top."

"Shit, and I assume the guys being slaughtered are the 'good guys' trying to beat the empire?" Roman asked as he chewed on his cigar.

"Indeed."

"Sucks to be them."

**Once the entryway had been secured and the rebels pushed deeper into the ship, a man in dark armour stepped aboard. Heavy mechanical breathing emanated from him, increasing the aura of dread he put off. Stopping only to inspect the fallen form of one of the rebels, he pushed onwards in search of the princess who had the audacity to steal from the empire.**

**The princess in question had linked up with the droids and was busy inserting several codes into P3N1. Her face was obscured by the smoke in the engine room, but her white dress was unmistakable.**

"Heh… so Weiss is an actual princess in this one, not bad Weiss-queen." Yang chuckled at Weiss indignant snort.

"Uh Yang, I don't think that's Weiss." Jaune laughed nervously, not really sure if he should mention that he only noticed it because the princess was more… gifted… in certain areas than the heiress.

"**Where have you been? Oh… they're coming this way! We'll be sent to the spice mines of Kessel or smashed into who knows what!" C1EL said with barely contained terror, P3N1 just beeped and lead the way to the escape pods while the princess watched them go.**

**Outside, captured rebel prisoners were being marched away as the imperials continued scouring the ship. One of the stormtroopers returned to where Vader was waiting with the bad news. "Sir, we've finished checking the logs, the Death Star plans are not in the main computer."**

**Vader nodded and returned his attention to the rebel officer he was holding by the neck, ignoring the man's flailing legs as they sought the floor. "Where are those transmissions you intercepted? What have you done with those plans?" **

"**W-we intercepted no transmissions hrrk! Th-this is a consular ship! We're on a diplomatic mission!" The officer sputtered out as he struggled to breathe through the iron grip.**

"**If this is a consular ship, where is the ambassador?" Darth Vader asked rhetorically before tightening his grip and snapping the man's neck. Tossing the dead body to the side, he addressed the soldier who brought him the news.**

"**Commander, tear this ship apart until you've found those plans! And bring me the passengers, I want them alive."**

"Ice cold." Roman glared at the screen, whoever Vader was, that callous disregard for life reminded him too much of Cinder.

"Ten lien says he's just going to execute everyone once he gets what he wants."

"No bet." Qrow shot back as he chugged from his flask.

**Once the orders were passed down, the stormtroopers switched their blasters to stun and resumed their hunt. Several of them made it into the engine room where the princess was hiding, before they could make it any further in and compromise C1EL and P3N1, a single shot rang out and the lead storm trooper fell over dead from a shot to the heart.**

**Drawing attention to herself, the distraction allowed the droids to slip away unnoticed while the princess herself was stunned and captured by the imperials. The last thing she heard before falling unconscious was the sound of the escape pod firing. It was all up to fate now, she could only hope that the plans would get to where they needed to go before the empire could become unstoppable.**

**And fate was on her side this day, capture notwithstanding. As the escape pod shot into the void, headed for the planet below, one of the star destroyer's gunners was about to fire on it before being stopped by his superior.**

"**Hold your fire, there's no life signs aboard that one. It must have short circuited or something. Save the ammunition for the actual rebels."**

"**Sir."**

"They're shooting down lifeboats? That's a war crime!" Ironwood thundered and slammed his mechanical fist onto the armrest.

"James, they've already proven their disregard for the lives of their own and executed a prisoner without trial. I'm not really sure war crimes are even a thing for them." Ozpin replied as he sipped his coffee.

**Receiving word about the princess's capture, Vader stepped out from where he had finished **_**interrogating**_** several prisoners to address the captive.**

"**Darth Vader, only you could be so bold. The imperial senate will not be still for this, when they hear you attacked a diplomatic vessel-" Yang stared at Vader, thoroughly unimpressed with his actions and letting none of her fear show through.**

"Yang's the princess? And a diplomat?" Weiss said in disbelief.

"Ugh, she must have punched an imperial officer or something to start this whole mess."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Uh no offense Yang, but you do tend to have a punch first, ask questions never policy most of the time." Jaune answered and scratched his cheek nervously, causing Pyrrha to giggle.

"You're supposed to be on my side!"

"I am?"

"**Don't act so surprised princess. You weren't on a mercy mission this time, several transmissions were beamed to this ship by rebel spies. I want to know what happened to the plans they sent you."**

"**I don't know what you are talking about. I am a member of the imperial senate on a diplomatic mission to Alderaan." She protested her innocence but Vader wasn't having any of it.**

"**You are part of the rebel alliance and a traitor. Take her away!" Giving the order, Yang was marched away by the stormtroopers as their blasters dug into her back.**

**Once she was out of hearing range, an imperial officer mustered up the courage to question Vader's actions. "Sir, holding her is dangerous. If word gets out, it could generate sympathy for the rebellion in the senate."**

"**I have traced the rebel spies to her, now she is my only link to finding the rebel's hidden base."**

"**She'll die before she tells you anything."**

"**Leave that to me. Send a distress signal and then inform the senate that all aboard were killed."**

"And that's not ominous at all…" Blake commented, internally grateful that for all of Atlas's heavy handedness when it came to dealing with the white fang on Remnant, they at least took prisoners without the intention to horribly torture and or execute them.

"Don't worry guys! I'm the main character here so I'm definitely going to swing in and save everyone later!" Ruby piped up in an effort to stop worrying about her alternate universe sister, getting a hug from Summer in the process.

"heheheh… you're not wrong although your efforts could have gone better." Blank chuckled in response.

"**Sir, we've searched the entire ship. The plans are not aboard it and no transmissions were made. There was an escape pod that made it to the planet but there were no life signs aboard." Vader received the report and nodded. **

"**She must have hidden the plans aboard it, send a detachment down to retrieve it. See to it personally commander, there'll be no one to stop us this time."**

"**Yes sir."**

**Down on the planet, C1EL and P3N1 had split up over a disagreement, C1EL not having been informed of the mission to deliver the plans and P3N1 expressly forbidden from spilling the secret to a droid that could speak in more than just beeps and whistles. Neither made it very far before being captured by the Jawas, scavenger people native to the planet. **

**By the time the imperials landed and found the pod crash site, they were long gone. A trooper stared at the tracks leading off into the distance and called it in. "Tracks leading away, someone was aboard the pod. Must have been droids."**

"Well at least they're safe for now?" Ruby opined.

"Don't jinx it sis, you can't tempt fate like that."

**Several days after the capture of the droids, the Jawas had arrived at the nearest settlement and set up shop, trading in the scavenged droids and parts for credits, water or other useful items.**

**Ruby and her uncle Qrow were in the market for several new droids after the harsh desert conditions fried their previous ones. Moisture farming was dull work and every additional bit of automation would go a long way towards making their lives easier, after the last harvest, they finally had enough to splurge a little on better quality droids than their incredibly failure prone models.**

"Hey! There's me and uncle Qrow!" Ruby kicked her legs excitedly as she stared at the screen.

"I'm a moisture farmer here? Eh… not sure how I feel about that." Qrow stared at the screen dubiously.

"At least that version of yourself is doing something useful and contributing to society unlike a certain drunk." Winter sniffed and Qrow growled in response.

"Listen ice queen, don't make me-"

"Shh uncle Qrow, pay attention to the movie!" Ruby hushed her irate uncle to better focus on the movie. This was the first time she was showing up on screen since the first… showing and she wanted to see more… as long as it didn't end as gruesomely as it did the first time.

"**This one, not this one… hmm a protocol droid? I don't suppose you function as a translator do you?" Qrow passed over P3N1 and stopped at C1EL, the most human looking droid out of all those on sale. **

"**Of course sir."**

"**Alright, this one too then." Qrow checked off his list, with this last droid he should have everything he needed. The busy season was starting soon and having a proper translator would make business so much smoother than having to refer to a dictionary every other sentence.**

"**Ruby! Get these droids to the garage and have em cleaned up before dinner would you?"**

"**What? But I was going to-"**

"**You can waste time with your friends when your chores are done. Now come on, we have a job to do."**

"Ruby has friends outside of us and uncle Qrow is actually responsible? What kind of twisted universe is this?" Yang said incredulously, getting two indignant 'Heys!' in response.

**P3N1 beeped sadly as C1EL left without it, taking another droid instead. Fortune was on their side though when the other droid spontaneously combusted due to sand getting caught in the poorly maintained internals.**

"**Uncle Qrow! This P3 unit is busted!" Ruby called out to where her uncle was busy negotiating payment with the Jawas.**

"**What!? Hey, the hell you trying to push on us?" Qrow growled in anger and began arguing with the Jawa over their business practices.**

"**Sir, what about that P3 unit? It's a prime condition I assure you." C1EL pointed at P3N1 and Ruby nodded in response.**

"**Uncle Qrow! What about that green and orange one?" Qrow heard his niece speak and glanced to where P3N1 was standing.**

"**Hmm sure, why not. We'll take that one instead."**

**Several hours later, both of the droids were cleaned up from their trek across the desert. Ruby was grumbling as she double checked that the new additions were fully functional and there were no more of the Jawa surprises lying in wait.**

"**This isn't fair, I'm never going to get out of here."**

"**Is there anything I can do to help?" C1EL asked and received a small whine from the girl.**

"**Not unless you can speed up time and get the harvest over and done with or teleport me off this miserable rock."**

"**I'm sorry sir but I'm not knowledgeable in such things, I'm just a droid. And… I'm not even sure what planet we're on."**

"**Well, if there's a bright centre of this universe, you're on the planet its furthest from. Haah… and just call me Ruby."**

"Someone's bitter." Weiss raised an eyebrow at the defeated tone Ruby had.

"She's stuck on a desert planet literally farming water for her whole life. I think she has the right to want more out of life than that." Jaune replied, easily seeing the parallels between this Ruby and his old self. It was one of the reasons he left for Beacon after all, much of it was to become a hero and live up to his legacy but there was also a side of him that simply didn't want to be chained down to the mundane life his parents wanted.

**The droids and their new master whiled the time away chatting about various topics. C1EL translating for P3N1 when Ruby couldn't decipher the beeps and whistles. Her mood perked up once she learnt that her new droids had fought in the rebellion against the empire.**

"**That's interesting, now… hey what's this here? You got something jammed in tight." Ruby dug her screwdriver in deep into P3N1's chassis to get at a piece of metal sticking out. She fell back when it came loose and a hologram of Yang appeared.**

"**Help me Ozma, you're my only hope."**

Ozpin coughed discreetly at the mention of his first name. It was a name he hadn't heard spoke in ages. 'Well isn't that interesting.'

"Ozma? Any relation to professor Ozpin?" Nora asked curiously.

"We'll just have to wait and see Ms Valkyrie. I don't know this universe, so I'm just as clueless as you are about it." Ozpin answered, not letting slip that Ozma was the name of his very first life.

"**W-what's this?" Ruby asked curiously and P3N1 beeped in response. C1EL remained silent, unsure about whether or not to bring up their ill fated voyage with the princess.**

"**Is there any more of that recording?"**

"**Ahem, P3N1 says that it's a message for Ozma himself, a resident of these parts. But neither of us know where he is." C1EL decided to give the simplest answer possible in the end. The princess had almost certainly entrusted the P3 unit with some kind of mission, one that it hadn't been filled in on, it didn't look likely that they'd be able to complete the mission anytime soon though.**

"**Ozma huh… the only Oz I know is old man Ozpin. Not sure if they're the same person but Ozpin's a neighbour of mine… as much of a neighbour one can be in this desert anyway. He lives beyond the dune sea, a bit of a strange old hermit. He's an old friend of uncle Qrow and I used to see him around, but uncle says he's too lost in the past now after the sun fried his brain."**

"Really Qrow? Really?" Ozpin raised one eyebrow at the drunk busy sputtering excuses.

"I… that's not me! Another universe! I'm innocent I swear!" Qrow vehemently denied, even if he did share the sentiment at times. Ozpin was a great man but the word eccentric usually wasn't enough to cover his antics.

"**I suppose I can take you to visit Ozpin when I'm free. Gotta get to dinner first." Ruby muttered before leaving the garage. Once she sat down with her uncle, she brought up the droid's message.**

"**You know, I think those droids might have been stolen." Ruby said as she dug into her meal, an unappetising plate of muck that tasted as bland as it looked.**

"**What makes you say that?"**

"**Well, the P3 unit is carrying a message for one. Says it's for an Ozma who lives around these parts. Although I only know of Ozpin and there aren't that many others who live nearby." Ruby said as she stared at her meal, missing her uncle's sudden sombre look.**

"**Do you know what that's about?"**

"**No." Qrow answered in a curt voice and wiped away his expression.**

"**Maybe they're related?"**

"**No. Ozpin's just a crazy old man now. Bring the P3 down to the workshop tomorrow and have its memory wiped and that'll be the end of it. It belongs to us now."**

"**But… what if this Ozma comes looking for it?" Ruby asked unsurely.**

"**He won't, I don't think he exists anymore."**

"Okay… now I'm just getting weirded out. Aren't we old friends in this universe? What's with the hostility?" Qrow asked in confusion.

"**Ozma… died about the same time your father did." Qrow said and immediately cursed internally at the slip up.**

"**He knew my dad?" Ruby's head perked up excitedly at the thought that there was someone else who knew her father. Her old man had perished before her birth and knowledge about him was hard to come by. Her uncle wouldn't tell her anything other than that he'd been a navigator for a spice freighter before she was born.**

"I-I'm dead?" Taiyang blinked in shock, getting a quick hug from Summer and Ruby to snap out of the funk.

"From a certain point of view." Blank replied nonchalantly.

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"Maybe it has something to do with why the other me doesn't want to talk about you?" Qrow muttered.

"**I told you to forget it. Your only concern is to prepare the new droids for tomorrow. I want them working on the condensers on the south ridge as soon as possible."**

"**I think those droids will be fine… and if they work out I think… I think I wanna submit my application for the academy this year."**

"**You mean the next semester before the harvest? But that's when I need you the most." Qrow said, lying through his teeth.**

"**Surely you can stick around for one more season, then I'll make enough on the harvest to hire some more hands for next season. You can go to the academy next year, you must understand, I need you here."**

"**But that's a whole nother year! And you said the same thing last season too!" Ruby complained, frustrated at her uncle's unwillingness to let her go pursue her dreams.**

"Well this is familiar." Jaune commented, being reminded of his parents' unwillingness to let him become a hunter. One day, he'd need to get the full story from his parents, but that day was still far off.

"I'm sure it'll work out in the end Jaune." Pyrrha hugged her partner tighter once she saw the far off look in his eyes that indicated he was thinking of home again.

"Y-yeah, thanks Pyr."

"Uncle Qrow! Why aren't you letting other me go to the academy!?" Ruby poked at her uncle and pouted.

"I don't know squirt, but he must have a good reason for it."

"**It's just one more season."**

"**I've heard that before." Ruby put down her spoon and pushed her half empty plate away, no longer having the appetite.**

"**Hey where are you going?"**

"**Nowhere evidently. I'll be working on the droids if you need me uncle Qrow." Ruby left for the garage and Qrow was left alone at the table.**

"**I'll make it up to you next year somehow Rubes, I promise." Qrow sighed heavily and slumped in his seat. Ruby simply wasn't cut out to be a farmer, despite raising her since she was a baby, she would never follow in his footsteps.**

'**There's just too much of her father in her, and that's what I'm afraid off.'**

"Alright Qrow, what's the meaning of this? You saying I'm a bad influence or something!?" Taiyang glared at his brother in law who had already put up his hands in defence.

"Woah, is today pick on Qrow day or something? Different universe Tai, I have no idea what other me is on about. Sure, I hate your puns but not nearly enough to try and turn Ruby away from you."

"Ease up Tai, maybe it'll be explained in a bit." Summer soothed her angry husband and stifled a giggle, it was just like having STRQ back together again… except Raven wasn't here.

**When the sun arose the next day, a single beat up speeder shot across the desert sands carrying Ruby and her two droids. "I don't know if Ozpin is who you're looking for, but there's no harm in checking it out. It's not like there's much else to do anyway."**

**P3N1 whistled its thanks as Ruby continued driving. Ruby felt a little bad disobeying her uncle to search for Ozpin but there was no way for her to just let it slide, not when Ozpin could potentially tell her so much about her father.**

**Their peaceful drive was interrupted when they entered a rocky canyon when P3N1 beeped a warning that C1EL translated. "There are several life forms approaching us master Ruby, what should we do?"**

"**Lifeforms? Sand people…" Ruby slammed on the brakes and grabbed her rifle. Sand people were nothing more than violent raiders, the bane of every farmer and settlement out in the desert. If they were approaching, they must have seen her already and advancing any further would lead them straight into an ambush.**

**While the droids took cover in the rocks, Ruby scaled the side of the canyon to get to a better vantage point for her sniper rifle to do work. Once she was in a good spot, she hunkered down and stared through the scope.**

"**One… Two… Three… sand people." Taking a deep breath to steady her aim, the rifle barked three times and her targets fell over, smoking holes where their heads should be as the laser bolts easily went through flesh.**

"Laser bullets… me want… Crescent Rose… Uheheheheh…" Ruby was drooling again at the idea of upgrading Crescent Rose to be even more lethal than it already was. If she could find a way to modify her baby to shoot lasers, the Grimm would never see it coming.

"Laser weaponry in such a small package? Interesting, I suppose if nothing else this serves as proof of concept. Something to look into once we get back." Ironwood rubbed his chin in contemplation.

Thus far Atlas forays into laser weapons had yielded impressive guns for their battleships and mechs but there were problems with downsizing. The most portable version in existence would be Penny's weapons but she was a special case. Most soldiers or robots wouldn't be able to carry a power source strong enough to power the guns.

**While Ruby was busy cheering her accurate shots ridding the world of the vermin, she failed to pay attention to her back as one more raider approached and promptly clunked her over the head with a club.**

**As she fell over hissing in pain from the blow, the raider lifted its weapon overhead for the coup de grace. It never arrived when a rock struck it in the back of its head, cracking the skull and causing it to fall over dead.**

"**Hello there. You seem to be in a bit of trouble." A hooded figure said as he helped Ruby to her feet.**

"**Ow… my head…" Ruby whined softly as she checked herself for any additional wounds before blinking in recognition.**

"**Ozpin? Is that you?"**

"**I should think so, since that is my name." Ozpin chuckled and lowered the hood, revealing a familiar head of silver hair.**

"And there I am." Ozpin sipped his coffee with a small smile. He leaned in closer out of anticipation, eager to see what the universe had in store for his counterpart.

"**So tell me young Rose, what brings you out so far into the desert? You're a long way from home and there's nothing in any direction for miles. It's a good thing I happened to be in the area tracking these raiders." Ozpin questioned once Ruby was able to stand steadily.**

"**It's the droids, that astromech specifically. Claims to have a message for an… Ozma? Says he lives around these parts but I've never heard of anyone like that. Uncle Qrow probably knows something but he won't tell me, and you're the only other Oz I know so I thought I'd try looking for you and see if you can help. Is he a relative of yours or something?" Ruby answered truthfully.**

"**Ozma… huh. Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time." Ozpin trailed off as his mind drifted to the past.**

"**Uncle Qrow says he died a long time ago, around the same time my father did. But… I'm not sure I believe him though."**

"**Oh he's not dead. Not yet at least." Ozpin chuckled lightly as his mind returned to the present.**

"**Do you know him?" Ruby asked as her excitement reared its head again.**

"**Of course I know him. He's me. I just haven't gone by that name in a very, very long time." **

"Wait Professor Ozpin's name is also Ozma? So what would his full name be? Ozma Ozpin? Ozpin Ozma? Or just Ozoz?" Nora's motormouth started up before Ren could shut it down and the boy in green could only sigh.

"We'll just have to watch and see." Ozpin said enigmatically as he drained his mug. His alternate self probably wasn't cursed by the gods to reincarnate endlessly so he was curious as to why he'd thrown away the name Ozma and gone with Ozpin instead.

**The distant howl of the sand people indicated that they'd discovered Ruby's handiwork and were out for blood.**

"**Hmm, I think we should get indoors. No sense in remaining out here. The sand people will be back in force to avenge their fallen." Ozpin said as he scanned the area for threats.**

"**I have a speeder that can get us out fast." Ruby offered and grinned when Ozpin accepted. Loading up the droids and their new passenger, the speeder shot off into the desert, headed for Ozpin's abode since that was the closest fortified shelter that the sand people wouldn't approach.**

**After making herself comfortable in the old man's home, Ruby immediately began asking about her father. Ozpin laughed and indulged the young girl about the tales of her old man, allowing her a little bit of happiness even if it raised more than a few of his own unpleasant memories.**

"**No my father didn't fight in the clone wars, he was just a navigator on a freighter that travelled in the outer rim."**

"**That's what your uncle told you." Ozpin suppressed a chuckle, a simple navigator was the furthest thing from what Taiyang was. As if an ace pilot like him would ever allow himself to be reduced to a common navigator, his pride was simply too strong for that.**

**A bitter smile fought to the surface as that came with the reminder that that same pride was what led to his downfall in the end.**

"**Uncle Qrow lied to me?" Ruby asked in disbelief.**

"**For a good reason. Your uncle never agreed with your father's ideals. He believed that your father should have remained here, or if not here at least somewhere safe. Not get involved in the war and… well. Your father never could stand by and watch, not when he could fight and do something."**

"**Wait, then you fought in the clone wars too?"**

"**Heh, indeed. Back then I was a Jedi knight, the same as your father. Fought alongside him for many years, he was the best star pilot in the entire galaxy." Ozpin said as his mind drifted back to happier times, when all their misadventures was something to laugh about between drinks instead of something to mourn.**

"Jedi? What's a Jedi?" Taiyang asked, interested in finding out about the profession that evidently got him killed and left Ruby alone.

"Jedi are many things, guides, protectors, diplomats, intergalactic peacekeepers among others. But during the clone wars, a conflict that split the galaxy in two and eventually gave rise to the empire, Jedi became soldiers and generals." Blank supplied to a chorus of 'oohs' and 'aahs'.

"So I fought in the war and died in it… guess I can see why Qrow doesn't want to talk about it. He doesn't want Ruby following in my footsteps." Taiyang said in a depressed tone.

"From a certain point of view, yes."

"Again with that point of view thing, can't you give a straight answer?" Qrow grumbled at the vagueness.

"No, not for this universe. It'll become clear eventually."

"**He was a brilliant fighter and an even better pilot. But… above all else, he was a good friend, the best in fact. That reminds me, I have something here for you." Ozpin rose and moved to one of his shelves to retrieve one of the only things he had left of his old friend.**

"**Your father would have wanted you to have this once you were old enough, but your uncle would never have allowed it. He was afraid you'd end up following old Ozma on some damn fool crusade like your father did." Ozpin held up a strange metal tube, vaguely resembling the hilt of a sword, it had no blade attached to it.**

"**What is it?" Ruby asked curiously, unable to make sense of it.**

"**This, is a lightsabre, the weapon of a Jedi knight. Not as clumsy or unwieldy as a blaster, an elegant weapon, one for a more civilised age." Ozpin stepped back as Ruby hit the activation switch, a blade of blue plasma extended out of the hilt, drawing a small gasp of awe in the process.**

"Woah… so… cool!" Jaune and Ruby were both geeking out, their inner child awoke at the sight of an actual laser sword.

"Now that's how you modernise the classics!"

'Now if only I could find some way to fit that onto Crescent Rose/Crocea Mors.'

**Ozpin continued speaking as Ruby waved the weapon around experimentally. "For over a thousand generations, the Jedi knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the old republic… before the dark times… before the empire."**

"**H-how did my dad die?" Ruby asked in a small voice and shut off the lightsabre. The question got Ozpin to sigh and he seemed to age several decades in an instant.**

"**Your father was a student of mine, one of the most talented Jedi I ever met. Then Darth Vader happened. A pupil of mine until he turned evil in pursuit of power, he helped hunt down and destroy the Jedi. And your father was betrayed and destroyed… now the Jedi are all but extinct, there are only a few of us left scattered across the galaxy. Vader was seduced by the dark side of the force and I could not save him from himself."**

"**The force?"**

"**The force is what gives a Jedi their power. An energy field of sorts, one generated and maintained by all living beings. It surrounds us, penetrates us, binds the galaxy together."**

"The force? Does it have any relation to aura?" Goodwitch asked in curiosity.

"Some similarities but not the same."

**The question and answer session was broken up by P3N1's beeping. "Oh yes, you have a message for me don't you?"**

**Ozpin fiddled with the droid for several seconds before the full message started playing and Yang's hologram appeared again.**

"**General Ozma, years ago, you served with my father in the clone wars, now he begs you to aid him in his struggle against the empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person, but my ship is under attack and I fear my mission to bring the plans to Alderaan has failed. I've placed information vital to the survival of the rebellion in the memory systems of this P3 unit, my father knows how to retrieve it. You must help me see it safely to Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour, help me Ozma, you're my only hope."**

"I didn't think about it before, but I guess Rubes and I aren't sisters in this universe?" Yang asked, movie Ruby looked older than her sister, about the same age as her own counterpart actually.

"In this universe, you're a Belladonna instead. Ghira and Kali never had Blake due to medical complications and adopted you instead." Blank supplied and Blake narrowed her eyes.

"Huh… didn't see that coming." Yang muttered before returning her attention to the screen while subtly trying to pull Jaune away from the other clingy girl.

Blake herself was more interested in Blank's choice of words. Shock that she didn't exist in the universe aside, she was more concerned with the fact that their host never outright denied that Yang and Ruby were sisters.

'How very curious indeed.'

"**So… what are you going to do now?" Ruby shot Ozpin a questioning glance.**

"**I go to Alderaan of course. I don't suppose you'd be interested in tagging along for the ride?"**

"**What? I can't do that! I have work for uncle Qrow to do. It's not that I like the empire, everyone hates them. It's just I can't… and why would you need me anyway?" Ruby's mood fell, this was probably her one chance of getting off this miserable rock and she was going to throw it away.**

"**These old bones are tired, I'm too old for this. I don't think I'm coming back from this mission, might not even survive long enough to reach the planet."**

"**What!? But you're fine! You can't be dying!?" Ruby exclaimed, Ozpin old as he was, was still in good health, not dying in a bed somewhere.**

"**Hahaha… call it a gut feeling." Ozpin chuckled lightly despite the fact that he was completely serious. His connection with the force hadn't waned in the least and now it was telling him that once he left, he wouldn't be returning again.**

**Ruby was as strong in the force as her father was, and he did owe it to Taiyang's memory to give the girl a shot at becoming a Jedi. Although if she would rather not, he wasn't going to force the issue. His track record with students was rather appalling after all, how many teachers could say their training gave birth to one of the greatest evils in living memory?**

"**Ugh, Uncle Qrow's gonna kill me for being out so late. I need to get back to him soon, after that… I can drop you off at Mos Eisley or something, you can find a ride to Alderaan after that." Ruby offered apologetically.**

"**That would be appreciated, in the end you should do what you think is right. But I think I'll come with you to see Qrow and explain things, it's been awhile since I've met him." Ozpin said and rose to his feet.**

"Whaat!? Oh come on other me! We're supposed to be the main character! How can we turn down the offer like that!?" Ruby whined and pouted as her counterpart turned down the chance of a lifetime.

"If your story has any similarity to the books I read- Yang don't even start with me, you'll end up going whether you want to or not." Blake said as she shot her partner a warning look, ensuring the brawler didn't go for such low hanging fruit.

"Huh? What do you mean Blake?"

"…Just a hunch. I don't think your uncle survives for very much longer. The call knows where you live."

**The scene transitioned away from the desert planet to a futuristic war room filled with high ranking imperial officers.**

"**Until this battle station is fully operational, we remain vulnerable." One of the officers gave his view on the Deathstar's current status with a grim face.**

"**The rebel alliance is too well equipped, they're more dangerous than you realise."**

"**Dangerous to your fleet commander, not to this battle station." His counterpart shrugged off the warning with nary a care. The man could only growl in frustration at the sheer hubris staring him in the face.**

"**The rebellion will continue to gather support in the imperial senate-"**

"**The senate will no longer be of any concern to us. I have just received word from the Empress that the senate has been dissolved permanently. The last remnants of the old republic have been swept away." Watts cut off the argument as he strolled into the room with Vader at his side.**

"**Wha? That's impossible, how will the Empress manage the bureaucracy by herself?"**

"**Regional governors now have direct control over their territories. Fear will keep the local systems in line, fear of this battle station especially." Watts said smugly, once the Death Star was fully operational, who in their right minds would oppose such overwhelming power?**

"**And what of the rebellion? If they've managed to get a complete set of plans for the station, it is possible, however unlikely, they might find a weakness and exploit it." The fleet commander spoke up, still unwilling to trust completely in the Death Star's purported invincibility.**

"**The plans you speak off will soon be back in our hands." Vader assured.**

"**Any assault on this battle station will be an exercise in futility no matter what data the rebels have. This station is now the ultimate power in the universe. I suggest we use it, put the fear of the empire into their hearts." The commander's rival chimed in to put down the upstart once more.**

"That man is supposed to be an officer in the upper echelons?" Ironwood blinked in disbelief at the idea a pompous prick could end up that high up in the ranks while still being an idiot. It reminded him too much of the morons he had to put up with back in Atlas, more money and influence than they knew what to do with but barely two brain cells to rub together.

"The empire's current military doctrine can be summed up as bigger followed by more. Everything else, safety, basic decency, common sense… they're very low priority. Nepotism and corruption are rampant but sadly for the galaxy, the empire still has enough competent people in their employ to hold itself together." Blank answered.

"Huh… I suppose it's a good thing we're not rooting for the empire then. Atlas shouldn't have such a problem… but I'll check just to be sure."

"**Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed. It's power pales in comparison to the force." Vader cautioned in a flat tone that nonetheless carried his annoyance.**

"**Don't try to frighten us with your sorcerous ways Vader. Your sad devotion to that ancient religion has not helped us conjure up the stolen plans or given you enough clairvoyance to find the hidden rebel base." Any further words were cut off when his neck began constricting inwards, crushed by an invisible hand as Darth Vader loomed over him.**

"**I find your lack of faith… disturbing."**

"**Enough of this, Vader, release him." Watts commanded and after several more seconds of choking, Vader complied and allowed the shaken man to flop onto the table, greedily sucking in air.**

"**This bickering is pointless. Lord Vader will obtain the location of the rebel fortress by the time this station is operational. We will then crush the rebellion with one swift stroke. Once their entire planet is destroyed, the galaxy will no longer have to deal with those pests and there'll never be anyone foolish enough to rebel again."**

"D-destroy a planet? He's joking right?" Roman's eyes widened in surprise and his cigar fell out of his hands.

"Unfortunately he's not joking."

"Damn, can't see anyone willing to stand up to that kind of power. At least the worst thing we have to deal with is Grimm… and I cannot believe I just said that." Roman nervously toyed with a new cigar.

"A planet killing superweapon would keep the people in line. It's barbaric, but the effectiveness cannot be denied. Who'd ever rebel if the empire can just blow away your home to send a message?" Ironwood mused quietly, slightly ill that he was even praising this.

**The scene transitioned back to Ruby and Ozpin as they came across a smouldering wreck. One of the Jawa transports had been hit by an enemy force and totally destroyed, no survivors to be found.**

"**All signs point towards sand people being responsible… but I've never heard of them hitting anything this big before." Ruby commented as she uttered a small prayer for the lost souls.**

"**They didn't" Ozpin's face was decidedly grim as he surveyed the surroundings.**

"**We were just made to think they did. Sand people ride in single file to hide their numbers, but the tracks are side by side here. And these blaster scorch marks… too accurate for sand people. Imperial stormtroopers did this."**

"**What? But why would the empire want to slaughter Jawas? Wait… these are the same Jawas who sold us the droids! If the empire tracked them to the Jawas…" Ruby's eyes shot open in panic when she caught sight of C1EL and P3N1 milling around nearby waiting for their owner.**

"**Oh no… Uncle Qrow!" Before Ozpin could warn her off, Ruby had already leapt back into her speeder and shot off towards home, hoping that she wouldn't be too late.**

**Unfortunately, by the time she arrived, the moisture farm had already been mostly consumed by the fires. Qrows badly charred body laid face down near the entrance where the stormtroopers had gunned him down as soon as he answered the door.**

"**No." Ruby whispered in a small voice as she clasped her hands to her mouth and sank to her knees. The tears came unbidden as she watched everything she ever knew burn away to ashes.**

"**I never even got to say goodbye." She sobbed as she recalled her last words to her uncle, snapping at him in frustration and now she couldn't even apologise for it.**

"That blows." Qrow grimaced and chugged his drink, wincing lightly when he found himself on the receiving end of a tackle hug from his niece.

"There, there, I'm still in one piece, don't go killing me off here yet." Qrow said as he rubbed Ruby's head to calm her down.

"Guess we're both dead, our luck is as bad as ever huh." Taiyang commiserated.

"Cheer up you two, it's just one universe. Maybe you'll get better a better showing on the next one. I haven't even appeared yet." Summer tried to cheer up her depressed teammates and missed the small cough from Yang at her 'not showing up yet' comment.

**Ozpin looked up when a sombre Ruby returned to the burnt out Jawa sand crawler. She'd been gone for several hours and he'd already finished burying the latest victims of the empire's cruelty. He heaved a small sigh of relief when she was unhurt, if the imperials had caught sight of her, there'd be one more body to bury.**

"**Is Qrow…" Ozpin trailed off when Ruby said nothing. Closing his eyes and uttering a small prayer for his fallen friend, Ozpin felt every year of his age.**

"**There was nothing you could have done. If you'd been there, they'd have killed you too and the droids would be in the hands of the empire."**

**Ruby remained silent for several moments before looking up with determination in her eyes. "I'll come with you to Alderaan. The empire took everything from me. First my father, then my uncle and my home. If bringing the droids to Alderaan will help stop them from causing any more damage, I'll do it. There's nothing left for me here now."**

**They travelled in silence to the spaceport, avoiding the more established roads and cutting through the desert instead to avoid imperial patrols. As the pulled to a stop overlooking their destination, Ozpin glanced down at the bustling city below them and pursed his lips.**

"**Mos Eisley space port, you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."**

**As they entered into the spaceport itself, Ruby bit back a curse when they were intercepted by a patrol of stormtroopers. "How long have you had these droids?"**

"**Three or four seasons, why?" Ruby lied and tried to keep her face neutral.**

"**They aren't for sale if that's what your interested in." Ozpin chimed in.**

"**Let me see your identification." The patrol sergeant demanded and Ruby's foot inched towards the accelerator. Push came to shove, she was confident she'd be able to get away from the patrol before they could get a shot off although that plan still left her on the run from every imperial soldier in the vicinity.**

"**You don't need to see our identification." Ozpin waved his fingers lightly before Ruby could do anything rash. The question died on her tongue when the trooper actually agreed with Ozpin.**

"**We don't need to see their identification."**

"**These aren't the droids you're looking for."**

"**These aren't the droids we're looking for." The sergeant agreed and looked to his men, all of them nodding along with him.**

"**We can go about our business."**

"**You can go about your business."**

"**Move along." Ozpin smiled and returned his attention to the front. **

"**Move along!" The sergeant stepped back and waved Ruby onwards as he directed his patrol to return to their duties. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, Ruby floored it and the speeder shot away before the stormtroopers could reverse their sudden change of heart.**

"What… was that?" Jaune asked as he stared at the screen. Was it mind control? Because it sure as hell looked like mind control to him.

"That, was a Jedi mind trick. One of the powers of the force, weaker minds can be moulded and brought around to a force user's way of thinking." Blank answered.

"So it's mind control."

"…Yes. It is mind control."

"But only on the stupid."

"…Yes. Way to make it look more criminal than it actually is."

Jaune would have said more but his attention had to be refocused on Nora. "Nora no, as your leader I forbid from searching for someone with a mind control semblance. You can't mind control the chefs at Beacon to serve nothing but pancakes for breakfast lunch and dinner. And no building a sloth zoo in the middle of school either."

"Awwww… but I haven't even said anything!" Nora whined and folded her arms.

"You were thinking it and that's enough for me."

**As Ruby and Ozpin entered the Cantina, Ruby's mind was still preoccupied by Ozpin's display. "I still can't believe we got away from those troopers. I thought we were dead!"**

"**The force can have an effect on the weak minded."**

"**Huh. But you seriously think we'll find a pilot that can take us to Alderaan here? This place is a dump."**

"**Most of the best freighter pilots can be found here. It's not like there's much choice to be had anyway."**

**As they stepped into the cantina proper, Ruby's breath was taken away. There were more aliens than she'd ever seen in one place. Back on the farm, the most contact she had was with occasional traders and fighting off the sand people.**

**Taking a seat at the bar while Ozpin looked for a pilot to carry them. Ruby was rudely interrupted by a hand on her shoulder as an alien growled something in a language she didn't understand. Trying to ignore it in the hopes that it would go away, she said nothing and returned her attention to the front.**

**It didn't work. The alien's friend was the next to interrupt her musings. "My friend doesn't like you. And I don't like you either."**

"**I'm sorry?" Ruby placated, unsure of what their beef with her was exactly.**

"**You just watch yourself. We're wanted men, I have the death sentence in twelve systems."**

"**I'll be careful." Ruby said and tried ignoring them again.**

"Ooh, bad move red. Those are fighting words." Torchwick commented and twirled his cigar.

"What!? How are those fighting words!? I'm just trying to diffuse the situation!" Ruby protested and her uncle just sighed in response.

"Yeah well, he's spoiling for a fight. You basically told him to go screw himself by ignoring his rap sheet. Although, boasting about being wanted for execution isn't really smart move on his part. If he's telling the truth, then he's gotta have a bounty that someone's gonna want to collect on."

"**You'll be dead! Rraghhh!" With a snarl, the man pulled Ruby up by her collar and threw her against a table, breaking it into splinters and causing the girl to groan in pain.**

**He drew his blaster and prepared to put a few bolts into the stunned girl before she could get back to her feet. He never got the shot off as two blaster bolts slammed into the criminal duo's foreheads, burning a hole clean through their skull and causing them to flop over dead.**

"**Death penalty eh? Consider your sentence served." A familiar mop of blonde hair entered the screen as Jaune put away his own still smoking blaster.**

"Woah. That's me…" Jaune trailed off as his counterpart appeared. Unlike his own image as a knight, this one fit the definition of a rogue to the T. A strange image to be sure… but it fit. And it reminded him that he still needed to get some kind of ranged option.

"Look at you go, saving Rubes and snapping one liners like that, my hero." Yang gave Jaune a wet smooch on his cheek and his mind turned to mush instantly. Dopey smile on his face and gibbering incomprehensibly, he was lost to world once more as Yang and Pyrrha resumed their glaring contest.

"**Should be a decent bounty for these two dead, carry on people, nothing to see here. Show's over." With the display of violence at an end, the other patrons of the cantina returned to whatever they were doing before and the jazz started playing again. Sudden violence and death was a common scene in Mos Eisley after all, made for good entertainment as long as you didn't become collateral damage.**

**Jaune gave Ruby a hand up and led her to a table where Ozpin was already seated at. A pink and brown furred wookie sat next to him. Once Ruby was seated, Jaune took his own place at the table and got down to business.**

"**I'm Jaune Arc, captain of the Millennium Falcon. Neo here tells me you're looking for a ship and captain." A roar came from the wookie as a greeting.**

Neo began whacking Roman with her scroll as he burst out into laughter and started rolling on the ground while clutching his sides. "N-neo is… ahhahahahah! Oh my god! I can't… ahahahhaah!"

"**Only if it's a fast ship." Ozpin said neutrally.**

"**Fast ship? You've never heard of the Falcon?"**

"**Should I have?"**

"**This is the ship that made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs. I've outrun imperial starships, not the local barges but actual star destroyers. She fast enough for you old man?" Jaune leaned in as Ozpin contemplated it.**

"Parsecs? Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't that a measure of distance not time?" Winter asked.

"It is, it's more a testament to the ships handling and the pilot than the speed. Most ships steer clear of blackholes and uncharted territories so they don't crash at faster than light speed and kill themselves. To evade an imperial blockade in the past, he took a suicidal shortcut using said blackhole and the unknown to throw off pursuers. Dangerously reckless and in the hands of a lesser pilot and crew they wouldn't be having this conversation." Blank answered.

"**What's the cargo anyway?"**

"**Passengers. Myself, the girl and two droids. And no questions asked" Ozpin said.**

"**Heh heh, what is it, local trouble?" Jaune chuckled lightly.**

"**Let's just say, we want to avoid any imperial entanglements."**

"**Well that's the real trick isn't it? It's going to cost you something extra. It's one thing to smuggle contraband across the galaxy, it's another to smuggle something the empire is after. Ten thousand, all in advance." Jaune stopped smiling and listed his price.**

"**Ten thousand!? We could almost buy our own ship for that!" Ruby exclaimed in disbelief.**

"**And who's going to fly it kid? You?" Jaune snorted derisively.**

"**Yeah maybe, I'm not such a bad pilot myself!" Ruby growled back. She would have said more but Ozpin interfered.**

"**Two thousand now, plus fifteen when we reach Alderaan."**

"**Seventeen?" Jaune asked, doublechecking if he misheard. He smiled when Ozpin nodded.**

"**Alright, you got yourself a ship. We leave as soon as you're ready."**

"Is it just me or is Arc obsessed with money here? He seems… jaded." Weiss commented.

"Your… friend appears to be a criminal in this universe. It is hardly surprising that he'd be interested in money." Winter replied and drew a snort from Qrow.

"Of course you'd think that ice queen. What would someone like you know of the struggle of the common people? Try and think about what being a law abiding citizen in that universe means for a bit would you?"

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Winter narrowed her eyes at the hunter.

"What do you think?"

"I think, you're advocating criminal behaviour. Should I be concerned that you'll turn eventually? Maybe I should arrest you before that?"

"Blind as ever in your ivory tower." Qrow ignored her accusation and drank from his flask.

"Being a citizen of the empire means suffering under tyranny. Hardly surprising that someone would turn to criminal acts in order to survive. Before I arrived in this theatre I was in Atlas you know, when was the last time you even saw the people, let along walked among them. Every day that passes, Atlas becomes more of a hellhole, there is a word for it, rhymes with utopia but means the exact opposite."

"Listen here you drunk, I won't sit by and let you insult Atl-"

"Shut up. I don't want to hear it. How many have your people driven into villainy out of desperation hmm? I mean, it's not like your actions have created some kind of group that wants to tear down the established order so that they can survive in the hell you made for them… oh wait! You did! They call themselves the white fang and your family in particular have had a major role in their rise. You. Are. The Empire. And because of you, Vale is the one who's gonna pay for your colossal fuckups." Qrow snapped back and slid the lien into the swear jar without breaking eye contact once as he just barely reigned in his fury.

"Uncle Qrow, that's not fair." Ruby put her hands on her hips and scolded her uncle.

"Weiss and her sister have nothing to do with the SDC and their actions. You can't blame them for something they have no control over."

"Maybe so squirt, but if the ice queen wants to defend 'her people' then she better know exactly what it is she's defending. As to being a law abiding citizen? In that universe I was one. And how did that work out for me?" Qrow finished and leaned back into his seat, satisfied that Winter had no comeback for him.

**Jaune looked up and noticed several stormtroopers being pointed in their direction by the bartender. "Sounds like you're already being entangled. I suggest you leave and find me at the docks later."**

**Ozpin noticed the stormtroopers as well and nodded, grabbing Ruby and making their way out, leaving Jaune and Neo behind.**

"**Whoo… seventeen thousand. Those guys must really be desperate. This could really save our necks. Get back to the ship and get it ready, a quick trip to Alderaan and back and we'll be set for a good while at least." Jaune said and Neo roared her agreement before moving off to get ready while Jaune finished his drink.**

**Jaune sighed happily at an easy payday and got up to leave once he was done, he'd barely gone five steps when he was interrupted by a blaster in his face. "Going somewhere Arc?"**

"**Yes Cardin, as a matter of fact, I was just about to go tell your boss Junior that I've got his money." Jaune stepped back and allowed himself to fall back into the seat he just vacated while Cardin took the seat opposite him.**

"Cardin's working for Junior here? I guess trash attracts trash after all." Yang commented with a small shrug.

"**It's a little too late for that Arc, you should have paid him when you had the chance." Cardin smirked as his finger tightened around the trigger.**

"**Junior's put a large enough bounty on your head that every bounty hunter in the galaxy will be looking for you. It's a good thing I found you first ain't it? Lucky me."**

"**Yeah but this time I've got the money" Jaune gestured as he put his feet on the table and allowed his right arm to sink to his side.**

"**If you hand it over I might just forget I saw you here today."**

"He's trying to extort Jaune-Jaune? Grrr… break his legs fearless leader! And then feed it to him!" Nora cheered drawing twin sighs from Jaune and Ren.

"Cardin's not that bad anymore Nora. Yes he's still a jerk at times but he's working on it, so no breaking his legs okay?" Jaune pleaded and sighed again when he received a reluctant 'fine' from her.

"**I don't have it with me, do you really think I'd be carrying that much money on me in this shithole? Tell Junior I-" Jaune's right hand slipped to his blaster as Cardin interrupted him.**

"**Junior's done with you, he doesn't need smugglers who drop their cargo at the first sign of an imperial patrol."**

"**Even I get boarded sometimes, you think I had a choice?" Jaune protested and shifted in his seat, concealing his actions.**

"**You can tell that to Junior, maybe he'll only take that piece of scrap you call a ship."**

"**Over my dead body."**

"**That's the idea. I've been looking forward to this for a long time." Cardin grinned sinisterly as leaned in closer.**

"**Yes, I bet you have. But I have a better idea." Jaune deadpanned and shot Cardin through the heart before the bounty hunter could react. He rolled his eyes when the corpse slumped over onto the table and the stench of burnt flesh reached his nostrils.**

"**Shoot first or shoot never idiot." Jaune sniffed and holstered his gun before retrieving Cardin's credit chit and handed it to the bartender.**

"**Sorry about the mess again, round of drinks for everyone here, put it on the dead guy's tab."**

"Man after my own heart, I like this kid the best out of all the ones we've seen." Roman grinned happily and Neo nodded her agreement.

"You just like him because he's a criminal like you." Blake said in a flat tone.

"Nonsense, I'd like this kid even if he wasn't a criminal. That kind of devil may care attitude and a quick trigger finger… reminds me of myself way back when. Living life on the edge, getting through all kinds of messes with nothing but your wits and a quick trigger finger… good times… good times…" Roman wiped away a non-existent tear as he remembered the days when he was still starting out, tearing up the established order one heist at a time until eventually he stood at the top.

"Thanks? I think?" Jaune muttered unsurely. His alternate self had just gunned down Cardin and gotten praise from a professional criminal, at this point he wasn't sure what to feel.

**Back aboard the Death Star, Vader was reporting his failure to Watts. "The princess continues to resist the mind probe and truth serum with disturbing effectiveness and not even the force can make her divulge the location of the rebel base. I believe she's trying to get us to kill her so the secret dies with her."**

**Watts remained silent as he pondered the issue even as one of his subordinates informed him that the battle station was now fully operational and capable of striking at any point in the galaxy.**

"**Perhaps we're going about this the wrong way, she might respond better to an alternative method of persuasion." He said at last.**

"**I don't follow." Vader admitted.**

"**It's time to give a demonstration of the true power of the Death Star. I had hoped the rebel base would serve as a good warning but alas. Captain, set course for Alderaan."**

"No! He couldn't possibly be!" Yang growled in response to what she was seeing, inadvertently tightening her hug on Jaune in the process and causing the knight to gasp for breath.

"Watts… ethics and morals were always in last place where he was concerned." Ironwood glared at the disgraced Atlessian scientist. His frustration only mounted when he recalled how the fugitive had evaded all attempts to bring him to justice and the constant humiliation he inflicted on pursing forces.

**Jaune smelt the criminal overlord before he heard the filthy slug and sighed. Of course the dockmaster was in Junior's payroll, so much for hiding the Falcon's arrival. "I'm right here Junior."**

**Deciding not to beat around the bush, he announced his presence and found himself under the guns of several bounty hunters and mercenaries instantly. The slug turned around and faced his errant smuggler, thick layers of fat wobbling as he did so.**

"**Been waiting for you Junior."**

"**Have you now?"**

"Oh. My. God. That's disgusting!" Yang shrieked at the sight of Junior the Hutt.

"Woah, man really let himself go huh. Jeez, has he ever heard of a treadmill?" Roman commented with a small look of revulsion.

"Junior is a Hutt, that's how they all look… even if he is the fattest of them all." Blank supplied.

"Goddamn, how the hell haven't they gone extinct yet?"

"They own much of the underworld that's how. Who needs to run from your enemies when you can just buy off all of them, even the empire has an actual working relationship with them."

"**Haaa… you thought I was gonna run didn't you." A lopsided smile graced Jaune's face as he approached with his arms held out to show he wasn't armed. Neo brought up the rear, likewise openhanded.**

"**Arc my boy, you disappoint me. Why haven't you paid me and why did you fry poor Cardin?"**

"**Look, next time you wanna talk to me, come see me yourself, no need to send one of those morons." Jaune gestured to the assembled bounty hunters and several gripped their weapons tighter in anger.**

"**I can't make exceptions, not even for you Arc. You're one of the best I have but if every smuggler followed your lead and dropped the cargo at the first sign of an imperial starship… it's bad for business understand?"**

"**Look, even I get boarded sometimes, you think I had a choice? We were sold out, the imperials were waiting for me long before I got there." Jaune said as he saw a contemplative look enter Junior's eye, no doubt already placing blame on one of his many underworld rivals.**

**But nope, Jaune was lying out his ass. There was no setup as far as he could tell, just sheer bad luck he had to exit hyperspace at the same time an imperial ship was about to transition. A few seconds later and he'd have been free to go. But… Junior didn't need to know that.**

"**Well, I can make it up to you. I've got a nice easy job, take an old man and his granddaughter to Alderaan for their vacation and I'll be able to pay you back with interest. I just need a little more time." Jaune bargained and held back a sigh of relief when Junior nodded.**

"**You are one of the best so I'll let it go this time for an extra twenty-"**

"**Fifteen, don't push it Junior. I still money for repairs and refuelling or I'll never get back here with the money."**

"**Fine, fifteen it is." Junior amended, he'd make a handsome profit even with just an extra fifteen percent. The money was immaterial in the end, he was rich enough as it was. Image was the issue at hand and despite Jaune's failure, he really didn't want to have to execute one of his best.**

"**But if you mess up again, I'll put a bounty on your head so large you'll never be able to go near a civilised system ever again."**

"**Of course, it's just a simple taxi ride this time, not contraband, no one to tip off the empire." Jaune smiled and gave a bow before heading up his ship while Junior and his goons left.**

"Kid's got a lot of sway to be able to talk down a mob boss like that. Shame about jinxing himself though, you never say a mission's going to be easy, not unless you want the universe to prove you wrong." Qrow said.

"The Jaune Arc of this universe is one of the best smugglers and starship captains to ever live, at the moment he's a valuable asset. If he hadn't washed out of the imperial flight academy for gross insubordination against the empire's ways, he'd probably have made admiral by this point." Blank replied.

**When Ruby and Ozpin finally showed up to board with the droids, Ruby could only stare slack jawed at the Falcon. "That's the ship!? It's a piece of junk!"**

"**Hey! This baby will make point five past lightspeed. Might not look like much but she's got it where it counts. I've made a lot of special modifications to her myself. Now we're on a tight schedule as it is so if you'll just get on board we can leave immediately." Jaune mock bowed and shooed them aboard, the sooner he delivered them the sooner he got paid.**

**Once they were all safely aboard Jaune and Neo kicked the ship into gear and the Falcon ascended into orbit. "Alright, calculations are almost ready, we'll be making the jump to hyperspace soon, strap yourselves in and please, try not to break anything."**

"**Aw why can't we make the jump now?" Ruby whined.**

"**And jump straight into a star or a supernova? Hyperspace ain't like dusting crops back home girl, one mistake on the calculations and you're stardust before you can say oops." Conversation died down and soon enough the ship jumped to lightspeed their journey underway at last.**

**The scene transitioned back to the Death Star as a blue planet occupied its bridge windows. "We've entered the Alderaan system sir." An officer reported to Watts.**

**Watts deigned not to reply, choosing to focus on the planet before him as he awaited his guest. Several seconds later, Yang walked onto the bridge, escorted by several heavily armed guards and Darth Vader. "Governor Watts, I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash. I thought I recognised your foul stench when I was brought on board."**

"**Charming to the last princess, you don't know how difficult it was for me to sign your death warrant." Watts smiled thinly at his belligerent prisoner.**

"**I'm surprised you had the guts to do anything yourself, usually you have your pet attack dog here do your dirty work for you."**

"Yang, antagonising your captors isn't a winning strategy." Taiyang tutted disapprovingly.

"Come on dad, I'd never do something like that!" Yang protested her innocence.

"You would sis."

"Nah, you'd definitely do it firecracker."

"Oh you'd do it, too much of your father in you for that."

Ruby, Qrow and Summer disagreed causing Yang to pout.

"**Before your execution though, I'd like you to be my guest at a ceremony to make this battle station fully operational. No star system will dare oppose the empress now." Watts gestured to the bridge and did a full circuit.**

"**The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers." Yang grinned defiantly.**

"**No. Not after we demonstrate the power of this superweapon. They won't dare slip away again. But I'm feeling generous today, so I'll let you determine which planet gets destroyed first." Watts made the offer and Yang's face fell slightly.**

"**Since you have refused to provide us with the location of the rebel base, I have chosen to test the Death Star on the planet before you. I think you'd find it familiar wouldn't you?" Watts gestured to the planet and Yang's heart sank when she recognised her home.**

"**What!? You can't! Alderaan is peaceful, we have no weapons!" Yang tried to reason with the man intending to commit mass genocide of an entire world.**

"**So you want us to pick a better target? A military target? Then name the system!" Watts delivered his ultimatum.**

"**I grow tired of asking princess. Give me the location of the rebel base or I will blow up your world, and the worlds of every other rebel supporter in existence. I don't have to destroy your base if I just wipe out every world that supports you."**

"**Dantooine, the rebel base is on Dantooine." Yang finally admitted, Watts was serious about this. If he didn't get a target, every man, woman and child on Alderaan would be killed… including every imperial on the surface as well. A monster, that was what Watts was, a complete and total monster.**

"**See, that wasn't so hard was it?"**

"Damn, I gave up the rebellion after all huh." Yang smiled bitterly.

"No need to fault yourself for it Ms Xiao Long, there really wasn't a choice to be made with the lives of your home hanging in the balance." Goodwitch consoled.

"But it's not going to help, he'll fire anyway." Jaune said despondently.

"What!? Why would he do that!?" Yang asked and her eyes flickered red.

"Why would he? Why wouldn't he? If he wants a demonstration of power and the resolve of the imperial war machine, holding an innocent planet accountable for the actions of a few and destroying it is exactly how you'd go about stamping out future rebellions. The empire won't have to do a thing after this, star systems will work on their own to week out the rebels so they don't get destroyed next. You can hide a base, but you can't hide a planet." Jaune answered.

"**Continue with the operation, you may fire when ready." Watts smirked and gave the command to his underlings.**

"**WHAT!? Yang screamed in shock as Watts turned back to her with a cold look.**

"**You're far too trusting my dear, Dantooine is far too remote for a proper demonstration. But don't worry, this station will be paying a visit to your rebel friends soon enough." Yang growled and tried to attack the man only to be held back by Vader.**

"**No."**

**A hum could be felt throughout the Death Star as the main weapon powered up. Yang could only watch on helpless as the weapon fired and the emerald beam lanced towards her defenceless home. Within seconds of firing, her planet was gone. Transitioned to an asteroid field as every living thing aboard the once thriving garden world died instantly. Alderaan was gone.**

"Damn. Just damn." Qrow summed up the thoughts of the silent theatre.

"H-he did it. The sonofabitch actually did it." Roman slumped into his seat.

"What power. God damn you Watts. Even in another universe you're still a monster." Ironwood growled in frustration and rage.

"How? How could anyone do something like this?" Ruby whispered in a small voice as Summer hugged her close.

"There, there, it'll be okay, some people are just rotten to the core. But I get the feeling he'll get what's coming to him, you're supposed to be the hero here aren't you?" Summer said in an attempt to cheer her up.

"Some hero, too late to do anything to save them."

"That's… how it is some times. You can't always make it there in time and people get hurt. But it doesn't mean you stop trying."

**Back aboard the Millennium Falcon, Jaune was busy with at the controls while Ruby trained with her father's lightsabre behind them and Neo entertained the droids in a game of chess. Using the laser blade to deflect incoming bolts from a training drone… well trying to at any rate. Ozpin's amused face faded away and the old man looked like he'd been punched in the gut as he suddenly took a seat.**

"**Hmm? Is something wrong Ozpin?" Ruby asked when she noticed him clutching at his chest.**

"**I felt a great disturbance in the force, as though millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and was suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened. You, you better get on with your training, leave me in peace." Ozpin shooed her away, needing to be alone with his thoughts for the time being.**

**Jaune strode over to where they were at to give an update on their journey. "Good news, the latest modifications I made to the Falcon are proving their worth, we're faster than expected and making good time, we should be arriving at Alderaan shortly… well don't everybody thank me at once."**

**Jaune snarked when he found his passengers too engrossed in either playing with a laser sword or recovering from a heart attack. Given the urgency of their quest, he thought they'd be at least a little more excited to know that they'd be arriving shortly.**

**Neo roared when P3N1 executed a move that left her only several turns from checkmate, distracting Jaune in the process.**

"**That was a perfectly legal and valid move. Don't go complaining because you fell into a trap." C1EL defended P3N1 from Neo's accusations.**

"**That's not it, you don't really want to upset wookies." Jaune commented.**

"**But sir, no one ever complains about upsetting droids." C1EL countered.**

"**Yeah? That's because droids don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose." There was a moment of silence before C1EL spoke again.**

"**P3N1, I propose a new strategy. Let the wookie win."**

"Smart move, you don't mess with Neo unless you want sharp pointy bits in places sharp pointy bits were never meant to go." Roman grunted out as Neo proved his point by jabbing the edge of her scroll into his side before he could start laughing at her counterpart again.

"**Remember, a Jedi can feel the force flowing through them." Ozpin commented as Ruby continued trying to predict the drone's actions with varying degrees of success.**

"**You mean it controls our actions?"**

"**Partially. It also obeys your commands."**

**Ruby tried to parry again but failed and hissed in pain when one of the bolts struck her, sending a jolt of pain through her leg and causing Jaune to laugh at her misfortune. "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side kid."**

"**You don't believe in the force do you?" Ruby shot back.**

"**Kid, I've flown from one side of the galaxy to the other multiple times, seen and done a lot of strange things. But I've never experienced anything to convince me that there is some all powerful **_**force**_** guiding the universe. No mystical field controls my destiny, all that mumbo jumbo… nothing more than tricks and misdirection."**

**Ozpin shrugged and lifted a training helmet with its blast shield down and placed it on Ruby's head. "Try it again. This time let go of your conscious self and trust your instincts."**

"**What? But I can't see a thing like this."**

"**Trust in the force and do it again."**

**Ruby swallowed her doubts and did as instructed, only to be hit in the shoulder again and receiving another bark of laughter from Jaune.**

"**Stretch out with your feelings and trust in yourself, you already know what to do and when to do it." Taking a deep breath and giving it one more shot, this time her swings were more fluid and she successfully deflected all three incoming bolts.**

"**I did it!"**

"**Indeed. That is the force at work."**

"**I call it luck old man. Just a coincidence nothing more." Jaune said dismissively.**

"**In my experience there's no such thing as luck. You could do well with a more open mind captain."**

"**Good against a drone is one thing, good against the living? Heh, now that's something else. Trusting in some **_**magic **_**to guide your actions will only get you killed when someone decides they have a blaster bolt with your name on it." Jaune said as a beeping distracted him.**

"Well you have to admit, it is a little difficult believing in something as abstract as the force. It's like if someone walked up to you and said all the fairy tales are true or something." Jaune said and missed the sudden coughing fits of the adults.

"It's still a good idea to keep an open mind Jaune. Discounting possibilities because they seem farfetched is a good way to end up missing the opportunities that come with them." Pyrrha gently chided.

"Of course Pyr, I'm just saying that having proof to show would make such claims a lot easier to believe."

"**Guess we're coming up on Alderaan. Get ready old man and girl, hope you've enjoyed your flight with Falcon spacelines, this is your captain Jaune Arc signing out." Jaune clicked his heels and gave a small tap dance before returning to the bridge, humming about an easy payday.**

"**Alright, here we go, decelerating… now." Jaune pulled a lever as Neo hit several buttons and the Falcon came out of hyperspace.**

"**The hell!?" Jaune cursed when his ship was immediately hit with a shower of asteroids that shouldn't be there, the rocks bouncing off the deflector shields and rocking the ship in the process.**

"**Oh damnit, how the hell did we enter a meteor shower? This wasn't in the charts! The next time a meteor shower is due in the vicinity is in six months."**

"**What's going on!?" Ruby asked as she and Ozpin made their way to the bridge as well once the rocking started.**

"**Hang on, lemme check, I might have made a miscalculation… wait, no I didn't. This is where we're supposed to be… but no Alderaan." Jaune blinked as he triple checked his readouts again. The planet should be right there in front of them except it wasn't.**

"**What do you mean no Alderaan? How can a planet just disappear like that?"**

"**I don't know. My readings are correct, the planet is just gone with this damn meteor shower in its place. It's like the planet was blown away or something." Jaune muttered as he tried to pilot his way out of the mess they found themselves in.**

"**What how!? How do you just blow away a planet!?" Ruby asked in confusion as the ship rocked again from another impact.**

"**Destroyed. By the empire." Ozpin said grimly as his mouth set in a thin line.**

"**That's absurd. Not even an entire Starfleet has the power to destroy a planet, it'd take a thousand or more capital ships firing endlessly for days before they'd manage something like… oh we got a ship coming in, shit Neo, get me the IFF of that ship, maybe they can tell us what's going on." Jaune ordered as he hit several switches.**

"**It's an imperial fighter." Ozpin supplied the answer before Neo could, the force having already clued him in. Sure enough, the Falcon came under attack within seconds of his reply.**

"**That's a short range one, no way it made it out this deep into space on its own. It must have backup nearby."**

"**Neo, jam that fighter's transmissions. I don't care if the whole imperial fleet is nearby, it won't live long enough to identify us and we can jump out of here once its gone." Jaune got an answering roar as he powered up the Falcon's guns, ready to shoot down the fighter before it could compromise them.**

"**I think it's headed for that small moon." Ruby squinted as she focused on rapidly growing grey speck in the distance.**

"**I think I can cut it off before it gets close enough to be noticed by the locals."**

"**That's no moon, that's a space station." Ozpin whispered in a serious voice.**

"**What? It's too big to be a space station." Jaune denied as the speck grew larger and larger and the grey metal surface became visible to the naked eye.**

"**I have a very bad feeling about this." Ruby said and gripped the seat tighter.**

"**My God. I think you're right. Neo put us in reverse, get us the hell away from that thing." The ship shuddered as the engines tried to pull away but the ship continued moving forwards.**

"**Fuck. They noticed us! We're caught in a tractor beam, you gotta be shitting me. How strong is their damn tractor beam to affect us all the way out here!?" Jaune swore as his ship was stuck moving towards the largest space station he'd ever seen.**

"**We have to do something!" Ruby exclaimed as she looked around in panic.**

"**There's nothing we can do, Falcon's already giving it everything she's got and it's still not enough. Damnit, they ain't getting me without a fight."**

"**There are alternatives to fighting. This is a vessel designed for smuggling is it not?" Ozpin asked.**

"**It is but I don't see your… huh. Reckless plan old man, but I suppose it's the only one we've got. Alright, I'm shutting the ship down, come with me." Jaune flipped several switches and the engines rumbled to a stop as the ship shut down.**

"**Neo, jettison the empty cargo and get to your station while I get our passengers stowed away. I hope your plan works old man, because I don't like the looks of those guns." Jaune pointed at the now visible cannons facing them, each one easily the size of the Falcon.**

"What kind of plan do you think you have Oz?" Qrow asked his boss.

"Hmm this is probably why other me doesn't think he's coming back from the mission. As long as that tractor beam is active, they can't escape without being caught again and shot. They probably plan to smuggle themselves aboard and disable the beam from the inside before escaping."

"But what about that Darth Vader? He's on board too isn't he?" Winter queried.

"Yes. And that's the part that will kill my counterpart. Unfinished business and all that, a distraction so that the rest can escape." Ozpin shrugged and sipped his coffee.

"Ah well, at least you got more screen time than me Oz, I didn't even get a dying moment of awesome, they just shot me to pieces in my own home. At least you get to face Vader." Qrow replied with a laugh.

"At least you appeared Qrow. I just got a 'he's dead, murdered by a fellow student turned traitor'." Taiyang growled.

"You know, most people wouldn't be so carefree talking about their own deaths." Roman commented.

"We're hunters, we've come to terms that our life expectancy is abysmally short long ago." Taiyang shrugged and replied.

**Rows upon rows of stormtroopers stood at the ready as they awaited the possible order to board. Thus far the ship had made no suspicious movements aside from jettisoning cargo and escape pods when they were caught. Power and life support systems were offline and there was no sign of life aboard from the scanners, in a few moments, the scouting party would return and they would have confirmation.**

**Vader stood by and waited until his soldiers exited the ship and gave their report. "Sir, no sign of life aboard the ship. Logs indicate that the ship was carrying only three individuals, the captain and two businessmen on a business trip to Coruscant. But engine failure after take off force them to abandon ship. We believe it's a decoy sir, the escape pods were jettisoned only awhile back, nowhere near the timeframe indicated by the logs."**

"**I see. Did you find any droids?" Vader asked.**

"**No sir, no sign that any droids were ever on board. If they were, they must have been jettisoned along with the escape pods." The soldier reported.**

"**Is that so? Send a scanning crew aboard, I want every part of this ship checked."**

"**Yes sir." As the orders were relayed, Vader looked around in confusion as a familiar feeling surfaced after so many years. 'I sense something. Something I've not felt since…' The armoured sith lord turned and walked away, he'd let the old man play his games for now, the pieces were falling into place at last. It was already checkmate and the fool hadn't realised it yet.**

**As the last members of the initial scouting party left the ship without discovering anything out of place, a loose floorboard shifted and Jaune's head popped out followed by Ruby. "Boy it's lucky you have these compartments."**

"**They're for smuggling, I had them upgraded after my last run in with the empire cost me precious cargo. Didn't think the first thing I'd be smuggling would be myself though, and smuggling aboard an imperial space station at that." Jaune freely admitted, if someone had told him he'd get proof of his modifications effectiveness by slipping himself aboard the empire's latest space fortress a few days ago he'd have laughed his ass off.**

"**I hope you know what you're doing old man, even if I can take off this ship doesn't have the power to get past the tractor beam and we're all dead in that case."**

"**Just leave the tractor beam to me."**

"**Damnit, how the hell did I know you were going to say that. Don't do anything foolish." Jaune sighed and drew his blaster, double checking if it was in good working condition in case of a firefight.**

"**Who's more foolish? The fool or the one who follows him?" Ozpin smiled and pulled his hood up. He felt it in the force, his old student had detected him despite his best efforts, their fated rematch was coming soon and his old bones sang in anticipation.**

**Most of the imperials had already left, no sense in standing around guarding an empty ship when there were better things to be doing. Only two guards stood by at the entrance as the two man scanning party boarded, carrying a heavy trunk that contained the scanner.**

**Once the scanning party had entered and were safely hidden from view of the guards outside, metal wrenches were introduced to the back of their heads courtesy of Jaune and Neo, and the men crumpled to the floor unconscious. The metal trunk landed with a thud and the next phase of the plan went into effect.**

"**Hey down there! This thing's heavy, you mind giving us a hand?" C1EL shouted in a mimicry of one of the scanning party's voices. As the guards boarded to help, they rapidly met the same fate as the previous imperials.**

"**Alright, armour's intact. Just need to put em on and take the command centre by surprise. Shut down the defences and the docking clamps and once the old man is done with the tractor beam, we're home free." Jaune muttered as he began stripping the unfortunate guards of their uniform.**

"It's a risky plan and they'll be in trouble if their disguise is seen through." Weiss's mind was full of worried thoughts about how it could all fall apart in an instant.

"Maybe so, but it is the only course of action they have. They can't hide inside the ship forever, sooner or later they'll be caught." Winter shrugged and refocused on the screen.

"**TK 421, why aren't you at your post? TK 421, do you read me? Come in TK 421." The officer on duty growled when static was the only response he got. The two stormtroopers supposed to be guarding the ship had left their posts and weren't answering, if they didn't have a good reason for this, they'd be spit shining the entire hanger with a damned toothbrush.**

**His anger dissipated slightly when the missing guards emerged from the ship and one of them tapped his helmet several times, getting the officer to sigh. "We got a bad transmitter again. Damnit, how the hell do we have the budget for this station but none for proper functioning equipment?"**

"Seriously? Equipment failure is common enough that they'll write off a possible security breach as bad luck?" Ironwood could hardly believe what he was seeing.

"Efficient isn't a word you'd use to describe the imperial war machine outside of select units. Large portions of the military are generally unmotivated or corrupt, sometimes both. For the most part, there is the mentality of too big to fail." Blank answered.

"It's going to cost them dearly." Ironwood growled.

"Indeed."

"**Oi, don't talk about that, governor Watts is still aboard this station and so is lord Vader. I hear he can read minds, you don't want him to have a **_**chat**_** with you do you?" His colleague put the damper of his complaining immediately and the officer shuddered in terror.**

"**Y-yeah, I think I'll just keep my thoughts to myself. TK 421 and 422 should be up here to get replacement helmets shortly, no need to detail additional guards." **

"**Alright then." The two officers descended into small talk to pass the time until the intercom buzzed, indicating the guards' arrival. As the first officer moved to open the door, he was met with a shaggy fist and sent flying across the room with a broken neck via Neo's inhuman strength. His partner made to hit the alarm but a blaster bolt from Jaune got him in the chest before he could do so. **

**Ruby brought up the rear and accessed the door controls, shutting them with a hiss before pulling off her helmet. "Between your blasting and her howling, I'm surprised the whole station doesn't know we're here yet."**

"**You have a better plan than that? How else are we supposed to take this room? With your magical force powers?" Jaune snapped back.**

"**Enough bickering, you're all on edge and fighting among yourselves won't help us in the least. P3N1, plug into the systems and see if you can access the battlenet, we need to know where the controls to the tractor beam are." Ozpin chided and watched as the astromech connected with a nearby port.**

**Several tense seconds later, P3N1 beeped and C1EL translated for them. "The tractor beam is powered the seven separate generators, but taking even one of them offline will disable the beam and allow us to get away. The closest generator is displayed on screen now."**

**Ozpin stared at the map and memorised the directions before making his move. "I don't think you two will be of much help on this one. Just stay here and protect the droids until I give the signal to release the clamps."**

"**Whatever you say, this trip has already given me more than I bargained for. Damnit I want something to shoot at." Jaune rolled his eyes and took a seat, content to just wait it out in the relative safety of the command centre. According to the schedule, they weren't due for a guard rotation for another twelve hours, and if they were still here by then… then they'd have bigger problems to worry about.**

"**Well I'm coming with you!" Ruby declared only to be shot down by Ozpin.**

"**No stay here, protect the droids. They must be delivered to the rebellion safely or more systems will share the fate of Alderaan."**

"**But-"**

"**No. Your destiny lies on a different path. Remember, the force will always be with you." Ozpin gave a disarming smile and was gone before Ruby could protest any further.**

**Silence reigned as Jaune and Ruby stewed in their own thoughts, until a series of excited beeping from P3N1 dragged them out of their reverie.**

"**What? Have we been discovered?" Jaune was on his feet and reaching for his blaster instantly.**

"**No sir, I don't know what P3N1 is on about, something about having found her." C1EL said.**

"**Found who?" Ruby asked curiously.**

"**Princess Yang of course, she's imprisoned aboard this station." C1EL translated with a head tilt.**

"Oh yeah, I'm still locked up on this thing aren't I? Guess this is the part where Rubes and lover boy here swing in and save the day." Yang said with a laugh.

"**Princess? What princess?" Jaune asked in confusion, this was the first he was hearing about some princess. Every second that passed, being a taxi for these two was seeming like an even worse idea than before. He scowled when he was ignored by the rest of the motley group.**

"**Detention block AA23, level 5. Oh dear, it seems she's scheduled to be executed tomorrow." C1EL said.**

"**Oh no. We have to save her." Ruby declared and was immediately met with a protest from Jaune.**

"**What!? No. No we are not going anywhere. Didn't you hear the old man? He said to stay here and look after the droids, not go running around an empire fortress on a wild bantha chase."**

"Or not?"

"**Well he didn't know the princess was here. She's the one who owns these droids and the one who got us to deliver the message to Alderaan in the first place." Ruby argued and Jaune sent her a flat stare.**

"**So she's the main reason why I'm here instead of relaxing on a normal smuggling mission. Not helping your case."**

"**They're going to execute her!"**

"**The empire slaughters thousands on a daily basis. You really think one more will make a difference?" Jaune asked unimpressed with Ruby's impassioned pleas.**

"**Didn't you say you wanted something to shoot at earlier? Well now's your chance!"**

"**I've spent most of my life staying away from imperial prisons. Marching into a freaking **_**detention block**_** is insanely counterintuitive to my continued freedom from imperial imprisonment. What? Did you want to save them the trouble of marching us into jail?"**

"**They're gonna kill her!"**

"**Better her than me! I don't know what kind of backwater you've been living in, but you can't fight the empire. There's no winning, only surviving. I've seen what happens when you choose to fight, hell if the old man is right, we just flew through what's left of Alderaan earlier and I want no part of that." Jaune spat out bitterly.**

"**She's one of the leaders of the rebellion! She could help free the galaxy from the empire! How can you even live with the empire's flags flying everywhere?"**

"**Easy. Just don't look up. But I suppose dying would free you from the empire's grip, feel free to kill yourself if you're so inclined. You can have the same freedom Alderaan now has."**

"That's… a very bleak way of looking at things." Ren said after a long period of silence in the theatre.

"How is that supposed to be me? I'd never abandon anyone or tell a friend to go kill themselves." Jaune growled at the attitude his counterpart was displaying.

"That's what happens when you lose all hope. You just don't have the motivation to try anymore. Don't worry though, you're still you under all that, you just need a different source of motivation to kickstart yourself." Blank reassured them and received several noncommittal grumbles.

**Ruby exhaled explosively and paced around the room, trying to think of something to convince Jaune to help her rescue the princess. Then it clicked.**

"**You know, she's rich."**

"**Rich?" Jaune's attention was arrested instantly and Neo could only sigh at her friend's predictability.**

"**Rich, powerful, famous. She's a princess and a leader in the rebellion, if you helped rescue her… just think about what kind of a reward you'd get." Ruby did her best sales person pitch she practiced with her uncle back on the farm. Pushing a fixed idea never got anyone far, so much easier to paint a big picture and let others fill in the gaps themselves.**

"**A reward huh…"**

"**More wealth than you can imagine."**

"**I can imagine quite a lot."**

"**And you'd get it. Or do you think someone like a princess would be the kind of ungrateful person to just stiff you?"**

"**Alright kid, but you better be right about this." Her manipulation was blatant and transparent but she did have a valid point. With Alderaan gone, them stuck on an imperial superweapon and half his passengers missing in action, chances of him getting paid were decreasing by the second. And he needed that money to pay off Junior.**

"This. Is character assassination. What do you mean money is the only thing it takes to get me to change my mind?" Jaune growled in frustration as several disapproving glances were sent his way.

"You know what they say boy, every man has his price." Roman twirled his cigar and smirked.

"Yeah well I'm not some money grubbing moron in real life so there!"

"Get used to it Arc. Now you know what I have to deal with when people see me as a Schnee. If it's not profit obsessed unscrupulous business woman it's unrepentant upper-class racist." Weiss sighed and commiserated.

"**So what's the plan? You do have a plan right?"**

"**Of course, just uh, lemme get these cuffs on the wookie." Ruby picked up a pair of handcuffs and approached Neo, backing off when she got an angry roar in response.**

"**Okay… you put them on."**

"**Don't worry Neo, I think I know what she's planning. Here's hoping it works." Jaune shrugged when a sceptical growl was all the response he got, but at least Neo held out her hands for the cuffs and didn't protest any further.**

**Several minutes later, Jaune, Neo and Ruby were marching down the hallway, two stormtroopers escorting their prisoner to the detention block while the droids remained behind in the command centre. Curious onlookers were dissuaded with the occasional roar and blaster prodding, as far as anyone was concerned, it was just a cell transfer and things were under control.**

"**Rrrghh, I can't see a thing in this helmet." Ruby complained as she unlocked the cuffs once they were safely inside the elevator leading to the detention block.**

"**You are not inspiring confidence right now. Oh here we go." Jaune muttered and thumbed the safety on his captured stormtrooper blaster off when the elevator chime indicated they'd arrived.**

**The officer on duty could only stare in surprise at the strangely coloured wookie. "Where are you taking this… thing?"**

"**Prisoner transfer from B1138." Ruby answered.**

"**I wasn't notified. I'll have to clear it." The officer stared at the trio suspiciously before waving several guards over to take over. One of the stormtroopers was far shorter than regulation allowed and the prisoner was far too calm about things, something didn't add up for him.**

**As soon as the guards were within range, Neo went berserk, snapping free of the unlocked cuffs, she started throwing the guards around the place with brute force.**

"**Look out! The prisoner's loose!" Jaune shouted and started firing in Neo's direction, his shots conveniently missing her and ending up as 'friendly' fire. Ruby pretended to try and melee Neo with her gun only to hand the wookie the weapon for more chaos. Pulling out a spare blaster and filling the room with more bolts, the three of them worked to ice every confused and panicking imperial in the room while destroying every camera and alarm control in the place.**

**Jaune moved over to the main console and pulled a corpse off it, cursing when he saw one of the silent alarms had been tripped and an alert had already been sent. "Damnit, let's see, princess… princess… got it, she's in cell 2187. Go get her, I'll try and fix this."**

**As Ruby went off to retrieve the princess and Neo took up position behind cover, Jaune swallowed his nervousness and keyed the intercom, shutting off the alarm as he did so. "Uh, everything's fine over here, situation normal. False alarm."**

"**What happened?" The unamused voice came from the intercom.**

"**Uh, we had a slight weapons malfunction, it's squared away now and everything's fine over here."**

"**We're sending a squad to assist in clean up, just hold tight."**

"**Uh negative on that, we have a uh coolant leak here, weapon misfire ruptured a pipe. It's a mess right now, give us a few minutes to lock down the place and seal it off first." Jaune said and prayed they bought his bluff.**

"**What? Coolant leak? There are no coolant pipes in the detention block. Who is this? What's your operating number?"**

"**Fuck!" Jaune swore as his streak of bad luck continued, and blasted the console to pieces. What the hell do you mean there're no coolant pipes in this room?**

"**Boring conversation anyway. Ruby! Better hurry it up, we're about to have lots of company!" Jaune called out and took position behind cover, as he locked down the doors. If the stormtroopers wanted in, they'd have to blast their way in, hopefully it'd buy them some extra time.**

"Heh, ain't bad luck a bitch." Qrow sniggered and drank from his flask. Always nice to see someone else on the receiving end of the bad luck curse for once.

"Uncle Qrow, that's not nice, we're the ones in trouble over there." Ruby folded her arms and pouted.

"Cheer up short stack, I'm sure Ozpin will have some way to save you once you get yourselves captured."

"Uncle Qrow!"

**Ruby didn't reply as she counted down the doors before finding the one she was searching for. Hitting the door controls, the door slid open with a small hiss and an unamused Yang was waiting on the other side.**

"**Aren't you a little short to be a storm trooper? What? They couldn't bother to wait till tomorrow so they decided to have you shoot me early?"**

"**Wha? Oh the uniform." Ruby's initial confusion cleared up and she removed her helmet.  
**

"**I'm Ruby Rose, here to rescue you. I'm a friend of Ozpin… or Ozma whatever name he wants to use. Oh and I've got your P3 unit here too."**

"**Ozma is here? Where is he?" Yang perked up at the last name she ever expected to hear in this prison.**

"**He's deactivating the tractor beam so we can leave. Come on, we need to go, reinforcements are coming." True to Ruby's words, blaster fire could be heard coming from where Jaune and Neo were holed up.**

**Elsewhere, Vader was reporting to Watts about the status of the captured Falcon. "Ozma is aboard this station. I felt it in the force."**

"**Ozma… your old master? Surely he's dead by now. Even if he's here, what can an old man do? He's just one person and there's an army aboard the Death Star." Watts stated, disregarding Ozpin's threat as a non-issue.**

"**Don't underestimate him governor, it wasn't chance that he survived the purge all those years ago. He's here and he means to undo us." Before Watts could retort, he received a communique from one of his subordinates dealing with the detention block.**

"**Sir, we have a situation developing in detention block AA23, we have squads already enroute but they're having difficulties with several malcontents, we believe a prison break is brewing."**

"**The princess? Still she's causing trouble. Put all stations on high alert, none of the prisoners are to leave." Watts ordered with a frown.**

"**I sense the hand of Ozma in this."**

"**He must realise this is a doomed venture, they're not escaping this station. They have nowhere to run."**

"**Escape isn't his plan. I must deal with him myself. As to the fair princess, I do expect she'll try to escape in the freighter we captured. I'll have additional guards detailed there just in case."**

"**See that you do. Although, in the end even if they do escape, they'll still be falling into our clutches. She may have fooled us with the abandoned base on Dantooine but it won't happen again." Watts leaned back in his chair and smiled sinisterly. In the end it didn't matter to him, if the princess wanted to run, fine, she'd just be hunted down like a rat and exterminated with the rest of the rebel vermin.**

"And that isn't ominous at all. At least I didn't give up the real rebel base." Yang frowned and muttered.

"Yeah, but I'm guessing he has a way of either tracking you or my ship, so when we get out and return you to the rebellion…" Jaune trailed off and swallowed hard.

"They'll know the location of the actual base. Oh no."

**Jaune and Neo had been pushed back into cell block corridor by the endless waves of imperials. No matter how many they killed, more just surged through the gaps to replace the fallen. By the time Ruby and Yang had caught up with them, their only exit was sealed off.**

"**Looks like they've cut of our escape route, some rescue this is turning out to be."**

"**Maybe you'd like it better in your cell your highness, there's always time for you to go back to it." Jaune snapped back as he ducked under a blaster shot that nearly took his head off. **

"**C1EL, come in C1EL!" Ruby shouted into her mike trying to raise the droids.**

"**Are there any other ways out of the detention block!? Our exit is cut off!"**

"**Sir, from the schematics the elevator is the only way in or out of the block so as to prevent a prison break." The protocol droid informed them getting Jaune to swear.**

"**Ya don't say! Damnit, we can't hold them off forever!"**

"**You mean you came in here without a plan on how to get out!? What is wrong with you people!?" Yang accused.**

"**Don't look at me princess, she's the one who came up with this bright idea!"**

"**Grrr… gimme that!" Yang snarled and grabbed Ruby's rifle and blasted the garbage chute next to Jaune open.**

"**What the hell are you doing!?"**

"**Someone has to save our lives flyboy, into the garbage chute, it's our only option." Yang tossed the rifle back to Ruby and slid straight down the chute into the black depths below. Neo followed and howled as soon as she got a whiff of the stench emanating from the now open dump.**

"**Get in there, I don't care what you smell! If you don't you're dead. Move!" Jaune gave Neo a shove and sent her hurtling down the chute as well while continuing to return fire. Ruby went next leaving Jaune alone, priming a captured grenade, he sent it rolling towards the imperial lines and waited for the explosion to rock the deck before diving through himself.**

**As he emerged on the other side, Jaune crashed painfully into a pile of scrap metal and the horrifying stench instantly assaulted his nose. Neo's mournful wails could echoed around the enclosed place as her enhanced senses made everything a living nightmare.**

"**Wonderful plan milady, any more fragrances you want to dump on us? Because I'm sure Neo over there still has some cells in her nose that hasn't been killed yet." Jaune snarked and Yang shot him an ire filled glare. Unlike Jaune and Ruby, she didn't have the benefit of stormtrooper armour and her once white dress was now stained black and brown and her blonde locks were coated in filth she really didn't want to think about.**

Yang hissed and clutched her hair protectively. "Hell no, if anyone ever suggests dumpster diving, I'm shooting myself first."

"Poor Neo, if a wookie's enhanced senses are anything like a faunus, she's in hell at the moment." Blake spared the pink and brown wookie a pitying glance.

Roman would have said something but Neo had done a remarkable job beating him into unconsciousness with her scroll after he wouldn't stop cracking jokes at her expense.

"Well at least they're safe now? It's not like things can get any worse?" Ruby offered hesitantly.

"Damnit sis, don't jinx it any further!" Yang shouted and Qrow facepalmed.

"**Door's sealed tight, can't blast our way out. We'll have to wait for C1EL and P3N1 to open it for us. At least things can't get any worse." Ruby sighed and tried to find a seat on the driest piece of trash she could find.**

"**It's not going to take long for them to figure out where we went-" Jaune was cut off by a roar that didn't come from Neo. **

"**And it just got worse. There's something alive in here with us." Jaune held his blaster at the ready and scanned the room for threats.**

"**No we couldn't possibly have figured that out ourselves, do you have any other keen observations you want to share with the class?"**

"**Don't start with me princess. I have not been having the best of days so far."**

"**And you think mine is any better!? I had to watch my planet be blown up with everyone on it!"**

**Any further bickering was cut off when Ruby was suddenly dragged into the water by an unseen force.**

"**KID!" Jaune yelled and waddled over to where she went down, digging through the floating trash and muck to try and find Ruby.**

**When Ruby emerged again from the water, a tentacle was wrapped around her neck choking the life out of her while her limbs flailed around uselessly. "B-blast it damnit! Blast it!"**

"**Hold still! I can't shoot with you moving all over the place!" Jaune tried to aim at the tentacle but with Ruby's struggles, he was more likely to hit her than the creature killing her.**

"**Grab on to this!" Yang held out a metal pipe for Ruby to latch onto. When she did so, she pulled as hard as she could, locking them in place and allowing Jaune to line up his shot. Firing wildly into the water once he was sure he wouldn't hit Ruby, sometime must have connected when the tentacle went limp and fell away.**

"**I-is it dead?" Jaune asked as he stared at the murky waters dubiously.**

"**I think so." Ruby said unsurely, her attention was drawn to the walls when a creak sounded from them.**

"**I have a bad feeling about this."**

**As soon as the words were uttered, the walls began closing in as the trash compactor started up… with them still stuck in the middle of it all.**

"**Oh you got to be fucking shitting me! How can we possibly be this unlucky!?" Jaune swore as he felt his life expectancy take another big hit.**

"**Take us to Alderaan and get paid he said, it'll be easy he said. This is some grade A bullshit!"**

"RUBY! Look what you did you dolt! Now they're all going to be crushed to pancakes!" Weiss shrieked and Ruby pulled her hood over her face in shame.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

"Pancakes?" Nora perked up despite the situation and Ren sighed again.

"No Nora, there will be no eating pancakes made from our friends."

"But what about pancakes in the shape of our friends?"

"That's… possible I guess… I'll make you some when I have the time."

"Okay Renny!"

**While Jaune, Neo and Yang attempted to slow down the walls by bracing the sturdiest metal objects they could find, Ruby was trying to raise the droids again. "C1EL, come in C1EL. C1EL!"**

**Back in the command centre, imperial forces had finally caught on to the abnormal silence from it and forced their way in. The droids were nowhere to be found, until a knocking on the closet door gave them away.**

"**In there, private, get the door, we'll cover you." As the volunteered stormtrooper hit the controls and braced for incoming fire, he was met with the sight of a protocol droid and astromech stuffed into the closet instead of an enemy ambush.**

"**Oh thank heavens you're here. There're infiltrators on board, they're here to rescue the princess and locked us in here, if you hurry you might still be able to catch them." C1EL said, bullshitting their way to freedom.**

"**Alright, come with me, private! Stay here and guard the room, don't let these rebel scum recapture the place."**

"**Sir!"**

**Once the majority of the soldiers had left, C1EL and P3N1 made to follow. The lone guard sent them a suspicious glance.**

"**I'm sorry sir, but with all the excitement that just happened, I fear my companion's memory circuits might have been damaged, I'm taking the P3 unit down to maintenance."**

"**Alright. Move along." The guard waved them pass, if the droids needed repairing they'd get it, last thing he needed was to be written up for disciplinary action for damaging empire property through negligence.**

**As the droids made it to safety, C1EL noticed the increased imperial presence around the Falcon and started worrying again. "Master Ruby and the rest aren't back yet, something must have happened to them. P3N1, plug in and try and find them."**

**P3N1 beeped and interfaced with a nearby port, trying to locate them but the sheer size of the station and the amount of data to filter through was making that a difficult task.**

"**They haven't been captured and they aren't in the detention block anymore? Well that's good news, but where are they?" C1EL asked and resisted the urge to smack itself in the head when P3N1 beeped back.**

"**The commlink, of course, how could I forget." C1EL retrieved the mike that'd been stowed away when the imperials busted in and spoke into it.**

"**Master Ruby? Where are you now?"**

"**C1EL!? You're there! No time! Shut down all the garbage compactors on the detention level!" Ruby yelled into her mike when the droid's voice came through at last.**

"**Do it fast! Or we're all about to be a hell of a lot thinner!" Jaune yelled as he continued pushing against the walls.**

**Several beeping sounds could be heard as P3N1 worked overtime to hack and shutdown every single garbage compactor. And just before they could be crushed completely, the walls stopped moving. Ruby laughed unsurely, before breaking out into uncontrolled laughter when the walls began to recede. That laughter was picked up by Jaune and Yang as well.**

"**We're alive! We're alive!"**

The theatre let out a collective sigh of relief at the jubilation they were witnessing.

"That was bad for my heart." Taiyang slumped into his seat as he saw his alternate daughters escape a violent end.

"Ruby, you are forbidden from tempting fate like that ever again. As someone who's semblance is literally bad luck, trust me when I say fate will always strive to screw you over if you think it can't." Qrow wiped away a bead of sweat and drank deeply from his bottle.

"Okay…"

"Not to rain on your parade but there's still the bit where they have to evade an entire army to escape this place." Ironwood said with a grunt.

"James, sometimes you really need to learn how to take your victories where you can find them." Ozpin replied, the grip on his coffee mug shakier than normal.

**Once P3N1 had unlocked the door to the garbage compactor, the four of them were almost home free. Whether by luck or by design, they found themselves on the level just above the main hangar where the Falcon was in.**

"**C1EL, where are you right now?" Ruby asked into her mike when no imperials rushed to meet them with blasters drawn and the cameras had gone offline thanks to P3N1's hacking.**

"**Stormtroopers broke into the command centre and we're in the main hangar at the moment."**

"**Good, we're right above you, stay there until we can retrieve you."**

"**Yes master Ruby."**

**Yang was staring out the window at the Falcon with a disbelieving stare. "You came in that? You're braver than I thought."**

"**Hey, hey, hey, no insulting my baby. That's our ticket out of here." Jaune defended his pride and joy.**

"**Sure… as long as it doesn't fall apart in hyperspace." Yang said and moved on.**

"**Haaah… No Jaune, no shooting the rude princess until after I get paid. Damnit, no reward is worth this." Jaune grumbled and followed behind with Ruby and Neo bringing up the rear.**

"They argue like an old married couple. How cute." Summer squeed lightly and Yang gave a triumphant thumbs up. Pyrrha was growling again and Jaune had been reduced to a blushing mess once more.

**Their newfound luck ran out when the rounded a corner into a stormtrooper patrol. "It's them! Blast em!"**

"**Oh go to hell!" Jaune snarled and opened fire first, downing several of them and sending the rest retreating.**

"**Find another way back to the ship, I'll draw them away." Jaune said before yelling a war cry and chasing after the retreating patrol, blasting away at them as he did so with Neo providing support fire.**

"**He certainly has courage." Yang shook her head and sighed.**

"**Here's hoping it doesn't get him killed. Come on, we need to find another way out." Ruby and Yang retreated back the way they came, taking an alternate route to the Falcon.**

**As Jaune chased the patrol out into the main hangar, he blanched when he found himself staring down a veritable sea of white. "Oh come on! Gimme a break!"**

**Blasting the nearest trooper while he was still stunned, Jaune retreated back down the hallway as a tidal wave of laser fire seared the area he just vacated. Neo roared when she saw Jaune run back past her.**

"**Don't give me that Neo, if they're chasing us they ain't guarding the Falcon, we can always circle back later. Now return fire!" Jaune yelled and continued shooting back, keeping the troopers pinned down.**

"**Oh damn it, they're gaining on us. Uh… the blast doors, quick seal them!" Jaune tossed an empty clip to Neo and the wookie threw it at the door controls, hitting the button and causing them to start closing. As they jumped through, Jaune shot the controls, ensuring their pursuers wouldn't be able to follow that way.**

"It looks like your ability to plan on the fly is still working Jaune." Pyrrha commented with a smile.

"Thanks Pyr."

"But charging into a horde of enemies is not a winning strategy."

"Of course Pyr."

**Ozpin entered an empty hallway and drew his own lightsabre, the tractor beam had been disabled and he'd been hoping he'd be able to get by without a fight but alas, it wasn't to be.**

"**I've been waiting for you Ozma, so we meet again at last." Vader stood at the other end of the corridor, red lightsabre already ignited.**

"**And the circle is now complete, when I left you I was the learner but now I am the master."**

"**Only a master of evil Darth." Ozpin countered and struck first, the slash easily parried by Vader. Their blades clashed repeatedly, a deadly rehash of the many spars between master and pupil in better days long gone.**

**Sparks flew when the laser blades bit into the walls and severed everything they cut, only halted by their opposing sword. Ozpin used the force to push Vader back when a blow came close to decapitating him and the armoured giant barely flinched.**

"**Your powers are weak old man." Vader bit out before using the force to hurl nearby objects at Ozpin, trying to batter his former teacher into submission.**

"**You can't win Darth, if you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine." Ozpin sliced apart everything sent his way before surging forwards in a burst of speed to try and skewer his fallen student. Their blades clashed again and neither side found an opening to exploit before separating again.**

"**You should not have come back." Vader snarled and advanced again, this time pushing his opponent back with unmatched ferocity in his strikes.**

"So it begins huh, wonder what plan my other self has, his retreat is too orderly." Ozpin said and sipped his coffee.

"Probably something that'll cause Glynda to yell at you for." Qrow shrugged and replied.

"Who is this Vader anyway? Every other major player can be identified except him." Goodwitch ignored Qrow to ask Blank about the enigma.

"Vader is someone you know, but his identity will remain secret for now."

"It's not Hazel is it?" Ozpin queried.

"No it is not."

**Jaune slipped behind a pillar as he observed the guards around his ship. "Didn't we just leave this party? Guess they didn't send everyone after me."**

**Ruby and Yang caught up several moments later slightly out of breath. "What kept you?"**

"**Ran into some old friends, is our exit good?" Yang responded, not wanting to go into details about just how many stormtroopers had shown up to interfere in their escape. There was something suspicious about it though, their accuracy had taken a nosedive and it was looking far too easy, she should have been shot full of holes half an hour ago.**

"**Some guards between us and the ship, we can take em. But if the old man hasn't got the tractor beam down, we ain't going anywhere." Jaune answered and wondered what was keeping Ozpin. He hadn't contacted them since he split from the party earlier.**

"**Hey, they're leaving!" Ruby pointed out when the guards were distracted by something outside their field of view and left their posts.**

"**Alright, let's go, sooner we're out of here the better." Jaune led the way as the party broke out into a mad sprint across to the Falcon, P3N1 and C1EL joined midway once they emerged from their hiding spot.**

**Just before they boarded, Ruby halted midstride as she saw the distraction that had drawn away the guards. "Ozpin?"**

**Ozpin's duel with Vader had led back to the main hangar just as planned. The guards were surrounding them waiting for Vader to give the order to fire, and as long as their attention was focused on him, Ruby would be able to escape with the rest.**

**He'd hoped to avoid this but it was not to be. As soon as Vader noticed his presence, this was the only path left that gave the rebellion a shot at victory. If he needed to die so Ruby could escape with the plans… what is one life measured against freedom for an entire galaxy?**

"So that's the play. I think I'd have done the same in his position to be honest." Ozpin admitted as he put his cup down, waiting for the inevitable. There were worse ways to die than buying hope for the galaxy.

**Ozpin locked eyes with Ruby and smiled. Returning his attention to Vader, Ozpin smirked victoriously and held up his lightsabre as though in prayer, no longer bothering to defend himself. Vader did not miss the opportunity and bisected his old teacher with one mighty swing. Only, the body vanished as soon as he struck, only Ozpins cloak and deactivated lightsabre were left to clatter to the floor.**

'**What, what is this?' Vader nudged the empty robes with his foot and found nothing, it was as though Ozpin was never there.**

"**NO!" A shout from Ruby attracted the attention of the imperials and Vader turned to see the escapees making their way on board the ship.**

"**Damnit Ruby, what the hell are you doing!? Come on!" Jaune yelled and opened fire on the stormtroopers before they could stop them. Ruby fought back tears as she fired on the imperials as well.**

"**We're out of time, blast the doors! Don't let the big guy through!" Jaune shouted as he gave covering fire long enough for Ruby to line up her shot and let loose. Once Vader was stuck behind the now locked blast doors, Ruby continued shooting, wanting to bring down as many of the enemy as she could for Ozpin.**

"**Run Ruby, run!" Blinking in shock when Ozpin's voice echoed in her head, she wiped away her tears and sprinted up the ramp as her companions continued giving her covering fire.**

**Once inside, Jaune and Neo took up their positions and hurried to launch the Millennium Falcon before anything else could go wrong. "I hope the old man got to the tractor beam or this is going to be a short trip!"**

"What was that? Am I a ghost now?" Ozpin eyes were wide, surely he couldn't have possessed the young Rose.

"In a manner of speaking, your counterpart is one with the force now. He's capable of showing up as a force ghost from time to time but naturally there are limits to that ability."

**Jaune breathed easier when the Falcon took off without issue and rapidly put distance between them and the moon sized superweapon. "Looks like the old man made it after all."**

**He frowned when several blips appeared on the radar. "Incoming fighters, Neo, route power to the shields asap while I get the guns online. We're not in the clear yet. Ruby, I need you below deck, man the guns down there. Thanks to our emergency shut down earlier, targeting systems are still offline, we'll have to aim the guns manually."**

"**R-right." Ruby stood up and made her way to the gun turret, there would be time to mourn Ozpin later. For now, they had to make sure his sacrifice wasn't in vain.**

**The ship rumbled as the deflector shields ate the initial volleys. Jaune and Ruby returned fire but the enemy TIE fighters were too manoeuvrable to be shot down easily.**

"**They're too fast, I can't hit them!" Ruby cried out when she failed to score a hit again and the next salvo breached their shields, causing several explosions to rock the ship.**

"**We just lost lateral controls!" Yang shouted into the mike as she read the damage readout on the screen.**

"**Don't worry, she'll hold together. You hear me, I just need you to hold together a bit more." Jaune murmured the last bit as he continued shooting at the fighters harassing his ship.**

"**Just a bit more… gotcha!" Jaune pulled the trigger and was rewarded with an explosion when his shots found their mark. He'd gotten down the enemy flight pattern and now he was going to extract payment for the damage inflicted with interest compounded in blood.**

**Ruby made her first TIE kill shortly after. "I got im!"**

"**Good work! Don't get cocky though, there's still two more of them!" Jaune called back down.**

**After several tense minutes of attack and counterattack, Ruby got the next kill followed by Jaune and they were now free of imperial pursuit. No capital ships had dropped into the system yet and no additional fighters had sortied from the Death Star.**

**Jaune exhaled the breath he didn't realise he'd been holding. "That's that, Neo! Once the drives are ready get us to lightspeed, random coordinates to deep space! I don't want to jump into empire territory again."**

"Whew… this time for sure they're safe." Ruby exclaimed and immediately found her team plus Jaune and Neo glaring at her.

"Oops?"

**The scene transitioned back to the Death Star as the Falcon jumped to hyperspace. "Are they gone?" Watts asked as Vader approached.**

"**Indeed, they've just made the jump."**

"**Are you sure the homing beacon is secure aboard the ship?"**

"**Yes. It's attached to one of the engines. Every twelve hours it'll send a message detailing their coordinates, we'll know every location they stop at. Sooner or later, it'll lead us straight to the rebel base."**

"**You're taking an awfully large risk with this plan, it had better work."**

"**It will, I have seen the scans, that ship may not look like much but it is fast, the princess cannot afford to wait for pickup by another ship, she'll use it to bring the plans back to the rebel base."**

"**And then we strike and wipe them all out in one swoop." Watts nodded and walked away, the plan left much to chance but given the princess' profile, it had a reasonably high chance of success. If it failed it wouldn't matter in the end anyway, so long as the Death Star stood, the rebellion was finished, it was just a matter of time.**

"I'm sorry!" Ruby pulled her hood over her face and bowed her head in shame.

"Rubes, if we die, I'm haunting you in my other self's place." Yang pointed a finger at her sister before running her thumb across her throat.

"It is a good plan. To win even when you lose." Winter spat out with a look of distaste.

"Just a shame he's a monster." Ironwood agreed.

"**Well that's that, we're home free. Not a bad rescue if I do say so myself." Jaune said happily as he plopped himself down at the table Ruby and Yang were already seated at.**

"**That was too easy, they let us go." Yang doused the good mood instantly.**

"**Easy!? What do you mean easy? Were we even experiencing the same escape?" Jaune growled at the princess who merely rolled her eyes in exasperation.**

"**Stormtroopers are famous for their accuracy, trust me I've been on the receiving end of it before."**

"**Yeah? So have I, so what's your point?"**

"_**The point is**_**, they had us dead to rights too many times. We escaped from their battle station and all they send after us are four fighters? They didn't even try shooting at us with the station's guns. They wanted us to get away." Yang said in a matter of fact tone.**

"**Wanted us to get away? Could have fooled me. They seemed pretty desperate to stop us earlier when they tried crushing us to death inside the garbage compactor. Why go through all that trouble to stop us and then let us get away?"**

"**Watts or Vader, one of them is responsible for this. They're tracking this ship, as soon as this ship enters rebel territory, the empire will know where it is and come in force. They'll bring that superweapon to kill everyone."**

"**Tracking? Not this ship they ain't, I've enough modifications on this thing to jam outgoing signals. No way they'll be able to get anything through." Jaune denied.**

"**The empire built a superweapon capable of destroying planets, you really think they can't build a tracker that can bypass something you put together?" Yang challenged with a raised eyebrow, and Jaune was left speechless. He wanted to deny it but then before today, he'd never have believed the empire capable of building a space station the size of a moon, who's to say they couldn't have something he never planned for? Given how bad his luck was recently, it was practically a given the situation would blow up in his face again sooner or later.**

"**Alright, say I believe you. They're tracking us, what then?" Jaune asked, open to suggestions. **

"**Once we drop out of hyperspace, I need to make a call to the rebellion, get them to prepare for an evacuation if necessary. There's no time to wait for a pickup from them and Watts and Vader both know this. I need to get the P3 unit back to the rebellion."**

"**What's on P3N1 anyway? We got your message asking for it to be delivered but we don't know much else?" Ruby piped up.**

"**P3N1 carries the complete technical readouts of that battle station, it's our hope that by bringing it back to the rebellion, the plans can be analysed and a weakness can be found. Otherwise, the empire will be unstoppable. This isn't over yet." Yang admitted.**

"**Well it is for me. Neo and I just signed on to bring an old man, a girl and two droids to Alderaan, that mission's completely FUBAR now. The planet is gone, the old man is dead and the empire evidently knows where my ship will be at all times so my smuggling career is up in flames too. Oh, and I've got a princess on board who's about as far from the image of a conventional princess as you can get, this whole trip has been nothing but disaster after disaster and I am done with it." Jaune threw his arms up in frustration.**

"**So you're just going to quit and leave the galaxy to suffer under tyranny forever?" Yang asked.**

"**And what is one guy and a wookie supposed to do? Get this straight princess, unlike the old man and the kid, I'm not in it for your revolution. I'm in it for the money and I expect to be well paid. But at this point, I'm starting to question if the money is even worth it, gotta be alive to spend that money and dying by helping a doomed cause is counterintuitive at best."**

"He's got his head screwed on right at least. Smart man." Roman praised.

"Aren't you supposed to be trying to turn over a new leaf or something Torchwick? Do you have to be an ass?" Qrow shot back.

"Hey, just saying he knows what's up. What can he possibly do that the entire rebellion can't? Not everyone wants to fight and die for some cause you know, some people just wanna kick back and enjoy life. He joins up and it'll just be a matter of time before they send him to his death." Roman shrugged, he wanted nothing to do with Cinder anymore and truth be told, he had more than enough money stored up over the years from both legal and illegal ventures that he could retire and live like a king for the rest of his life.

"If you have the ability to make the world a better place, you have the responsibility to do so. Sacrifices must be made." Ironwood frowned at the thief and spoke his thoughts, staring at his mechanical body parts in the process.

"Sure, if you make the choice fine. But if it's made for you? Who the hell gave others that right? The others know already general but you don't, I was a huntsman who fought at the fall of Mount Glenn. I believe any responsibility I had to this world was discharged when the Vale council buried us all alive and left us for dead." Roman removed his hat and toyed with it idly.

"I may not desire to be a criminal anymore, but don't expect me to want to be a hero or endorse heroics any further. I've seen too much to do that ever again."

"**Don't worry about your reward, if money is all that you love, then that's what you'll receive. Your friend's pretty mercenary Ruby, I do wonder if he cares about anyone or anything other than himself. Now if you'll excuse me, I need a shower to get rid of all this filth." Yang said and made to leave, leaving Jaune and Ruby behind.**

"**She's a royal pain in the ass, that's what she is… but she's got a lot of spirit, I'll give her that." Jaune said after the silence dragged on for a little bit.**

"**You didn't have to put it that way you know, she watched her planet get destroyed by the empire and if the rebellion doesn't succeed who knows how many more planets will be destroyed too." Ruby said finally.**

"**Yeah well how long has the rebellion been fighting against the empire now? The empire continues to grow in strength despite everything, ya know, years ago I was asked to join the rebellion, put my skills to good use. I turned them down because I could see the writing on the wall, haven't regretted my decision once."**

"**But what if you could make a difference? What about the lives you could save?"**

"**What about them? You're too naïve Ruby, you think just because you save someone today, they'll lead long happy lives afterwards. I thought that way once long ago, had my eyes opened when I saw that most of the people I 'saved' from the empire's tyranny ended up dead anyway when the empire caught up with them later. I bought them a few years, sometimes just a few months, but the empire still wins in the end." Jaune smiled sadly, recalling the many faces lost to the empire.**

"**That's why the rebellion is needed, if we can beat the empire, if we can destroy that station-"**

"**And then what?" Jaune cut Ruby off mid plea.**

"**You blow up that battle station, what's stopping them from building another? If the rebellion can find a weakness and exploit it, you can bet the next model will have that weakness covered up. The empire makes liberal use of slave labour Ruby, cost isn't an issue for them. They'll build as many of those damned things as they want and sooner or later, people are going to realise that fighting is impossible. Best just to keep your head down and live to see another day."**

"**That's surviving, not living, I don't believe in just hiding away for the rest of my life wondering if I'll live to see the next day because the empire might just decide to off me today… and I don't think you do either." Ruby stood up and left as well having said her piece, leaving Jaune alone with his thoughts.**

"They both have equally valid points to be honest, as much as rolling over and letting the empire win is detestable, fighting a never ending war against an opponent that cannot be defeated will only lead to more death in the long run and bring them no closer to victory." Ironwood commented and Ozpin coughed discreetly again, 'invincible opponents' only brought Salem to mind.

"So what are you saying jimmy? They should just give up then?" Qrow asked.

"Of course not. But if their current methods aren't working then maybe they should find some other method to try. Because whatever they're doing clearly isn't working out for them."

**Two days later, after series of blind jumps to uninhabited systems to throw off the empire for a little while more, the Falcon finally made landfall on Yavin 4, home of the rebellion's current base. While Jaune worked with rebel techs to fix up his battered ship and get rid of the tracker aboard, Ruby and Yang were delivering P3N1 to the rebel high command.**

"**We don't have much time left before the empire catches up to us, the plans are on that P3 unit, if there's a weakness it'll be found there. Are evacuation proceedings almost done?" Yang asked once P3N1 was hooked up to the mainframe and the download began.**

"**Non-essential personnel have already left for the new base on Hoth, only fighters and support crew are left, the fleet is holding steady outside sensor range just in case." Yang nodded at the news and exhaled lightly. They were gambling plenty on this play but right now this was the only plan they had.**

"**Good, I expect the Death Star to be here soon, it's a shame we have to sacrifice Yavin 4 but it's this or allow the empire to destroy other innocent planets. Even if we're destroyed here, the rebellion will continue to exist, and god as our witness we will bring down the empire." **

"**Is this wise? It's a risky plan." Ruby asked as she waited to be directed to the fighter assigned to her, there was no way she was sitting the battle out.**

"**Wise? Hahahaha… No." Yang laughed and denied, feral grin plastered across her face.**

"**But Watts is on that station, I've slighted him one too many times in the past, he'll come for me personally even if he smells a trap. His arrogance will be his downfall and there's nothing better than live bait to draw him in. And so help me I will see him dead before this is over, I only regret that I won't be able to choke the life out of him myself."**

"You're taking this really personally." Blake raised an eyebrow and shot Yang a look.

"He did blow up my home including my parents in front of me. You'd be out for blood too." Yang shrugged and replied.

"You're not wrong on that point." Given that her parents were Yang's in this universe, she really didn't have any place to accuse anyone of taking things personally. The sooner Watts had that smirk wiped off his face the better.

**Watts stood on the bridge of the Death Star as Yavin came into view. After wasting several days chasing ghosts across the galaxy, they'd finally tracked down the rebel base.**

"**Sir! We're orbiting the planet Yavin now, scout reports indicate the rebel base is on one of the moons on the far side of the planet."**

"**Excellent, this farce has dragged on long enough, it's time for the rebellion to be smashed permanently."**

**Back in the rebel base, the remaining fighter pilots plus Ruby had assembled for their mission briefing. "That battle station is heavily armoured and carries more firepower than half a Starfleet even discounting the main gun. It's defences are designed to hold against a large scale assault from an enemy fleet but, it's point defence systems are weak. Fighters should be able to breach their defences without being shot down like our capital ships."**

"**No offense sir, but what are fighters supposed to do against that?" A pilot spoke up.**

"**The empire do not consider fighters a credible threat or they would have a tighter defence, but analysis of the captured plans indicate that there is a weakness. An exhaust port leads directly to the main reactor, it's protected by rayshields from above but a proton missile will be able to make it through, a single good shot will cause a chain reaction and destroy the entire fortress."**

"Seriously? They made a planet killing superweapon with such an absurd design flaw?" Winter couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"That's what happens when you force your designers and engineers to build your weapon at gunpoint. They'll do their best to sabotage everything they can, that flaw in particular was planted by one of the chief engineers on the project after he became disillusioned with the empire and his wife was murdered. Thanks to his efforts, the empire can't fix the flaw without having to tear the entire station apart and rebuild it from scratch, the best they can do is put some shields over it." Blank answered.

"**But the approach will not be easy. Even without dedicated point defences, the anti ship guns located all over the Death Star will still destroy your fighter in one hit, to avoid the guns you'll have to manoeuvre down this trench and skim the surface all the way to the end until you reach the exhaust port and fire your torpedoes. The target is only two metres wide and you'll need your targeting computers for it." A wave of unsure murmuring spread across the assembled pilots. To hit a target less than one third the size of their fighters while flying at top speed and under heavy fire? Difficult didn't begin to come close to describing it.**

"**That's impossible even with a computer." A resigned pilot stated only to have Ruby argue back.**

"**No it isn't, I used to bullseye womprats on a speeder back home. Even if it's hard we'll have to make it work."**

"**Pilots, this is the darkest hour for the rebellion. The empire's superweapon is beyond anything we've ever seen before, and your mission is far from easy. But we cannot fail here. The fate of the galaxy is in our hands, the empire must be stopped no matter the cost. Now, get to your ships and may the force be with you."**

"No pressure." Roman snarked and Neo whacked him on the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

'I just felt like it.' Neo displayed her scroll and stuck out her tongue.

**As ruby emerged into the hangar in her new pilot suit, she found Jaune and Neo packing up and making ready to leave. "Wait you're leaving?"**

"**Yeah kid, got my reward from the fair princess so now I'm out." Jaune smiled ruefully and shrugged.**

"**Oh. I thought…"**

"**You thought I'd stick around? Yeah sorry but doomed causes and suicide missions aren't exactly my thing. I heard the briefing, what you're planning is suicide, you'll never make it past the guns, and I've seen the mockup, if enemy fighters get behind you there's no way to avoid them. You don't have to do this you know, you could come with us, you're pretty good in a fight and I could use someone like you on the crew."**

"**Oh come on, look around, you know what they-we're up against, we could use a good pilot like you. You could make a difference."**

"**What good is a reward if you're not alive to use it? Attacking that battle station in a suicide run isn't my idea of courage. If you go, you'll probably not come back." Jaune finished in a sad tone.**

"**Maybe, but I can't abandon them. The empire has already taken everything from me, I won't allow them to do to others what they did to me. Take care of yourself Jaune, you're pretty good at that, maybe we'll run into one another someday." Ruby smiled sadly and began walking away, getting Jaune to sigh.**

"**Hey Ruby!"**

"**Yeah?"**

"**May the force be with you."**

"**You too as well Jaune." Ruby waved and walked away, not looking back again.**

**Jaune looked back at Neo when she growled. "Don't give me that Neo, I know what I'm doing."**

"Again! Character assassination! I'd never leave anyone behind!" Jaune yelled when he found himself subject to glares from half the audience. His team shared a laugh at his expense and he began grumbling about traitors.

**As Ruby climbed into her X-wing, the technician did a check on P3N1. "Hey, your P3 unit is pretty beat up, you sure you don't want a new one?"**

"**Not on your life, this droid and I have been through a lot in the last couple days, I wouldn't have any other P3 with me for this." Ruby waved away his concerns and entered the cockpit, beginning pre-flight checks.**

**As C1EL and P3N1 said their goodbyes and Ruby prepared for lift off, Ozpin's voice echoed in her head again. "Remember Ruby, the force will always be with you."**

"**You got it Ozpin. Here goes nothing." Ruby gunned the thrusters and shot off into the sky behind the other fighters, taking her place in the formation and watching as the blue skies were rapidly replaced with the inky blackness of space.**

"**Red 5 reporting in." Ruby said into her mike as the wing leaders double checked their squads status. The massive Death Star loomed before them and her fingers trembled despite herself.**

"**Look at the size of that thing!"**

"**Cut the chatter Red 2, all units accelerate to attack speed. Fighters engage and draw off as much of their defences as you can, bombers begin your attack run."**

**As the orders were relayed, Ruby steeled herself and rested her thumb on the trigger. This was it, do or die. As the fighters swooped in, imperial defences opened up on them. Laser fire streaked towards them from the anti ship gun emplacements as well as the few point defence turrets on the surface.**

"**We're taking heavy fire from the surface, all units stay low, most of their guns can't depress all the way."**

"**This is Red-5, I'm going in." Ruby pushed her X-wing into a dive and lit up the surface with her main guns, scoring a line of explosions on the surface as her ship was now inside the Death Star's shields and there was no protection from her weapons.**

"**Good thing its so big, no way we can miss!" One of her wingmen commented as he followed her lead and landed his own attacks.**

"**True, but our attacks aren't doing that much damage, we need the bombers to succeed. Uh oh, they're launching fighters! All units, protect the bombers!"**

**Ruby bit back a curse as the distinctive silhouettes became visible in the distance. "Twelve… thirty… fifty… eighty-seven… they're still increasing! How of many of them are there!?"**

**The rebel formation shattered as the empire sought to overwhelm them with superior numbers. The X-wings broke off into pairs to try and bring down the TIEs before they could be overrun. Ruby morbidly parsed the thought that she was now an ace pilot after downing TIE number three before it could destroy one of her wingmen.**

**Ruby's head slammed back into her headrest when one of the enemy fighters on her tail scored a lucky hit. "Grk! I'm hit… engines still functional but at 70%. P3! Get it sorted out!"**

**Ruby fought the controls as she tried to make the X-wing dance when the TIE wouldn't let up. Her mobility was shot to hell but at least she still had some tricks up her sleeve.**

"**Hold on Red 5, I gotcha!" Ruby breathed easier when a fellow X-wing approached and shot down her pursuer, leaving only a rapidly dissipating cloud of fire and metal fragments in his passing. And not a moment too soon too, the TIE already had weapons lock, a few seconds late and she'd be the one in a fireball.**

"That was too close." Taiyang whispered and stole Qrow's bottle, chugging straight from it as his alternated daughter narrowly avoided death.

"Oi! Get your own bottle!" Qrow grumbled and folded his arms.

"But you know, I think I'm starting to see why my other self didn't want Ruby to follow in your footsteps."

"No kidding."

**By this point, the bombers had finally breached the air cover and made it into the trenches, beginning their trench run. "Direct all power to front deflector screens gentlemen. That's the only way we're getting pass those towers."**

"**Sir!"**

"**Yes sir! How many guns did HQ say there were again?"**

"**About twenty between us and the target, some on the towers and some at the bottom. Do your best to avoid the incoming fire but stay inside the trench, if you leave the surface guns will shred you to pieces." The leader said as a barrage of green bolts surged towards them, their shields ate several rounds but held steady.**

"**Activate your targeting computers… the guns. They've stopped firing? Why have they stopped firing?"**

"This can't be good. They're gonna get ambushed from behind!" Ruby exclaimed.

"My money's on tall dark and angry taking care of things personally." Jaune agreed.

"**Ah hell, watch for enemy fighters."**

"**Three marks behind us! Two TIEs and… a new model!" That was all the pilot managed to get out before the TIE Advanced locked on and blew him apart.**

"**No good, I can't manoeuvre in this trench!"**

"**Stay on target. We're almost there."**

"**No good! They're too close! Ahrghh!" With that scream, the second Y-wing was destroyed by Vader.**

"**Gold leader to Red leader, do you copy?" The sole remaining Y-wing hailed his fellow leader on the comms.**

"**This is Red leader, I copy."**

"**Bombing run is a failure, they came from behin-" Gold leader never got to finish as Vader pulled off the hat trick, shooting off one of his engines and allowing the crippled bomber to crash and burn.**

"Damnit, and they were so close." Ironwood growled and gripped the armrest with his metal arm, deforming it with his grip.

"They're not done yet James, I wouldn't discount them just yet." Ozpin said as he put down his coffee mug.

"**Sir, we've analysed their attack patterns, we believe the rebels had identified some sort of weakness. Shall I have your ship prepared?" An officer addressed Watts in a worried tone.**

"**What? Evacuate in my moment of triumph? I should think not. You overestimate their chances, a few fighters and bombers will not bring down the Death Star." Watts scoffed and waved off his subordinate.**

"And that will totally not come back to bite him in the ass." Yang commented.

"**Red 2, Red 3, Red 5, the bombers are lost, it's up to us to make our runs next. You have your torpedoes prepped and ready?" Ruby exhaled and acknowledged the command, falling into formation and the four fighters descended into the trench while the remaining X-wings continued drawing enemy fighters away at the cost of their lives.**

"**This is it, we should be able to see the target on the computer soon… oh… they've stopped firing. Enemy fighters inbound, too much interference for my radar, either of you see anything?"**

"**No sir." Red 2 answered as the pilot stared out the cockpit, trying in vain to identify the incoming enemies.**

"**I don't… they're above us!" Ruby called out as she felt the force nudge her in that direction. Sure enough, when she looked up, the enemy was clearly visible there.**

"**I see them now. Just hold them off for a few seconds, I'm almost in range of the target."**

**Ruby and her wingman nodded and decelerated, letting the leader run ahead while the TIEs focused on the closer targets. Weaving through the gun towers other structures, they did their best to throw off the aim of their pursuers. It'd be easier if they could leave the trench and circle around but this stretch had freakishly thick enemy defences on the surface, they'd never survive surfacing and it was undoubtably the reason why Vader had chosen to engage them here.**

"**It's like shooting fish in a barrel… and we're the fish." Ruby complained as she narrowly avoided a salvo of laser bolts. She winced when Vader found his mark and one of her wingmen went up in a ball of flames.**

**Once she was clear of the stretch of death, she immediately pulled out of the trench with an enemy TIE in tow. Shaking him was going to be a bitch, but the lead X-wing was already in the clear and ready to release the payload.**

"**Target locked! Torpedoes away!" Depressing the trigger, two proton torpedoes lanced towards the exhaust port, impacting against it and exploding in a violent flash.**

"**Negative. It's a god damned negative, torpedoes impacted the surface, they didn't go in." He said in a depressed tone as he pulled out of the trench himself, the explosions behind him testament to his failure.**

"No! So close!" Nora punched her open palm and snarled.

"Nora relax, it's not over yet. Ruby still has her torpedoes to use." Ren consoled.

"B-but what if they fail?"

"They won't."

"**Hang on Red leader, I'm on your six, I'll sink that TIE." Ruby called out as she successfully dogged the TIE chasing her by getting it to crash into a wall with a series of borderline insane turns. Now Vader's TIE Advanced was gaining on her wing leader and she was moving to assist.**

"**Negative on that. Begin your run, destroying the Death Star is more important than saving me. I'll hold him for as long as I can. Hurry! We don't have a lot of time before it fires on Yavin 4."**

**Ruby swallowed hard and obeyed the order, descending back into the trench for her own assault. Accelerating to top speed, two additional X-wings fell in behind her.**

"**Red 5 you're going too fast! You won't be able to exit the canyon at the end!"**

"**No time left, if this run fails the base will be destroyed." Ruby called out as she began frantically dodging the incoming cannon fire.**

"**I hope you know what you're doing Red 5. What about those towers?"**

"**I'll worry about the towers, you worry about those fighters, just keep them off me!" Ruby winced when she saw Red Leader's signal flatline, Vader had finished with him and they'd be coming for her next.**

"**Here they come." Ruby gripped the controls tighter as the incoming fire ceased.**

"**Grah! I'm hit, sorry I can't stick around any longer."**

"**Go get out of here, there's nothing more you can do." Ruby called out when one of the X-wings running interference for her was shot in the engine.**

"**Sorry!"**

**Vader watched the X-wing peel off and ordered his men to let it go. "Ignore it, focus on the leader. I do not know what they plan, but they cannot be allowed to succeed."**

**Ruby cursed when the last X-wing bit the dust as well under Vader's accurate fire. The timer counting down on her viewscreen indicated she had less than a minute to destroy the Death Star or Yang and everyone back on Yavin 4 would be space dust.**

**Switching the targeting computer on, she prayed the computer would succeed this time. Breathing hard as she looked into the screen, her heart rate had spiked from the pressure and she worried she would end up failing.**

"**Use the force Ruby." There it was, Ozpin's voice again.**

'**What?' Ruby looked around in slight panic before returning her attention to the computer screen.**

"**Let go and trust in the force."**

"**The force is strong with this one." Vader snarled as unlike with every other pilot he shot down this day, the force refused to guide him against this one in particular. If anything, it was hindering him. No matter, he didn't become an ace pilot because of the force, he became one in spite of it. If the force wouldn't aid him he'd just have to rely on the skills honed by a lifetime of war.**

**Ruby took a deep breath before turning off the targeting computer, focusing only on the force and waiting for the moment to fire her torpedoes. **

"**Ruby, you've switched off your targeting computer, what's wrong?" Yang's worried voice came through the comms as her actions were relayed back to the main base by the network.**

"**Nothing, nothing's wrong. Everything's fine." Ruby said before immediately changing her tune when Vader scored a hit on her fighter, dealing heavy damage to P3N1.**

"**I've lost P3!"**

"No Penny!" Ruby shouted when her friend was blasted.

"She'll be fine. She'll be fine." Ironwood repeated as a mantra, not sure if he was trying to convince Ruby or himself.

"**Rebel base is in range sir." A bridge officer informed Watts.**

"**Excellent, you may fire when ready." A smug grin refused to leave his face, victory against the rebellion at last. The empire would be triumphant forevermore, no one would dare oppose them after this.**

**Aboard his fighter, Vader shared the sentiments. In a few seconds, this little show of resistance would be all for nothing. And the cherry on top was that he had a perfect lock on the sole remaining X-wing. "I have you now."**

"Damnit, they can't possibly have made it this far just to fail." Jaune swore and slammed his fist down on the armrest.

"Can't win em all kiddo. At least your other self had the sense to ditch early." Roman replied.

"Shut up Roman, you're not helping." Qrow gave the thief the finger, then sighed and slotted more lien into the swear jar, evidently Ruby counted that as swearing as well.

**Just before he could pull the trigger and send the rebellion's last hope up in flames. One of the accompanying TIE's blew up from incoming cannon fire.**

"**WHAT!?" Vader roared and searched for the interloper.**

**A second burst caught the other TIE in one of its wings and sent it crashing into Vader, knocking the TIE Advanced out of the trench and leaving Ruby's X-wing the only fighter left.**

"**YAHOOO!" Jaune cheered at the top of his lungs as the Millennium Falcon pulled off moves a freighter had no right performing to dodge the imperial counterattack. **

"**Jaune!? I thought you weren't coming!"**

"**Changed my mind kid. Guess the old man was right, I really am the more foolish for following the fool. But you know what? I don't think I care anymore. You're all clear Ruby, now blow this thing and let's all go home."**

"I-I came back?" Jaune whispered in slight disbelief, he really thought his other self would have abandoned them after that parting.

"I knew fearless leader wouldn't be able to abandon his friends!" Nora cheered and Ren nodded in agreement instead of calming down the overexcited girl.

"Hmmph! I still don't like him." Taiyang grumbled and folded his arms, glaring at the knight and getting Qrow to sigh.

"Let it go Tai."

**Ruby took a deep breath and immersed herself in the force, allowing it to guide her. Pulling the trigger at the exact moment pointed out to her, she watched with bated breaths as the torpedoes streaked towards their destination and instead of impacting harmlessly against the surface, went straight down the vent. **

**Pulling up, her X-wing, the falcon and every surviving member of the rebel attack group sought to put as much distance between them and the moon as possible. The torpedoes struck true and immediately sent the reactor into critical failure. Explosions blossomed within the station as the damage spread and Watts barely had the time to scream as the entire bridge was consumed in flames and the Death Star vanished with an almighty explosion.**

"Big. Boom." Nora exhaled, in complete awe of the destruction wrought.

"So much for your arrogance Watts." Ironwood said, thoroughly pleased at the villain's comeuppance.

**As the ships landed at the rebel base, Ruby was swamped with cheering rebels and quickly scooped up into a hug by Yang when she arrived. Joyous laughter took them all and it only increased when Jaune himself arrived.**

"**Great shot kid, that was one in a million!" Ruffling Ruby's hair with a free hand, he stepped away when Neo scooped up the smaller girl in a big hug.**

"**Surprised you came back? Wasn't money the only thing that mattered to you?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow after giving Jaune a hug.**

"**Eh, don't get me wrong, I like money, I just came to the conclusion that spending that money in a galaxy not controlled by the empire is better than spending it in one that is." Jaune shrugged and glared and Neo when she sighed. He had an image to maintain damnit, no one would accuse him of going soft.**

"**Sure… and you aren't a big softie inside." Except the princess evidently.**

**Ruby smiled softly as she watched P3N1 be taken away for repairs, it was a miracle the damage wasn't more severe. Jaune was back and they were all alive, a solid victory in her books.**

"**At this point, both of you are heroes to the rebellion, there'll probably be a medal ceremony after this, can I count on both of you to aid the rebellion after this?"**

"**Of course!" Ruby agreed instantly, getting Jaune to sigh exasperatedly.**

"**You know how the saying goes, in for a credit and all that. Besides, if I'm not here Red over here is going to get herself killed on one of her plans. Someone has to bail her out."**

"**Excellent. We bloodied the empire today and they won't soon forget this. But this is only the beginning, the empire is far from beaten you know." Yang cautioned.**

"**Preaching to the choir princess, but we're just getting started." The three of them shared a grin before Neo pulled all of them into a group hug and the screen went black.**

"Ooooh! That was awesome! Can we see more of it!" Nora yelled instantly once the lights were back on.

"Indeed, I am interested in seeing how the empire can be brought down." Ozpin agreed.

"It's given me plenty of ideas to pitch to R&D once I get back to Atlas. I wouldn't be adverse to seeing more of it." Ironwood said and Winter nodded as well.

"Maybe in time. Plenty more universes to view, maybe not so large in scale but they all have their merits. Now enjoy your break and be back in time for the next showing." Blank said and waved the audience off to get themselves refreshed, chuckling when Yang and Pyrrha immediately descended into a tug of war over Jaune. Chuckling evolved into outright laughter when Nora won the war by kidnapping her leader and running off, cackling all the way.

* * *

Author's notes: HAN SHOT FIRST! Ahem, with that out of the way, at first I wanted a more comedy focused chapter after the last heavy chapter. But then I saw the inspiration for this chapter on youtube, Star Wars SC 38 Reimagined, go check it out if you haven't already. Once I watched it, this chapter had to be made. So here it is, A New Hope with some changes. To be honest, I could have cast either Ruby or Jaune as Luke but Jaune leaves me the issue of who to use as Vader and Uncle Owen, Ruby was the easier choice and I went with it. Neo as Chewbacca because… capable of speaking but still impossible to understand. You know, on rewatching A New Hope, I realised there were a lot of things that the star wars universe in that episode is drastically different from the universe that exists today. For starters, Darth in Darth Vader was treated as a first name instead of a rank or title so it comes of strange at times on rewatch. Then there's the cantina scene when Obi Wan cuts off the dude's arm with his lightsabre, in the post order 66 galaxy and after we've seen the lengths the empire goes towards hunting down escaped Jedi, moronic doesn't even begin to cover pulling out a lightsabre in public. And it did get them noticed by a spy which is why they had to shoot their way out of the port but A New Hope was released long before the expanded universe was even a thought, so it gets a pass. Finals period is on me and I'm due for vacation afterwards so updates might slow during the Christmas period. Anyhow, next chapter will be comedy based on an idea I saw floating around the internet. Qrow's semblance is bad luck and cannot be turned off. Jaune's semblance allows him to boost the strength of other people's semblance. So what happens when you put them together?

Side note: RWBY vol 7 is out. Jaune's shield has an upgrade, looks like hardlight dust to increase the shield's surface area. I will be _very_ disappointed if they don't combine to make an ultra greatsword lightsabre. Insert overcompensation joke here.

Side side note: Penny's back and kicking more ass than before. Given that Penny is based on Pinocchio, what are the odds she's destroyed at the end of the season and given an actual human body by the relic of creation?

* * *

Cast list:

Ruby Rose as Luke Skywalker

Yang Xiao Long as Princess Leia

Jaune Arc as Han Solo

Neo as Chewie

Taiyang Xiao Long as Darth Vader

Qrow Branwen as Uncle Owen

Ozpin/Ozma as Old Ben Kenobi/Obi-Wan Kenobi

Arthur Watts as Grand Moff Tarkin

Ciel as C3PO

Penny Polendina as R2-D2

Cardin Winchester as Greedo

Junior as Jabba the Hutt


	9. Chapter 9: Murphy's Law

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

Note: I forgot to mention in the previous chapter but aside from the core cast, I'll probably be switching characters in and out. Ironwood and Winter will most likely be around for any Atlas or military centric chapters while Jaune shows up for chapters where he's in a supporting role or comedy chapters with maybe a few exceptions here and there. I don't know when I'll bring in the other villains but they're in the cards. I'll probably do Empire strikes back in the future as well but not sure about return of the Jedi, I really _really_ don't want to write about teddy bears bringing down the empire.

**Chapter 9: Murphy's Law**

**Inspiration: NA**

Soon the audience trickled back into the theatre once they were done refreshing themselves. A small section of the seats had been replaced with a very comfy couch that Jaune, Pyrrha and Yang were currently lounging on. The atmosphere was a little awkward but save the occasional bout of nervous laughter from Jaune when the glaring contest between the two girls started up again, they made it work.

Weiss sighed and rubbed her temples as she felt a migraine coming on, glaring at Blake, the cat faunus shrugged unrepentantly. "Should you really have encouraged them like that?"

"What? What's wrong with sharing? They're all our friends, aren't they? This way we won't have to bury Yang when Pyrrha snaps."

"Lies. You're doing this just because you want to replicate what's in your books." Weiss accused.

"What!? Of course not." Blake denied, unable to meet the Schnee heiress' eyes, so what if it resembled a scene from one of her prized possessions, speaking of which…

"How do you know what's in my books anyway?" Blake's eyes narrowed suspiciously and the Schnee flushed red, rapid denials shooting forth.

"Wha-how dare you accuse-no, I won't let you change the subject!"

"Oh let it go Weiss, it'll be fine!" Ruby said and shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth. Her sister and friends were happy… or they would be, and that was enough for her.

"Ruby! How can you be encouraging this!? You should be helping to get your sister away from that womaniser!" Taiyang said in a voice that just stopped short of shouting. His burning glare was taken off Jaune for a moment to look at his youngest daughter for her betrayal.

"What? You did it too dad, you had mom and Yang's mom too." Ruby said innocently getting her father to sputter incoherently.

"She's got you there Tai, now sit down and have a drink or do I have to tie you to your seat?" Qrow shoved a bottle of Taiyang's favourite brandy into his hands and Summer giggled at their antics.

"You did knock up half the team so I don't think you have any moral high ground to stand on. Well with the two of them I'm guaranteed some blonde grandbabies in the future."

"Jaune does have seven sisters, wonder how many nieces and nephews I'll get to spoil. I could be the cool aunt who brings new weapons for them every visit." Ruby had stars in her eyes as she joined her mom in fantasising about Jaune and Yang's future children.

"Seven!? Oh my, lots of grandchildren… uheheheh…" Summer started drooling, a perfect match for Ruby whenever she was lost in one of her weapon fantasies, and Taiyang started frothing at the mouth at the thought.

"Over his dead body! Nobody's touching my baby girl!"

"One, firecracker ain't a baby anymore and two, don't you mean your dead body?" Qrow asked.

"I know what I said. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find a place to stash the body." Taiyang stood to leave and Qrow sighed in response.

"Right, chains it is. Sorry about this Tai." Before Taiyang could say anything, Qrow had already conked him over the head with a bottle, knocking him out. With the overprotective dad out cold, it fell to the responsible uncle to tie him up before he could do something stupid, oh the irony was rich, usually he was the one strapped to a bed when one of his drunken benders got out of control.

Winter stared at the scene with wide eyes unable to believe what she was seeing. "I don't believe it, Qrow is the well-adjusted one in that family!? What is the world coming to?"

"Team STRQ has always been a group of oddballs according to the records. It gets weirder when you remember that Taiyang and Qrow are both teachers in Signal. It's a good thing neither of them are in Atlas, I'm not sure if the city could survive it." Ironwood said, suppressing a shiver at the idea of Qrow running amok in his city.

"They aren't that bad, they just have quirks like most hunters do." Ozpin defended his former students.

"Yeah… quirks…" Ironwood stared dubiously at Qrow, the man now locking down a comatose Taiyang with several dozen heavy duty padlocks and chains. Where he got the implements, the general didn't know and he really didn't want to.

"At least I don't have to put up with them on a regular basis." Ironwood heaved a sigh of relief before freezing up when Blank popped back in.

"Funny you should mention that. The next universe is ready for viewing, it's an alternate reality, one where Qrow is a soldier in Atlas and recruited Arc into the ranks as well."

"BULLSHIT! THERE IS NO WAY I'D EVER ACCEPT HIM INTO THE MILITARY!" Ironwood roared.

"Piss off Irondick! I'd rather die than join as one of your soulless machines! I'd have to be blackout drunk before I agree to… what is it Ruby? Wha? Oh come on!" Qrow grumbled as the swear jar jingled in front of his face and he fished out more lien to insert.

"As a matter of fact, that is how you came to be part of the Atlas military in that reality. Both of you were drunk as hell and signed a lot of papers, including several forms that indicated all parties were of sound mind at time of signing. When you woke up from your hangovers, professor Qrow Branwen was on loan to Atlas academy for the foreseeable future as a guest professor and military attaché. And then Signal told Atlas to keep him as long as they like. As you'd expect, life in Atlas got interesting." Blank chuckled as Ironwood facepalmed and Qrow glared at the bottle in hand for its unexpected treachery.

"So where do I come in? I don't live near Atlas." Jaune asked, his hometown of Gallia was situated out on the frontier but it was closer to Vale than Atlas, he couldn't think of any reason why he'd end up in Atlas instead of Vale.

"You get caught up in one of Qrow's misadventures and he inspired your new path in life after that meeting."

"So I don't want to be a hunter in that universe?" Jaune blinked and frowned, the idea of not being a hunter flew in the face of everything he ever believed in.

"Oh no, you still desire to be a hunter, you just… found a different way of approaching it. In your world, you're a fan of the classics, a sword and shield. In this one, you prefer something flashier." Blank chuckled at the confused glances he was getting from the students.

"This one will be a series of shorts detailing things that Jaune and Qrow are both banned from doing ever again. Sit back, relax and enjoy." Blank finished and the lights dimmed before the screen came on and the title of the first short appeared.

**Qrow is forbidden from flying on any airship that hasn't been bad luck proofed.**

**An irate general glared at the unrepentant man standing before him. "In my defence general, there was no way I could tell maintenance hadn't been done on the power coupling. So really, it's the fault of the techs that skived, not me."**

"**Maintenance was put off since the ship was in perfect working condition and trying to fix the power coupling would have cost far more than it was worth. The chances of it failing was one in a hundred million, and the chances of it failing explosively even lower than that." Ironwood buried his face in his hands and resisted the urge to scream, a prototype battleship that cost over half a billion lien had been reduced to scrap metal by way of 'bad luck'.**

"**Well now you know that lady luck is a bitch." Qrow shrugged and drank from his flask, his other arm still wrapped in a sling.**

"**Grrr… forget it, I don't have enough braincells left to argue with you. And what's this about involving civilians?" Ironwood picked up the official report and read it over again.**

"**Kid's a native from Gallia, he pulled me out of the wreckage when the ship went down near his home. Didn't want to involve him but shit happens." Qrow waved his broken arm for emphasis.**

"**Once the Grimm started pouring in, I couldn't fight them off and set off the self-destruct system at the same time. So while I held off the Grimm, I had the boy arm the explosives before we got the hell out of the way. I gotta say, as drab as Atlas is most of the time, you guys sure know how to create flashy fireworks."**

"**YOU GAVE A CIVILIAN ACCESS TO TOP SECRET MILITARY HARDWARE!? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU BRANWEN!?" Ironwood roared at the top of his lungs.**

"**I was thinking, that either I let the kid in or I leave the wreck behind for any bandit group or white fang member to pick up. They'll have gotten there long before Atlas can send a retrieval squad. Besides, it worked out in the end didn't it? Kid's already applied to one of Atlas's own combat schools, I dropped off his application on the way here. I'd wager he'll be in Atlas proper before too long, especially with me giving him some pointers. It was just a series of unfortunate events, good thing it turned out as well as it did." Qrow shrugged and enjoyed the look of seething annoyance sent his way.**

"Looks like uncle Qrow is back to his old irresponsible self. That's an easier image to accept than him as a farmer." Yang commented and giggled when her uncle glared at her.

"Still, what exactly happened on that trip? Grimm near Gallia?" Jaune asked with slight worry, his home was more fortified than most frontier towns but that didn't mean they had the defences to hold up against an entire Grimm horde.

"Ooh! Flashback!" Nora cheered when the scene transitioned.

**Qrow idly flicked a piece of hard candy at wall and watched it bounce off and land perfectly on his tongue. "So this is the new hammerhead class airship eh? You'd think with the money they spent on this they'd be able to afford a better paint job, but nooo… everything has to be the same exact shade of grey."**

**He glared balefully at his surroundings, the floor, the walls, the ceiling, even the furniture down to the bedsheets were grey. Qrow could feel the room leeching the positivity out of his soul. "Eerrhhh… at least the autopilot is great. No need to put up with noisy pilots complaining about drinking in the ship."**

"Really Qrow? Drinking on board military flights? Do regulations even mean anything to you?" Winter asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, I'll have you know I follow regulations when they make sense, when they don't, I elect to ignore them. A man's gotta keep his spirits up… especially when your entire world is grey like that. Seriously, who's in charge of planning your colour schemes? That guy should be fired." Qrow replied blithely.

"General Ironwood is the one who has the final say over such decisions."

"Oh. Well my point stands."

**Qrow was jolted out of his reverie as a massive explosion rocked the ship and he felt the engines go silent. "What the hell!?"**

**A quick check of the ship's status on his scroll indicated much of it was now offline and the entire thing was kept aloft by a single engine instead of the usual eight.**

"**And there goes the last engine, fuck me." Qrow swore when he felt another explosion and the status of the sole remaining engine turned red on his scroll. The hammerhead went into freefall and Qrow had to fight hard to resist the urge to upchuck all the alcohol he'd consumed in the last couple of hours.**

**Managing to drag his body out the door while in the zero gee conditions, he gave himself slightly over a minute before the stricken airship hit the ground given its original altitude. Trying to bust down the nearest window to escape, his eyes popped when metal shutters came down, halting his attempt.**

"**For fucks sake! Everything's breaking but the security system!? Oh this is going to hurt!" Pulling himself into a ball and focusing everything on keeping his aura defences up, he braced for the inevitable impact, bitterly cursing the fact that he stored Harbinger in the armoury instead of keeping it with him.**

**Qrow's world exploded into a riot of colours when the airship hit the dirt. The hull folded in instantly and the ship went rolling on the ground, sending Qrow pinballing around the rapidly deforming hallway.**

**His aura took the brunt of the beating except for a particularly nasty bounce where his left arm wedged into a crack in the ships hull before being violently wrenched free. When he finally came to a stop, the man was bruised all over and cradling a broken arm.**

"**Ow."**

"Damn. I've gone through some shit thanks to my semblance but nothing even close to that. Wow. Just wow." Qrow said as he watched his other self take the beating of a lifetime from an airship of all things.

**Groaning in pain, Qrow pushed himself up with his good arm and crawled towards a rent in the side of the airship that sunlight was pouring through. The hole was just big enough for him to squeeze through, as he staggered through it, he felt a pair of small hands pull on his arm to guide him through the jagged edges safely.**

**A young blonde boy let go of his arms when he was safely through. The child staring up at him with wide blue eyes couldn't be more than twelve years old, about the same age as his nieces actually.**

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Pyrrha squealed and enveloped Jaune in a big hug while Yang was busy snapping pictures on her scroll. Nora cackled and Ren sighed at Jaune's misfortune.

"No damnit! Yang! Stop!" Jaune cried out futilely in an attempt to save what's left of his dignity to no avail.

"Not a chance in hell Jaune! How often am I going to get the chance to see how you looked like as a kid? I'm not wasting the chance again!" Yang laughed and continued snapping away.

"Awww… you look so cute!"

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

"**Are you okay mister? I saw your airship explode and crash here." Jaune said as Qrow righted himself.**

"**I've been better. Stupid semblance messing with me again." He grumbled and made an effort to avoid swearing around young impressionable minds. The last thing he needed was child protective services called on him… again.**

"**What's a semblance?" Jaune asked, the word was familiar to him and he thought he might have heard his parents say it before but he didn't understand what it meant.**

"**A semblance is a manifestation of one's soul, tied to your aura. Aura is something everyone has but is usually locked until it's unlocked by someone else or awakened by yourself. All hunters need to know how to use their aura to protect themselves and assist in their fighting and semblances grant a person special abilities unique to them that can be of great help… oh err just ignore that." Qrow laughed sheepishly as he accidentally slipped into lecture mode, having given more or less the same speech to Signal first years more times than he cared to remember.**

"**Cool! You're a hunter then? Your… semblance? Allows you to make things explode!? Can I do that too?" Jaune fired off a series of questions and Qrow grunted, taken off guard by the sudden enthusiasm.**

"**Slow down kid, yes I'm a hunter, my semblance causes things to explode occasionally, I don't think you'll be able to do the same as me but if you go to an hunter academy or join the army, you could learn how to blow things up there." Qrow heard a howl in the distance followed by several more and frowned.**

'**Beowolves, must be a whole pack at least, they must have been alerted by the crash. Damnit, I can't protect the kid and destroy the wreckage at the same time. And I can't just leave with the kid either, if the white fang or some other criminal group get their hands on this there'll be hell to pay.'**

**Qrow fumbled with his scroll in his good hand while he checked the status of the demolition charges stored aboard. "Hell yes they're still intact and ready to blow, score one for typical Atlas paranoia. I'll never complain about redundant backup systems again."**

**The veteran hunter eyed the boy warily, the kid was off in dreamland muttering about explosions and academies. Getting him involved was risky and Ironwood would probably mount his ass on the wall for this but it was the lesser of two evils.**

"**Kid. You like explosions?"**

"**Yup!" Jaune answered, popping the p.**

"**How'd you like to make a big boom?"**

"**Can I!? CanIcanIcanI!?"**

"**Sure, just follow the simple instructions on the scroll while I fight off the Grimm." Qrow handed Jaune the scroll and hefted Harbinger. The one piece of good fortune on this endeavour had been the armoury cracking open on impact and allowing his weapon to land nearby. If it was stuck in all that wreckage… good thing it wasn't.**

"Really Qrow? You're going to bribe a kid with explosions?" Goodwitch stared disapprovingly at her colleague.

"What else is the other me supposed to do? Besides, who doesn't like explosions?" Qrow shrugged and the audience largely agreed with him. Explosions were always nice as long as you weren't in the blast radius, although Nora would disagree with the last bit

**Switching harbinger to scythe mode, Qrow gave the weapon a few test swings, it'd been awhile since he fought with it one handed, but distracting the kid with gunfire would be a quick way for him to mess up and initiate a system lockout, and that wouldn't end well for anyone.**

**As Jaune furiously mashed the keys on the scroll, Qrow watched the bushes for movement. A ruffle was the only warning before a large mass of black and white pounced at him, the beowolf ate a scythe blade for its efforts and Qrow batted the disintegrating corpse away from him.**

**Like that a dam broke and the Grimm started pouring out of the woodwork, rushing at him en masse. Their howls rang in his ears as Qrow struck down the closest ones, blade glinting in the firelight, death awaited all who approached.**

**An alpha beowolf was cut down when Qrow slammed his foot down on its head, sending it crashing to the dirt and flipped the scythe round, the edge resting under its neck, a simple pull and its head went rolling.**

"**How much longer Kid!?" Qrow yelled as his wounds started to catch up to him. Any other day such a pack would be no issue for him but right now he just survived a crash and one of his arms was broken. For all his successes, he was being pushed back and the horde showed no sign of letting up.**

"**Uh… just a bit more… DONE! I think? Um it says armed and there's a timer. 10… 9… 8… 7…"**

**Qrow blinked and tossed harbinger as far as he could before turning and grabbing Jaune. He didn't even have time to swear as he hoisted the boy over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes and started sprinting like a bat out of hell.**

**As the countdown hit zero, the wreckage went up in a ball of heat and sound, the largest explosion Jaune had ever seen. As the heatwave scorched them and left him feeling sunburned, Jaune could only stare into the flames entranced, the terrifying Grimm that his parents had always warned him about evaporating into nothingness as they were all consumed.**

"**Cool…" Jaune whispered in awe and the short came to an end.**

"See, the kid definitely appreciates it. Wreckage destroyed, Grimm killed and everybody goes home alive. Don't you just love it when a plan comes together?" Qrow said proudly.

"He nearly blew the both of you up." Summer shook her head and slapped the back of his head.

"So is that how Jaune ends up in Atlas then?" Ruby asked curiously

"Indeed. Your friend was inspired by the events of that day and decided to enrol in Atlas in the hopes of being able to cause explosions like that on a daily basis." Blank answered.

**Qrow, Jaune and Winter are forbidden from being in the same bar at the same time.**

**A vein pulsed on Ironwood's temple as he glared at the oldest and newest thorns in his side. "Explain. Now."**

**He growled and tossed a newspaper on the table. 'Atlessian specialist in drunken brawl with guest professor from Vale, nightclub completely destroyed…' a picture of Qrow fighting Winter in the ruins of one of Atlas's highest end establishments was splattered all over the front pages.**

"**Not my fault boss, ice queen caused most of the damage." Qrow threw his compatriot under the bus instantly.**

"QROW!" Winter glared at the hunter irately and had to fight hard to resist the urge to just leap over and start strangling until something popped.

"**Specialist Schnee is one of the most disciplined individuals in Atlas. I find your claims hard to believe." Ironwood said sceptically.**

"**Oh yeah, she's a real stick in the mud normally. But she can't hold her liquor at all and she started it. There I was minding my own business, celebrating Arc here being the youngest graduate in Atlas history when she came barging in demanding to know what a minor was doing inside." Qrow tried to explain only to be cut off.**

"**And what was Arc doing inside anyways? He's only sixteen."**

"**Yeah, but he graduated, that makes him a legal adult. And as I was saying, she just started shouting in public, does that woman have no sense of shame? Anyways, Jaune here gave her a drink… and the rest is history."**

"Graduated from Atlas academy at sixteen? That's… impressive." Ironwood complimented, given how Atlas only accepted students at seventeen, to graduate at sixteen meant that he'd have to bumped up several grades.

"Jaune Arc has always been a quick learner, in this universe he just got a head start on his journey. Having Qrow serve as something of a personal tutor in Atlas also means that he's far beyond practically every other student. That… and his chosen combat path made most of the practical exams cakewalks due to 'outside the box' thinking." Blank chuckled.

"Outside the box?" Nora asked in confusion.

"When all you have is a hammer, you get really creative on how to apply it."

"**Damnit Qrow, lemme go! I just want to go back and sleep!" Jaune struggled in his mentor's grip as the older man dragged him towards a nightclub for his first legal drink.**

"**Sleep is for the weak! You can sleep when you're blackout drunk. This day only comes around once and you can't just pass it up for something as insignificant as sleep."**

"**Bullshit! You'll just find another excuse to drag me off!"**

"**But of course, there'll always be something else to celebrate. And that means you're gonna get real familiar with this place because we'll be celebrating them all!" Qrow laughed and gave the bouncer a nod before kicking the doors open.**

**Jaune sighed and gave up the fight, once Qrow got into one of his moods, there was no fighting it. Ah well, he'd knock back a few drinks, head to the washroom and ditch the drunk there. Fool proof.**

"You are a bad influence on children, how did you become a teacher at Signal again?" Goodwitch asked and stared at Qrow.

"I can be serious on the job, but when I'm off, I'm off."

**The plan never made it that far. To commemorate the occasion, Qrow had given Jaune the Qrow special, a unique blend reserved solely for Qrow by the bartender. Supposedly the one thing that kept him sane during his first few months in Atlas. Jaune stared dubiously at the drink as it bubbled ominously.**

**He was saved from having to down that glass by the timely arrival of Winter Schnee. The specialist was fuming as she approached their table. "Qrow! What is the meaning of this!?"**

"**Meaning of what ice queen?" Qrow blinked in confusion, usually when Winter was pissed at him he at least knew which one of his antics had done it, but this time he was drawing a blank.**

"**I heard you were dragging a minor into a nightclub, I didn't want to believe it at first but you actually went and did it."**

"**Kid's already graduated, he's legally allowed to be here. Now live up to your title and chill ice queen, don't want you to melt in this heat." Qrow snarked and laughed when Winter's face got redder and redder.**

"**Arguing with him is pointless, believe me I've tried. Here, have a drink, it's on him." Jaune sighed and handed his glass to Winter, the specialist clearly needed it more than he did. Winter echoed his sigh and accepted the glass, downing it in one gulp.**

**Qrow stopped laughing. "Arc. Is that the drink I gave you?"**

"**Yes? She needed it more than I did." Jaune said cluelessly.**

"**Oh this will not end well." Qrow said as Winter swayed unsteadily, the strong alcohol kicking in almost immediately just the way he liked it.**

**Winter tuned the world out as she glared at Qrow. With a soundless yell, she drew her swords and started attacking, sending the entire nightclub into a panic.**

**As the two of them fought, Jaune tried to break up the fight to no avail. After getting an elbow to the face for his efforts, his shoulders felt lighter as he realised his backpack was missing. Qrow had grabbed it in the melee and was using it as a shield against Winter's furious slashes.**

**Jaune's eyes went wide as he saw Winter's blades cut long gashes in the pack and dust began spilling out from the packets inside.**

"Oh gods, it's initiation all over again." Weiss buried her face in her hands as she recalled her first meeting with Ruby.

"I'm sorry! It was an accident!"

"**No wait! That's dust you're spilling everywhere! Oh screw this, everyone out! There's a bomb in the nightclub!" Jaune gave up the fight and ushered the remaining patrons and staff out the door before disaster could strike.**

**As the last of the civilians filed out to safety, he turned back to see the bartender stuck behind his bar, trapped by the duel and surrounded by dust clouds. Jaune swore and charged the man, tackling him behind the counter and shielding him with his body.**

**And not a moment to soon, a stray hit ignited one of the fire dust crystals in the pack and everything exploded, demolishing the entire bar and bringing the ceiling down on top of them.**

**Jaune coughed as he shoved the rubble off him, the bartender was slightly bruised but for the most part unscathed. Looking around, he cursed when he saw the wreckage, his cursing grew louder when he noticed Qrow and Winter still fighting despite everything.**

**Then the reporters showed up.**

"**Someone kill me now." Jaune introduced his head to the floor repeatedly as the cameras started flashing.**

Winter had the grace to look sheepish as the theatre stared at her. "Have I mentioned I don't drink normally?"

"Damn uncle Qrow, I thought I trashed Junior's bar, you brought the whole place down instead." Yang gave her uncle a bright smile and a thumbs up.

"Not my fault, and you really shouldn't be proud of that, even if it was a… what'd you call it? Bad guy bar?" Qrow glared at his niece.

"So that was you huh, I was wondering why I got a call from Junior one day saying most of his hired muscle was in traction. Not bad, not bad at all… you wouldn't be interested in future employment would you?" Roman commented.

"I'm not going to be a criminal Torchwick so forget it." Yang deadpanned.

"Technically you already are. But relax I'm going straight, got a few legit businesses in my portfolio to run. But eh… they have rivals who are a little shady if you catch my drift. I point you in their direction, they get into an accident and you're a few thousand lien richer. Interested?"

"Torchwick, please stop trying to recruit my students for your… _business_ ventures or it'll become my business." Ozpin sipped from his coffee mug and the thief backed off quietly.

"Alright, not messing with the headmaster of Beacon is a good way to keep my life expectancy high. The offer is still open to all takers though." Roman chuckled and reclined into his seat.

**Jaune is no longer allowed to experiment with his semblance on others outside of an emergency or a controlled environment.**

**Ironwood sighed as he stared at Jaune and Qrow, both lying in the hospital covered in bandages. Both were recovering from third degree burns and several broken bones, even with aura speeding the recovery process along, it'd be a good while before they'd be back on their feet.**

"**How? I sent you on a simple mission to make a delivery to Beacon and you somehow managed to do **_**this**_** to yourselves. Damn good thing the package can be replaced but I want an explanation."**

"**Mhppgh, Mpggh mmmph mmmhgh mmgmhhg!" Qrow's words were distorted by the bandages around his face and came out as nothing more than gibberish.**

"**He says it's not his fault sir." Jaune translated with a sigh and winced as his wounds screamed in protest.**

"**Then whose is it?"**

"**The fault is mine sir." Jaune admitted.**

"**God damnit Arc please tell me you didn't blow yourself up with one of your own bombs again." Ironwood exhaled and rubbed his temples to ease the building migraine.**

"**Nothing of the sort sir, I just figured out my semblance and this happened when I was testing it." Jaune's sheepish laughter transitioned into a cough as his cracked ribs made themselves known over the painkillers.**

"**Semblance, you finally unlocked it?"**

"**Yes sir, my semblance is aura amplification. I found I can use it to boost not only the aura of others but also their semblances. Yeah, it didn't work out so well."**

"Aura amplification? Is that my semblance?" Jaune sat up and paid close attention, he'd been trying for a long time but still hadn't discovered it.

"Indeed. You've already unlocked it at this point by the way, you just haven't been able to harness it consciously yet. With your semblance, you can increase the effect of anything aura related, its defensive properties, healing ability or even boost the effects of other semblances. That isn't always a good idea though." Blank replied.

"Oh. Guess I need more training then. If I can use it consciously…" Jaune clenched his fist tightly and his mouth set in a thin line. His friends had informed him of what lay in the future, there was no way in hell he'd be too weak to stop his partner from dying this time.

"Don't worry Jaune-Jaune! Team JNPR are right behind you every step of the way." Nora said and gave Jaune a pat on the back.

"Thanks Nora."

"**It's good to be back at Tai's place, ah… my home away from home." Qrow stretched and laughed as he stood outside Taiyang's house in Patch with Jaune.**

"**Don't you say that about every bar I have to drag you away from?" Jaune stared blankly at the older man.**

"**Fine. Home away from home away from home, happy?" Qrow amended.**

"**No."**

**Before they could bicker any further, the door swung open and Qrow was tackled to the floor by a red and black blur. "UNCLE QROW!"**

**Ruby squeezed her uncle tight as Yang joined them at the front door, smiling as her sister started pestering her uncle for presents from Atlas.**

"And there's us, nice to see some things never change." Yang smiled at Ruby's overly affectionate welcome.

"**Later squirt, where's your dad?" Qrow laughed and gently pushed his niece off him before getting to his feet and dusting himself off.**

"**He's inside, come on I'll show you to him, then you can show me more cool tricks with the scythe." Ruby said and dragged her uncle off into the house.**

"**So. What brings the two of you here anyway?" Yang asked as Jaune was left behind.**

"**Eh, if your dad agrees, we'll be spending a few nights in one of the guest rooms. Qrow got a little homesick after spending so much time in Atlas so he decided to come here." Jaune answered and received a single disbelieving snort in response.**

"**Qrow spent the hotel budget on booze didn't he?"**

"**What!? Pfft! Why would you even say that? Of course noooooooooo-yes. Yes he did." Jaune's shoulders slumped and he sighed despondently.**

"Ah some things never change. This is why we never trust you with the team's finances Qrow." Summer shook her head as she recalled the few occasions where STRQ had done so, they quickly learned never to do it again.

"I've gotten better! Honest!" Qrow protested.

"No you haven't. You end up crashing in one of Beacon's spare dorms every time you show up because you are somehow always out of money for a place to stay." Goodwitch shot down his innocent façade.

"**Cheer up Bomberman, you're just disappointed he got to the money you were going to spend on bombs first." Yang ruffled his hair and smirked when he slapped the offending limb away.**

"**Stop calling me that Yang, it's demolitions expert. And of course I'm disappointed, because of his irresponsibility there'll be less pretty explosions to go around."**

"**Wow. The irony is completely lost on you isn't it. You know that money is supposed to be for a hotel right? Not booze or bombs. And you are totally Bomberman, especially given how you answered your Grimm combat theory graduation exam with the same two words for every question."**

"**There is nothing wrong with how I answered those questions, they were all open ended questions on how to deal with different types of Grimm and I was instructed to not give an essay for each question." Jaune folded his arms and glared.**

"**Yeah. But you literally wrote 'A Bomb' for every question. How to kill a beowolf? A bomb. How to deal with a nevermore nest? A bomb. How to deal with a Grimm horde approaching a village? A bomb. How the heck did you even pass anyway?" **

"What? D-did I hear that right?" Ironwood stuttered as he tried to comprehend the nonsensical words that just entered his ears.

"Indeed, he graduated with flying colours with that answer script by the way." Blank said.

"H-how!?"

"After his life changing experience, this Jaune was inspired to walk the path of the explosion. He's the premier expert on all things explosive and he's proved repeatedly in spars and on the field that 'A bomb' is a perfectly valid answer to most problems. One of the reasons why he graduated so early was the fact that the academy really couldn't take anymore punishment from him. Not after he challenged the entire graduating class to a one vs all fight for the right to graduate early and won by way of a bomb powerful enough to level half the school."

"Wouldn't that have gotten him expelled?" Winter asked as she tried to picture a cadet desperate enough to graduate that they'd threaten to destroy the academy itself.

"No. That Jaune is freakishly talented at finding and exploiting loopholes. The list of rules on proper sparing behaviour went from a single sheet of paper to a five hundred page lawbook during his time there. The amount of times he's built bombs out of stuff he found lying around is terrifying, for reference, this is the man who turned a sandwich into an IED strong enough to put an opponent through a wall by somehow pouring aura into it and slipping a piece of fire dust crystal into the mix as a detonator."

The silence in the theatre was palpable until it was broken by Jaune of all people. "So, does this other me have notes or anything? I uh… would like to have it for reference purposes."

"I'll see about finding a copy of them for you." Blank snickered as Nora began complaining to her leader over beating her to the punch and demanding he share the goodies.

"**I'm just a genius like that." Jaune snickered as Yang rolled her eyes in exasperation.**

"**And real humble to boot. So anything interesting happen up in the frozen kingdom?"**

"**Not much. Well I did crash a bullhead into a leviathan and self-destruct it to take the Grimm down, the general wasn't too happy about that. So here I am being a postman, Ironwood is convinced there's no way this job can go wrong."**

"**You disagree with that then?" Yang said as they made their way inside and she got Jaune a glass of juice from the fridge.**

"**I'm here on a mission with Qrow. When has that ever ended well?" Jaune sighed as he recalled every single 'simple' mission going wrong almost from the get go. It's like they were cursed or something.**

"**Eh, it can't be that bad right?"**

"**We had to fight off three separate Grimm attacks on the way here. Oh and our ride crashed again after the autopilot somehow glitched out. On the upside, I figured out my semblance." Jaune shrugged and tried to stay positive.**

"**It's about time, you must be the only person to ever graduate from an academy without figuring out their semblance." Yang rolled her eyes good naturedly.**

"**Sure, laugh it up, I still graduated and you haven't even started nyeh!" Jaune stuck out his tongue childishly and sent Yang into a fit of giggles.**

"**Alright, out with it. So what's your semblance? The ability to make things explode by looking at them?"**

"**No such luck, your uncle's bad luck is rubbing off on me evidently. Nah, I got aura amplification. I can boost the effects of aura and I think it should work on semblances as well but I haven't tested that out yet." Jaune shrugged again and a small shiver ran up his spine as he noted Yang's contemplative look.**

"**Hmm… so you don't know what happens if you try to boost someone's semblance? Try boosting mine then."**

"**Is that a good idea? Your semblance increases your strength doesn't it? I'm not really fond of the idea of being sent through a wall when you poke me." **

"**My semblance only increases my strength when I get hit, as long as I just sit here and not get attacked, everything will be fine." Yang reassured.**

"**Alright, if you're sure about this. Just uh, stretch out your arm I guess, never really tried this before." Yang did as instructed and closed her eyes while Jaune held out his palm over her arm. Concentrating inwards, a pale white glow surrounded Jaune before it stretched out and connected with Yang.**

**Power.**

**Pure unadulterated power. That was what it felt like to Yang as her aura and semblance were supercharged. She felt like a million lien, like she could punch a mountain into rubble with nothing but her fists. She wanted to burst out laughing, then Jaune's screaming registered.**

"**OH GOD! EVERYTHING IS ON FIRE!"**

**Yang's eyes snapped open and her vision was obscured by flames as her house was burning. Her hair was on fire, no scratch that, it was a blazing inferno and the wooden furniture around her had ignited as a result.**

"Our house is burning down again. Yang! Can't you keep your semblance in check!?" Ruby yelled at her sister while the rest of the audience simply looked at her confused.

"Did I miss something? What happened to the house?" Summer asked, unsure of what her daughter was referring to.

"This happened when sis discovered her semblance too mom, she burned down our whole kitchen… twice!" Ruby folded her arms in frustration as she recalled those days.

"It wasn't my fault! My hair just caught fire one day and I did what they taught at school, stop, drop and roll!" Yang argued back.

"And the kitchen was made of wood. When it happened the second time, you tried using your hair to heat up your food, and burned the kitchen again." Qrow added on.

"Oops?"

"**Oh shit! Not again, I'll help put it out!" Yang yelled and accidentally nudged Jaune, that's when she recalled while her boosted semblance might not be giving her a boost to strength at the moment, her enhanced aura certainly was.**

**Jaune went sailing through the air and punched a hole through the wall before landing in a heap outside the burning house.**

"**Yang! What did you do!?" Qrow rushed out of the room followed by a panicking Taiyang and Ruby before receiving the same treatment as Jaune when Yang accidentally punched him on reflex. Except instead of flying out the house, he knocked down one of the house support beams instead, bringing a portion of the burning roof down on top of him.**

"**Damnit Yang!"**

"**Sorry sis!"**

"Okay, new rule, Jaune, you're not allowed to use your semblance on Yang indoors unless we absolutely require a housefire." Blake said in a small voice.

"No argument from me there. I like my body not on fire and in one piece." Jaune shuddered at the idea of having a juiced-up Yang punch him on purpose. If that was what an accidental nudge could do, he didn't want to be on the receiving end of a deliberate punch.

"I've got a great idea! We could have Yang as a campfire and cook marshmallows over her hair!" Nora exclaimed, already making plans for their next camping trip.

"Nora no." Ren sighed and pulled her back into her seat.

"Glynda, the dorm rooms are fireproof right?" Ozpin whispered to his adjutant.

"I think so, but we should probably check when we get back. I'm not sure if we have the budget to fix up that kind of damage, because my semblance won't be of use here." Goodwitch replied.

**Jaune is no longer allowed to fill in for Qrow as a teacher at Signal**

"**Explain." Ironwood growled the word out as he glared at the gruesome twosome.**

"**Well, as part of my contract I had to return to Signal to teach a few classes but uh things happened." Qrow began trying to make excuses.**

"**Translation, Qrow got drunk-more drunk than usual, knocked himself out and I had to fill in for one of his classes." Jaune said with a sigh.**

"**Uh huh, that's all well and good but I want to know why there's a letter here from the headmaster of Signal complaining about how you managed to destroy the entire sports hall lieutenant."**

"**I was filling in for the gym class since there wasn't any other teacher available to take it. I decided to spice things up and you'd think a combat school would be more durable than that. Atlas certainly was." Jaune shrugged, not a shred of remorse to be found.**

"**Besides, I taught the kids some valuable lessons."**

"**And what pray tell would those lessons be?"**

"**When there's a bomb coming towards you, get out of the way or send it back, clock's ticking so you better move fast."**

"And now I'm terrified, exactly what kind of lessons does the boy teach?" Roman commented and fake shivered.

Neo rolled her eyes and typed several things into her scroll before showing it to him.

"Bullshit, there's no way he's that irresponsible. What kind of teacher throws bombs at his students to get them to run faster?"

**Jaune stood in front of a crowd of students and tugged at his collar uncomfortably, a large sack leaned against his legs. "Alright, now I know you all must be wondering what I'm doing here and why isn't professor Branwen here. Short story is… he's sleeping off his hangover at the moment so I'm his substitute."**

"**But you're just a few years older than us!" A brave student shouted from the back of the crowd.**

"**Yes, but I've already graduated from Atlas academy and I'm a full fledged huntsman now. In any case, I'm supposed to be filling in for Qrow on this gym class. I won't lie, his original lesson plan was to have you run until you drop as part of endurance training." A chorus of groans and complaints reached his ears and got him to smile.**

"**But we can all agree that that is boring as hell. So I'm switching things up, all of you split into two teams, we're playing… dodgeball." Jaune fought the urge to laugh as the groaning and moaning transitioned to cheering instantly.**

"**Except for you Ruby. Your dad and uncle were pretty clear that I am not allowed to teach you, so you'll have to sit this lesson out."**

"**BUT!"**

"**Sorry Rubes, I don't need your dad and uncle trying to kill me. They were very explicit on what they'd do to me if I was 'bad influence' whatever the heck that means." Jaune shrugged and gave Ruby a sorrowful look as the dejected girl walked over to the benches and sat down.**

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby shouted and glared at her uncle.

"Other me must have a good reason. Besides, that Jaune was never trained to be a teacher, how interesting can his lesson possibly be?" Qrow placated.

"Considering his lesson led to the destruction of the hall, I'd say it was eventful if nothing else." Ozpin said in between coffee sips.

"Not helping Oz!" Qrow hissed as Ruby started growling at him.

"**Good you're all ready, now we're playing by my rules. All of you sync up your aura levels to the system, this will be doubling as combat training. Anyone whose aura drops into the red is out, otherwise, continue playing even when you get hit. And I don't think I have to say this but, getting hit hurts so try to actually dodge." Jaune instructed once the teams had formed.**

**Wicked smile on his face, Jaune whipped out one of his home-made grenades. "This will serve as the ball. Behold the Arc special, I've toned down the explosive power in this but getting blown up will hurt. Two buttons on the grenade, red primes it to blow three seconds after contact, blue disarms it. Each team starts with forty grenades, I'll be adding in more as the game goes on to replace the ones that blow. Catch them, run from them, I don't care how you deal with the grenades, the team with the last man standing wins."**

**There were plenty of 'oohs' and 'aahs' as he handed out the weapons. "Besides the fact that this is going to be fun, this will teach you to pay attention to your surroundings and plan accordingly. It's not enough to just avoid the grenades coming at you, you'll have to keep track of the ones bouncing around as well since they explode three seconds after a bounce. Now you have five minutes to plan out a strategy with your team, then it's game on."**

"I was right, he wasn't that irresponsible, he's so much worse." Roman whispered, half in awe and half in terror that someone like that would be allowed to teach even if only as a substitute.

"That lesson… does have merits." Goodwitch bit out reluctantly.

"Indeed, but a safer method should probably be employed than live explosives." Ironwood added his two cents.

"If nothing else, it'll get the urgency across. See, the other me just didn't want his niece getting blown up." Qrow said and shot Ruby a look.

"**Alright, five minutes are up, go blow up your friends!" Jaune called out and the battle was on, the Signal students trying their hardest to knock out their classmates before they could be taken out themselves.**

"**This isn't fair. I should be down there." Ruby complained to Jaune when he joined her on the benches.**

"**Yeah, we both know you'd kick butt but your dad and Qrow were very clear I wasn't to corrupt you with the way of the explosion." Jaune sighed and ruffled Ruby's hair while explosions continued in the background.**

"**Why!? It's not fair! I could help you make your bombs so much better! Just a few modifications and-"**

"**I love you Rubes but if you had your way everything would also be a gun." Jaune shot her down immediately.**

"And what's wrong with that?" Ruby asked cluelessly.

"Ruby, I caught you trying to install gun turrets on our bunkbeds just two weeks ago. At some point you need to understand that not everything has to also be a gun." Weiss shook her head in disappointment.

"Gun turrets?" Winter raised an eyebrow.

"It's a long story, gist of it is that after the breach she was worried about another Grimm incursion happening so she tried to bolt guns onto everything."

"**Just think about it Jaune, a bomb that shoots bullets that are actually more bombs. How amazing would that be?"**

"**Erghgh! Don't tempt me Ruby." Jaune's body spasmed as he fought against the delicious imagery Ruby planted in his mind.**

'**Hmmm I could do it with a modification of the bouncing betty design left over from the great war. Shrapnel can be replaced with micro dust bombs… but how to get them to go in the direction of the targets? Ruby could help with-no bad Jaune, bad. No getting ruby involved unless Taiyang or Qrow gives the okay.'**

**Jaune focused on the game of dodgebomb going on in front of him to distract himself. He winced slightly when a well placed grenade took out a group of three and cleared up the centre of the field. Much of the hall was already in ruins and around half the class had retired from having their aura fall into the red.**

"**Hey Jaune? Are you sure you don't need to worry about collateral damage?"**

"**Nah, it'll be fine." Jaune smiled placidly as a grenade sailed past his head and destroyed the main doors when they landed.**

"**Everything's just peachy."**

As the short came to an end, the theatre was silent at the wanton destruction of school property. "I assume that's a common scene during his tenure in Atlas academy?" Ironwood finally broke the silence.

"Indeed. Most spars and combat exercises involving him usually end with everyone running away from his latest creations while he laughs." Blank said.

"I definitely see where the other me and Tai are coming from now." Qrow chugged from his flask and suppressed a shiver.

"Ruby's already a weapon nut, if she became an explosives nut as well…" Qrow trailed off and a collective shudder went through him and WBY.

"Hmm, I wonder if I could upgrade Crescent Rose with explosive rounds…" Ruby was lost deep in thought.

"Maybe Nora can help." Ruby settled on asking their resident explosives expert for assistance and Jaune and Ren began panicking instantly.

"Nora NO!"

"Nora yes!"

**Jaune and Qrow are no longer allowed in casinos.**

"**You know, normally I don't care what my soldiers do when they're on vacation. It's their time and as long as it isn't illegal, I have better things to worry about. But when half the army is complaining about the two of you, it suddenly becomes my problem." Ironwood glared at Jaune and Qrow, the two of them were starting to become permanent fixtures in his office.**

"**I don't know what they're complaining about really, we paid for the upgrades to the officer longue, the barracks and the canteen out of our own pocket, what more do they want from us?" Qrow said, internally fuming at the ungrateful jokers they called comrades.**

"Awfully generous of you Qrow." Summer stared suspiciously at the screen.

"Maybe I'm in a good mood? Or got a big fat bonus? I don't know, I'd have spent that money on alcohol to be honest." Qrow admitted.

"**Yes, it was nice of you to do that, but I want to know why all Atlas personnel are now considered persona non grata in every single one of Vacuo's casinos." Ironwood slammed a thick set of papers down on the table, every one of them complaints about discrimination against Atlas military and blaming Jaune and Qrow for it.**

"**They're just sore that our fund-raising strategy worked out so well." Jaune said with a smile.**

"**Qrow needed money for his drinking problem and I needed funds for my explosives and dust research. Since we were already in Vacuo we decided to do some fund raising there and it worked perfectly."**

"…**How much did you win at the casinos?"**

"**I don't know, might have bankrupted a few." Jaune shrugged, he really couldn't remember how many places they'd hit before calling it a night and returning to Atlas the next morning.**

"Oooh… and now you have my attention." Qrow leaned in closer for the details. If his counterpart had found some way of getting easy money… he wanted in on that action.

"**We're broke." Qrow sighed and slammed his head against the table.**

"**You're the one who got into that damn barfight, what the hell is wrong with you? I left you alone for five minutes. Five minutes! It's a good thing we had enough cash to pay for the damages otherwise the general will have our heads for billing it to Atlas." Jaune growled from where he was seated on the bed.**

"**It wasn't my fault! Stupid semblance activated and the dude's glass just shattered while I was next to it. Then he tried to punch me!" Qrow protested.**

"**You're just bad luck all… around… oh. Oh! I have a great idea." Jaune halted mid tirade as his mind concocted the greatest idea he had in a while.**

"**Qrow, you're the unluckiest sonofabitch on Remnant right?"**

"**Ye, thanks for reminding me Arc." Qrow said, tone flatter than a washboard.**

"**This is Vacuo, with all the casinos! We're gonna make bank!" Jaune laughed and rubbed his hands together deviously.**

"**Uh, Arc? I'm bad luck you know that right? Casinos and I don't mix. It's why I don't gamble since I always lose."**

"**Yep! You're going to lose. And in fact, you're going to keep losing all night long while I rake in the dough. We'll split the winnings 50-50. Come on Qrow, we got a few casinos to bankrupt and times a wasting!" **

"And now I'm lost. Don't you need the opposite of bad luck to win in a casino?" Qrow asked confused.

"I'm sure he has a plan, but seeing you lose over and over will be just like old times." Summer giggled as Qrow began grumbling.

"**You sure this is going to work?" Qrow asked dubiously as he stared at the roulette table.**

"**Nope! But what have we got to lose? It's just a couple hundred lien. Bet on black and the zeros and I'll go all in on red." Jaune instructed and cackled internally as Qrow placed a single lien card on each of the assigned spots. Jaune smiled and made sure to place his own bet of a few hundred lien on red, making sure to stand far away from the bad luck charm as he did so.**

**The roulette table was a standard 38 wheel, 18 reds, 18 blacks and two green zeros. Normally, betting on red or black alone would give the house the advantage since the payout was set on calculating odds at 36 slots instead of the actual 38. From a pure statistical standpoint, you'd need a lot of luck to consistently beat the house.**

**But, horrendously bad luck served the same purpose if you knew what you were doing.**

**Jaune smiled when the ball landed on red as he predicted and he collected his payout, instantly doubling his money. 'I love it when a plan comes together.'**

**They continued playing for a couple of rounds, Jaune winning every single time and turning their measly few hundred into just over a hundred thousand before retiring to a corner.**

"**Alright, what the hell was that!? How do you keep winning?" Qrow asked in a hushed tone as Jaune counted the money.**

"**Can't you tell? You're bad luck Qrow, every bet you make ends up losing. So to win, all I have to do is bet against you. As long as you bet on all the other possibilities, I win. Easy money!"**

"**God damn son."**

"**We're not even close to done yet, the night is still young and the money has our names on it. They're starting to recognise us I think, but there's the stupid makeup kit Yang got me as a practical joke in the hotel. It's about to make us a whole lotta moolah."**

"Oh. My. God." Qrow breathed out reverently.

"Say, how'd you like to be business partners. I could bankroll your trips to Vacuo and Neo here could disguise both of your identities. They'll never see us coming." Roman offered, dollar signs dancing in his eyes.

"Not a bad plan actually." Ozpin said and Goodwitch stared at him incredulously.

"Ozpin, you cannot be serious!"

"Funding is always an issue. With such a source of funds, we wouldn't be so reliant on the Vale council anymore. Just think about all the upgrades we could make to the training facilities."

**As the night wore on, the two of them transitioned from broke Atlas operatives to multi-billionaires as they crushed every casino they stepped into. Occasionally when they were feeling particularly daring, Jaune would have Qrow bet on every single slot except one where Jaune would go all in on.**

**A thirty-five times payout on a hundred million lien? Jackpot.**

**Sadly for them, the few casinos they hadn't hit yet began to wise up. Since Jaune was technically underage, he had to display his Atlas hunter's license to get them through, the one bit that his makeup couldn't hide and the casinos noticed that as soon as the Atlas id showed up, they'd lose big time immediately after.**

**Finally returning to the hotel at 4 am in the morning, Jaune and Qrow were laughing hard as their bank accounts were now morbidly obese **

"**So what are you going to do with your share Qrow? Aside from booze of course, because I'm not sure if even you could drink through a few billion lien worth of alcohol." Jaune asked as they were packing up for the flight back to Atlas in a few hours.**

"**Don't test me boyo. But nah, I think the base is in need of a few upgrades. The officer's longue could use some new couches and a bigger tv, the barracks are long overdue for a touch up, but it'll probably be the canteen that gets the biggest chunk. If I never have to eat that slop they call food again, it'll be too soon. And you?"**

"**Eh I think I'll sit on it for a bit, maybe find a good company to invest in or something. It's not like I need to spend it all straight away and my research won't cost that much." Jaune replied as ideas shuffled through his mind.**

"**You think this will have any consequences though?"**

"**Not likely, we hid our identities pretty well with the disguises… other than the Atlas hunter license. What are they going to do? Ban every single Atlas soldier and hunter from entering the casinos?" Jaune and Qrow shared a laugh at that preposterous idea.**

"The canteen food isn't that bad…" Ironwood denied and missed Winter's face turning an interesting shade of green as the urge to retch rose in her.

"Get rich quick schemes aside, anyone else notice how good Arc is with makeup? I didn't think he had it in him." Weiss said, impressed with the disguise skills on display.

"I have seven sisters. You pick up these kinds of things when you're in that kind of an environment." Jaune replied.

**Jaune is strongly recommended to stay away from SDC operations.**

"**So lieutenant, why do I have a complaint from Jacques Schnee over destruction of SDC property and attempted corruption of a minor?" Ironwood asked in a tired voice, Jaune and Qrow were standing before him again, their antics were regular enough that he was half convinced he could set his watch to them.**

"**Jacques is an ass and the damage to SDC equipment in the mine falls well within acceptable ranges. I know, I checked the book." Jaune smiled and bared his teeth in a grin, any opportunity to get one over that insufferable man was one he'd take in a heartbeat.**

"What?" Weiss and Winter shot up at the same time from the insult to their father.

"At first you had my curiosity but now you have my attention." Blake was smiling and her ears had perked up.

"Jacques… jackass… pfft!" Yang giggled at the pun and Weiss shot her an irate look.

"**Disregarding your… penchant for property damage. Explain the minor bit."**

"**I was just showing the future head of the SDC the ropes that's all." Jaune shrugged in response as Ironwood sighed tiredly.**

"**Damnit Arc, I understand that you have the right to interfere in SDC business but can you at least try to limit it? I'm getting complaints from Jacques practically every day now over your actions, can't you tone it down a bit?"**

"What!? What do you mean Jaune is teaching me here!?" Weiss tried and failed to grasp that idea.

"And what do you mean he has the right to interfere in SDC operations?"

Blank said nothing and elected to let the short continue to play.

"**You get way too much enjoyment from needling the man you know. And what are we doing here anyways?" Qrow asked as the two of them were standing outside the Schnee manor.**

"**Eh, we're opening up the new mine soon, I thought I'd get the future head of the SDC a front row seat to it. Jacques has it coming anyway." Jaune rang the doorbell and waited for it to be opened.**

**Soon enough, Klein arrived to greet them and welcome them inside. "Ah Major Branwen, lieutenant Arc, so nice to see you again, please come on in."**

**As the duo made themselves comfortable in the guest room, Weiss and Winter showed up to meet the 'guests', neither looked too pleased by the sudden arrivals.**

"**Arc, Branwen." Winter growled out and glared at the drunk who just gave her a merry wave.**

"**Hello to you too ice queen and ice queen junior." Qrow gave a wave and drank from his flask, getting the Schnees to growl.**

"**Morning snow angel." Jaune greeted Weiss and she predictably snapped at him.**

"**Stop calling me that! It's like you do it just to annoy me!"**

"**Hehehhe… am I that obvious? I'll stop calling you that when it stops annoying you. After that… you're short stack. Hmm… have you grown shorter? I thought you used to be taller." Jaune poked at the fuming girl, without her heels, she was even shorter than normal, something that annoyed her to no end.**

"Wow. This is the exact opposite of how you used to treat Weiss. What the heck Jaune?" Yang glanced at a confused knight and got a blank look in return.

"I… have no idea."

"Don't worry Weiss, I'm sure there's still room for you to grow." Ruby consoled as the white haired girl looked like she was seconds away from leaping at Jaune and throttling the life out of him.

"**Weiss, as much as he annoys you, attacking a guest in your own house is unbecoming of a Schnee. And as for you lieutenant, do you have to antagonise Weiss every time you meet?" Winter halted Weiss before she could charge the infuriating explosives expert.**

"**Do we have visitors?" Whitley asked as he came to investigate the commotion.**

"**Ah! There's my favourite W, how have you been doing!?" Jaune shot over and scooped Whitley into a massive hug.**

"What!? How does Arc know my brother here!?" Weiss's mind was on the verge of short circuiting now.

"You have a brother?" Ruby asked curiously, Weiss never went into much detail about her family. She knew about her sister and the fact that she wasn't on good terms with her father but that was about it.

"Yes I have a brother Ruby. He's a spoilt brat and we've never gotten along. How anyone could ever like him is beyond me." Weiss growled out.

"Weiss. It's not polite to talk about Whitley like that, like it or not he is our brother." Winter chastised with a disapproving tone.

"You can't deny that I'm right sister."

"**GAH! Put me down Jaune! And I'm a Schnee! Not a W!" Whitley struggled in futility as the hug was unbreakable.**

"**Nonsense, you're a W alright. Willow, Winter, Weiss and you Whitley, all Ws." Jaune gave Whitley one last squeeze before putting the boy down.**

"**You left out my father again."**

"**And you know I'm still not sure if he's human. I'm still convinced that if you remove his face you'll find a computer dedicated to making profits. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck…" Jaune nodded sagely, getting Whitley to roll his eyes.**

"**It won't kill you to show a little respect you know. My father insists you're a bad influence and that I should stay away from you."**

"**Me, a bad influence? Why does everybody say that?" Jaune's shoulders slumped.**

"**But if you have to stay away from me, I guess that means I can't give you the present I specially crafted for you. Looks like I'll have to throw it away after all." Jaune wiped away a fake tear as he displayed a small box before putting it back into his coat pocket.**

"**NO! Ahem. I mean there's no need for that right? I'm sure father won't object." Whitley said in a pleading tone, the Schnee equivalent of getting down on their knees and begging.**

"**I'm just messing with you, of course I'll give it to you, now get changed, we got a mine to open in about… four hours. Tick tock." Jaune smiled as Whitley rushed off to get changed.**

"**I still don't understand your fascination with him. He's just a brat." Weiss sighed and narrowed her eyes at Jaune.**

"**That attitude is exactly why he's my favourite Schnee Weiss. If things continue as they are, he'll be the next head of the SDC, I figured I might as well help guide him down a better path since his family clearly isn't helping in the least." Jaune fired back.**

"**He's come a long way since I first met him. He's grown… unlike you."**

"A-are we enemies in this universe?" Jaune asked as his counterpart effectively just snubbed Weiss.

"You aren't enemies, but you aren't friends either. Neither of you can see eye to eye on many things. You see Weiss as an immature hypocrite unwilling to change while Weiss is convinced that you're nothing more than trouble. I'll just put this out there now but your relationship does not improve until after Weiss enrols in Beacon."

"I see." Jaune said dejectedly and slumped in his seat, getting a consoling pat on the back from Pyrrha and Yang.

"Don't worry about it lover boy, Weiss-cream is still stuck in full Schnee mode, we haven't pulled her out into the sun yet in that universe. It took a lot of effort believe me so don't blame yourself."

**Jaune first met Whitley on a training assignment two years before the present day. One of the earliest missions when he was a freshman in Atlas was to shadow a veteran huntsman on a simple mission. Naturally, he'd gone with Qrow and theirs was a mission to safeguard the Schnee family on one of their inspection tours from Grimm and white fang assassins.**

**While on guard inside the Schnee manor the night before the tour was to begin, he'd gotten lost in the hallways at night and chanced upon Whitley studying hard in a study room while the rest of the family had gone to bed.**

"**You're up late. Studying?" Jaune greeted as he entered.**

"**Hmm? Oh cadet Arc, I didn't hear you come in. Is something the matter?" Whitley put down his book and turned his attention to Jaune.**

"**Not really, I was just wandering the halls. What are you studying anyways? Everyone else has already gone to sleep." **

"**I'm studying business strategies the SDC has employed in the past. The ones that worked and the ones that didn't, one day when I take over the SDC I'll need that knowledge." Whitley said in a serious tone.**

"**Isn't Weiss the heiress though?" Jaune asked and immediately cursed himself when Whitley's face darkened.**

"**She is, for now. But sooner or later, father will realise she is ill suited to be the head of the SDC and with Winter in the military, I'm the only option left. It's just a matter of time, until that day comes, I will continue preparing for it."**

"How dare he!?" Weiss howled and Ruby and Blake had to work to pull her back down before she could leap at the screen.

"Calm down Weiss! This is not the time to throw a tantrum!" Blake hissed as she fought with the heiress.

"Yeah come on Weiss!" Ruby grunted and pulled, her partner resisting with surprising strength.

"**You're certainly bitter about it." Jaune commented and an expression of distaste flitted across Whitley's face.**

"**I am not bitter cadet Arc. I'm simply telling the truth. Whatever she might say, Weiss isn't fit to lead the SDC. Even Winter would be a better fit than her."**

"**Could you explain it to me then? I don't know any of you except for Winter but only as an acquaintance of my mentor." Jaune pulled up a seat next to Whitley and sat down, getting the white haired boy to sigh and put away his books.**

"**My sisters want nothing to do with the SDC, their actions are proof enough of that. Winter ran off to join the army as soon as she could and Weiss? She's still insistent on becoming a huntress **_**and**_** says she'll be the next leader of the SDC once father steps down."**

"**Is there something wrong with that? I'm not sure I follow." Jaune was completely clueless, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with what Weiss wanted as far as he could tell. This only made Whitley heave another sigh.**

"**You wouldn't get it cadet Arc. Haah… let me try to rephrase it for you. What do you think the head of the SDC does?" Whitley posed the question and Jaune's mouth clicked shut as he processed it.**

"**The head manages the company I guess? I… don't actually know."**

"**The SDC is more than just a company cadet. It's the number one source of dust for the entire world thanks to my grandfather and father. If the SDC fails, humanity will be at risk. Oh I don't expect the four kingdoms to have any trouble since they have other suppliers, but the frontier villages and towns? The SDC are their main supplier of dust since most other dust companies don't think the risk of delivering to them is worth it. If the SDC fails, all of those people will be in danger, not just from the Grimm but from vital equipment just no longer working. Do you see the importance of the SDC now?" Whitley lectured and Jaune paid full attention.**

"He's… not wrong on that. In my hometown at least, it's just the SDC supplying us with dust. No one else wants to deal with the Grimm along the way and its too expensive to hire hunters to guard every transport." Jaune admitted.

"You knew about the SDC but you somehow didn't know Weiss was the heiress?" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow.

"Schnee isn't a common name but there's more than just one Schnee family in the world you know. How was I supposed to know Weiss wasn't just a Schnee but _a_ _Schnee_? I uh didn't really pay much attention to the outside world back then." Jaune said and Pyrrha giggled.

"Oh yes, I remember. You didn't even get who I was until long after JNPR was formed and once you did, you still didn't care about the fame."

"**I guess. But what has that got to do with Weiss being unfit to lead?"**

"**She wishes to be a huntress, that's the problem. I'm young, not blind or stupid, I'm aware many people hate the SDC for the conditions in the mines, but we can't help that. There's just no easy way to mine dust without the risk, and the life expectancy of the average miner isn't that high. I wish things were different but that's just the way it is. But did you know that as risky as working in the mines is, the huntsmen profession has an even higher mortality rate?" Whitley said as he handed over a report on the most dangerous professions on Remnant. **

**Being an SDC miner wasn't even in the top ten while a huntsmen was number two, second only to recon scouts, a special breed of huntsmen operating deep in the Grimm lands keeping track of large scale migrations and other major threats to the kingdoms.**

"**Sixty percent of Huntsmen don't live to see their fortieth birthday. Just on the numbers, Weiss has a very good chance of dying in the field. What do you think would happen to the SDC if its head suddenly dropped dead?" Jaune swallowed hard at that thought and his mouth felt very dry.**

"**Yeah. That would be bad."**

"**Bad? I think the word you're looking for would be catastrophic. But even disregarding that, Weiss spends most of her time practicing with that sword of hers, interacting only with her teachers. Getting her to go out and meet with other members of high society, the future supporters of the SDC, is one of father's biggest headaches. She's wasting her time on skills that will only lead to her death while snubbing the people she needs to work with if she wants to lead the SDC successfully. How can someone like that be trusted with the SDC? It's not just the company that's at stake, tens of thousands of lives hang in the balance. I cannot and will not accept someone like her as the head when she doesn't even know what it means to lead the SDC. And sooner or later, father will come to see the same." Whitley was breathing hard as he finished his speech.**

Weiss had stopped struggling and was now sitting quietly. Her worldview had been effectively shattered by her brother in one swoop. All her life, the fact that she would one day end up leading the SDC was something she'd taken for granted, alongside becoming a huntress, was she wrong after all?

"I… I'm not that bad am I?" Weiss asked in a small voice.

"No. You're not. But Whitley does have a point, you could stand to work a little harder to become a proper leader for the SDC. Balancing your duties as a huntress and leadership of the SDC will not be an easy task. But I have faith you'll find a way." Winter replied.

"I… thank you Winter."

"**I suppose I really am a little bitter after all." Whitley smiled sadly.**

"**I'm the only one actually interested in taking over the family business but I'm nothing more than a spare. I have a father who's too involved in the SDC to be a father, a mother who's too busy searching for her next drink to be a mother, two sisters who want nothing to do with this family… I feel like I'm the only sane person in this madhouse at times. Winter's the only one I respect really, she knows she wants nothing to do with the rest of us and made it damned clear when she ran off to the military, severing ties very thoroughly… unlike Weiss."**

"**There's Klein? He seems nice and I know he cares about all of you." Jaune offered.**

"**He's just a butler, he isn't family." Whitley said unsurely.**

"**Isn't he? I can't really understand what you're going through since my family's own issues are nothing like yours. But I know that there is more to family than just blood. Look at Qrow for instance, he's an ass most of the time but he's pretty much my uncle at this point… but uh don't tell him that, I don't need his head getting any bigger, his helmet can barely fit as it is." Jaune said with a small chuckle, grinning when he saw Whitley's lips twitch into the beginnings of a smile.**

"**Maybe. But that's enough about me, aren't you a little young to be a cadet? How did that happen?"**

"**I skipped a few grades since I had Qrow training me for quite a long while so here I am a student of Atlas. No idea where I'm going after I graduate, might stick around with the Atlas military for a bit. I don't have any big dreams really, just become a hero and save as many people as I can with my bombs. I got my own family legacy to live up to."**

"**Bombs?" Whitley asked, his curiosity piqued.**

"**Oh yes, the wonderful, wonderful world of explosions. Boy do I have stories to tell you…" The heavy atmosphere dissipated as Jaune regaled his new friend with all the details about his exploits and the many, many explosions he caused along the way.**

"I never realised he had that much resentment inside him. I guess his friendship with the lieutenant will be good for him." Winter said while thinking about her own relationship with her brother or lack thereof.

"Your father would disagree but it does help shape your brother into a better person. You'd be surprised by just how much having a friend can do for you." Blank replied.

**Whitley could barely contain his excitement, only years of Schnee conditioning kept him from bouncing all over the bullhead on the way to the mine. There were explosions to be had and no time to waste.**

"**Relax, the mine isn't going anywhere, the detonator is with you after all, no boom until you press it." Jaune chuckled as Whitley double checked that his gift was still safely secure in his pocket.**

"**Of course. I've been meaning to ask, have the new dust bombs gone into mass production yet? With the refined dust from the SDC I think the blast yield should increase by 20% at least." Whitley distracted himself by asking about their shared project.**

"**Not yet. Still some kinks to work out, the blast yield is good but there's a little too much variation at the moment. We're still trying to get it down tight, it's probably something to do with the speed at which the new dust combusts, it's slightly different from what we're used to. After that though, should be green light on everything." Jaune answered as he ran through the list of things stopping his masterpiece from becoming standard issue on Atlas battleships.**

"**Excellent. The SDC is looking forwards to continued business with the army." Whitley nodded proudly, their brainchild would net the SDC billions in military contracts and the Atlas army would have a brand new superweapon to deploy against the Grimm hordes.**

"**Oh yeah, I'm looking forward to it too, there's just so much red tape to go through. Stupid conflict of interests." Jaune grumbled and Whitley laughed at him.**

"**That's your own fault. No one asked you to buy up 30% of SDC shares overnight. Where'd you get the money from anyway? Last I checked the army doesn't pay that well."**

"**Oh Qrow and I had a little adventure in Vacuo. We're banned from doing it again… though there are still three more kingdoms we haven't been blacklisted from…" Jaune trailed off as the gears began to click in his mind. He had to drag Qrow off on another fundraising trip soon, Jacques would never sell but if he could find some way to buy out every single SDC share on the market aside from his… oh the look on his face when Jacques realised there were only two SDC shareholders left on Remnant. He'd be able to push even further for better pay for the workers, safety measures among others.**

"So that's what he did with the money. He's a major shareholder in the SDC now." Blake said with no small amount of surprise.

"Huh, you know I wonder if anyone in the white fang ever thought about buying out the SDC to change things. Hmm… probably not, they're too stubborn to willingly hand money over to humans."

"Father will not have taken that well." Weiss punctuated her words with a headshake.

"He most definitely did not. Jaune Arc bought out the shares the day before a shareholder meeting, showed up for it in uniform and made Jacques life hell for the duration of the meeting. Jacques still holds the majority but Jaune has a large enough share that his words have to be listened to or there'll be legal consequences for the SDC."

"**Meh, if the new dust bombs succeeds, it might be the last push I need to get my doctorate." Jaune shrugged and smiled, he was so close to his PhD in dust engineering he could almost taste it.**

"**Then I'll have to call you Dr Arc huh. Has a nice ring to it."**

"**Doesn't it? Heh, to be honest the best thing about it is that both Qrow and general Ironwood will have to call me Doctor from then on. I'm gonna enjoy every moment of it." Jaune cackled madly.**

"**Nice to see you have your priorities straight. Hey, we're here!" Whitley exclaimed when he felt the bullhead starting to descend.**

"**And after the dust bomb goes into mass production, there won't be a need for huntsmen anymore." Whitley declared while waiting for the bullhead to finish landing.**

"**Come on now, you need to get over that bias, we've been over this. The army is superior in Grimm killing compared to Huntsmen but Huntsmen are capable of reacting a lot faster than the army. It takes time to move all these men and material." Jaune said and Whitley rolled his eyes.**

"**You should let me finish. I was referring to huntsmen fighting out in the field against the horde. Who needs a huntsmen when you have an army, and who needs an army when you have a bomb? It'll just make the roles more clearly defined, that's all."**

**The bullhead shuddered as it landed and they rose to their feet. As they exited the bullhead, both of them were bowled over by a streak of orange and green. "SALUTATIONS FRIEND JAUNE, FRIEND WHITLEY!"**

"**Owowowow… nice to see you too Penny." Whitley thought about struggling against the hug he found himself trapped in before giving up. If he couldn't escape from Jaune, there was no getting away from Penny.**

"It's Penny!" Ruby cheered for her friend appearing in person this time.

"They're friends in this universe? I can understand Arc but the Schnee?" Ironwood was confused, at this point, Penny shouldn't be ready for public unveiling yet. Jaune was understandable, he was a member of Atlas military and seemed to have a special spot along the lines of Qrow or Winter to that version of himself, but Whitley was a civilian through and through.

"Jaune was contacted to develop additional weapons for Penny. Somewhere along the line, she met Whitley when they were doing their dust bomb experiments. Her sensors were better than anything Jaune had on him and she decided to help out with their work. The rest is history."

"What is this dust bomb anyway? And Mr Arc is going for a PhD?" Goodwitch adjusted her glasses and waited for an answer.

"The dust bomb is their masterpiece, the single most devastating bomb ever created by human hands. At its strongest, it'll level an entire mountain. It's the ultimate expression of Jaune's dream, victory over the Grimm by cleansing them in burning hellfire. Given all the research into dust he had to do for it, he decided to try for a doctorate since he figured he'd already done enough to at least have a shot."

"**All the barriers are set up and the dust bomb is ready for deployment!" Penny stood up and saluted cheerfully.**

"**Dust… bomb? Jaune, you didn't."**

"**Of course I did, what better place to field test things than out in the field? This one's part of the Shiva line up, a tactical one. Sadly blowing open the mine doesn't call for a strategic weapon but I'm sure we'll find a Grimm horde large enough to test it out on soon." Jaune said optimistically.**

"**haaah… seriously, you must be the only person to get excited at seeing a Grimm horde." Whitley shook his head in exasperation, he'd come to the conclusion that there was something very wrong with his friend a long time ago and Jaune had done nothing so far to dissuade that idea.**

"**Come on friends! Everything is ready and the reporters are waiting for the grand unveiling." Penny saluted again and started dragging them off.**

"**Ugh… reporters. Why do we have to deal with them again?" Jaune groaned.**

"**You should get used to it, the SDC could always use the PR boost. At least you don't have to attend all the parties yet, people are starting to talk about the newcomer shaking up the SDC and they're wondering why you've barely made any appearances in person. I can't cover for you forever you know." Whitley sighed.**

"**Ughhh… but they're all plebeians who don't understand the beauty of explosions."**

"**Not everyone can be as enlightened as us I'm afraid. But as the ones who've seen the truth, it falls to us to guide others to the path." Whitley commiserated.**

"**Ahhh… here we go. Sunglasses on." Jaune and Whitley slipped on their shades while a pair mechashifted out of the sides of Penny's head. And not a moment too soon, as the stepped up to the platform, hundreds of flashes were going off at the same time.**

**As Whitley gave his speech to the reporters, Jaune's eyes glazed over, the PR bullshit spewing forth was unbearably dull and he was about to fall asleep on his feet when the mike was suddenly presented to him.**

"**And now we'll have lieutenant Jaune Arc of the Atlas military say a few words to commemorate this occasion and the continued relationship between the SDC and the military." Whitley smirked at him and Jaune could easily tell what the Schnee was thinking.**

'**If I have to suffer through this, so do you.'**

"**Thank you Whitley." Jaune's smile was positively saccharine as he accepted the mike.**

'**You bastard, I'll get you for this later.'**

"**Ahem, I'm no general Ironwood and I'm no politician, so you'll get no grand speeches from me. I'm here because the SDC has graciously provided us with the dust we use to keep both Atlas and Mantle safe. And today, we have the opportunity to show off the latest in Grimm combat tech, the result of a joint effort between the SDC and the army. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you, the Shiva!" Jaune pointed to the singular black cylinder standing at ground zero.**

"**It doesn't look like much, but one day, this will be the difference between a Grimm horde that threatens a kingdom and a Grimm horde that will not live to see the sunrise. But enough talk, now for the moment you've all been waiting for. It's time for the mine to be blown open, Mr Schnee, if you'll do the honours?"**

**Whitley smiled and retrieved the detonator, the glowing red button turned green once Jaune synced it up with the Shiva. "Thank you."**

**Pushing the button down, there was a split second pause before the Shiva detonated with an almighty boom. The ball of fire was massive and the shockwave came close to shattering the barriers set up. As the fireball reached for the heavens and a mushroom cloud was already forming, the wind buffeted them, getting Jaune and Whitley's coats to flutter in the wind along with Penny's skirt.**

**The three of them walked away smirking as the blast's magnificence captivated the reporters at hand, none of them looking back at the devastation they wrought. The short went into slow motion, showing them all walking away like absolute badasses and a caption went up.**

**Cool guys don't look at explosions.**

"Big… BOOM!" Nora yelled at the awesomeness on screen.

Jaune was sobbing lightly at the actions of his other self. "I am not worthy, I am not worthy, I am not worthy… if only I could be half as awesome as that…"

"A-and that's just a small one? T-then what's the big one like!?" Ironwood sputtered.

"Well I did say they could wipe away entire mountains. Those would be the Nova series. They're all designed to be ship deployed weapons. Should a Grimm horde approaching civilisation be detected, a single ship could wipe everything out instead of an entire army having to be deployed." Blank answered.

"My word, we could actually push back the Grimm with that kind of power." Goodwitch said.

**Jaune and Qrow are no forbidden from kidnapping minors for interrogation. (Ironwood note: I can't believe I have to make this rule)**

"**You absolute MORONS! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!? WERE YOU THINKING AT ALL!?" Ironwood roared as Jaune and Qrow stood before him, completely unrepentant.**

"**Kidnapping a minor and then threatening him!? What the actual fuck is wrong with you both!?"**

"**We didn't kidnap him, we just needed to have a little **_**chat**_**." Qrow shot back.**

"**Yes sir, we just asked him a few questions and sent him on his way." Jaune followed up.**

"**AHARHAHFHGH!" Ironwood slammed his head against his desk repeatedly as he started screaming with pure rage he hadn't felt in a very long time.**

"Kidnapping children? Damn that's a new low for you Qrow." Winter shook her head and Qrow snarled in denial.

"I have done nothing of the sort!"

"**Wooo! It's good to be back in patch." Qrow cheered as the familiar Xiao Long house stood before them.**

"**And no mission to mess us up this time." Jaune agreed, nothing but simple R&R this time. With the resounding success of the dust bombs, they'd been granted a week of leave, ostensibly for all their hard work.**

**They knew better though, with the dust bombs now being a thing, the good general was swamped with paperwork and he wanted them gone from Atlas before they could add on to his pile. Leave was leave though and they wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Jaune had come along to visit Yang and Ruby before heading home to Gallia.**

"**Oh it's you two, the rule is still in effect Jaune, remember that." Taiyang greeted them at the door before letting them in.**

"**Right, no using my semblance on Yang unless a Grimm magically appears inside the house and normal methods aren't working on it." Jaune saluted.**

"**Good. I don't need my house burning down again, rebuilding it is a pain."**

**Naturally, Ruby tackled Qrow as soon as he appeared while Yang just laughed and shared a fist bump with her fellow blonde as they made small talk.**

"**I saw your little bomb on the news. Yup, definitely bomberman now."**

"**I'm never going to get away from that name am I?" Jaune said dejectedly.**

"**Nope!" Yang slapped him on the back.**

"**Hey, have you heard from Ruby?" She whispered conspiratorially.**

"**No… nothing out of the ordinary why? Did something happen?" Jaune was in the dark, unless something had changed drastically from the last video call he made to the two sisters a week ago, he hadn't heard anything since and it wasn't like Yang would have kept a secret from him during that call.**

"**Well! Just between you and me, I think Rubes has a boyfriend now." Yang staged whispered, just loud enough for everyone to hear.**

"**What." Jaune and Qrow's faces had gone completely blank and their tones were flat, mechanical creaking came from them as they turned to face Ruby.**

"**Yang! It's not like that! He's just a friend." Ruby's face matched her namesake as she started pummelling her older sister with her tiny fists.**

"**A friend huh." Jaune's monotonous voice got Ruby to stop wailing on Yang and look over at him.**

"**Is that so? And who is this… friend of yours Ruby?" Qrow asked in the same monotone.**

"Oh boy, Qrow and Jaune are going full dad mode on Ruby's new friend. Man, I should have done this long ago, it'd have been hilarious!" Yang cackled.

"Yang, no siccing your family on other people for fun." Jaune sighed and put a stop to her plans.

"But think of the comedy value!"

"I have, and I still think you need to improve your sense of humour."

"Boo!"

**Oscar was terrified as he sat in the metal chair and the single lightbulb in the interrogation room hung over him. The blonde in front of him was glaring at him with eyes that seemed to glow in the dark while the other guy seated in the back was sharpening a scythe.**

"**Ruby Rose. What is your relationship with her!?" Oscar eeped when Jaune slammed his hands down on the table with a loud bang.**

"**She's just a friend I made!"**

"**Don't lie to me boy! I'm giving you a chance to come clean right now. You see Qrow back there with the scythe? Yeah, he's her uncle and he's not going to give you that chance, he'll just chop your head off and feed your corpse to the Grimm."**

"**Aren't you supposed to be good cop bad cop?" Oscar asked nervously, unable to take his eyes off the sparks flying off the scythe.**

"**You think this is some kind of movie? No, I'm bad cop, he's the executioner. Right now I'm the only thing standing between you and him, you don't want me to move away do you?" Jaune started shifting to the side and Qrow's ghoulish visage looked up from the scythe to sear Oscar's soul with those hellish pupils of his. **

"**No! No! Don't go!" Oscar begged.**

"**See, we can come to an understanding after all." Jaune relaxed slightly, moving back to his original position and Oscar heaved a small sigh of relief.**

"**Let's start again, name?"**

"**O-Oscar Pine sir!"**

"**Now, what is your relationship with Ruby Rose?"**

"**She's just a friend!" Oscar gulped when he saw Jaune narrow his eyes and decided to start talking fast before he changed his mind about standing between him and Qrow.**

"**I-I met her in Patch! I got lost and she helped me find my way, that's it honest!"**

"**Awfully convenient isn't it?" Jaune asked, suspicion dripping in his tone.**

"**No really! I'm telling the truth! M-my aunts a farmer, she's here on a business trip and I'm just tagging along! We only got here three days ago! A-and we'll be leaving by the weekend!"**

"**Qrow?"**

"**Story checks out, I think he's clean. Pity." Qrow stood and put away harbinger, smiling coldly as Oscar sank into his chair in fright.**

"**Today's your lucky day after all boy. You get to go, but remember we'll be watching. We'll always be watching. You so much as look as Ruby the wrong way and…" He trailed off with a sinister grin running a finger across his neck, getting Oscar to gulp and nod frantically.**

"**You're free to go. If it's all the same to you, I don't recommend sticking around." Jaune unlocked the door and held it open. Oscar didn't need any further invitation, dashing out with all the speed he could muster before the scary men could change their mind.**

"And now a poor kid's been traumatised for life Yang." Jaune deadpanned.

"Um… black humour?" Yang offered hesitantly.

"YANG! I don't have a lot of friends as it is! I don't need you chasing off any more of them!" Ruby yelled at her sister.

"It wasn't me! It was uh… the other me!" Yang frantically denied.

"Yeah, but you had the same idea, you just didn't get to use it." Blake said with a small smile, ears twitching to show her barely hidden amusement.

"Blake! You're not helping!"

"Qrow, we need to have a long chat about your protectiveness towards your family." Ozpin sighed and put down his coffee mug.

"I… I… oh come on!" Qrow threw his arms up in frustration.

**Jaune is forbidden from participating in tournaments.**

"**So lieutenant. Do I want to know why I'm getting hate mail from tournament fans?" Ironwood said in a tired voice.**

"**They're just sore that their favourite lost to a newcomer from Atlas." Jaune said and gave a thumbs up.**

"**On that note, I have successfully promoted Atlas superiority over Mistral. They never saw it coming!"**

"**I sent you to man a recruitment booth at Sanctum, how in all the hells did that lead to this?" Ironwood stared at the newspaper lambasting Atlas for training their soldiers to become suicide bombers.**

"Mistral? What has my home got to do with this… and tournament? No…" Pyrrha trailed off as she pieced the clues together.

"Pyr?" Jaune asked after his partner lapsed into silence for a while.

"I… uh the other me might have fought you in the Mistral regionals. And… I think you won."

"That's impossible, there's no way I'm good enough to beat you."

"Stop putting yourself down Jaune, you'll surpass me one day."

"**You know how my leave starts after the recruitment fair concluded? I was going to spend time in Mistral taking in the sights and all that, then I saw the Mistral regionals was still open to sign ups and decided why not enter? Since they love their tournaments so much, where better to show off Atlas superiority over Haven? They settle on an age bracket so it didn't matter that I'm already a full fledged hunter." Jaune explained.**

"**So you, a hunter with enough experience under your belt to put most new huntsmen to shame, decided to enter the Mistral regionals. A tournament for combat school students, most of whom wouldn't even have gone on their first actual mission yet. Did you feel the need to show off your prowess?"**

"**Yes. How else am I supposed to promote Atlas?" Jaune answered honestly and Ironwood slammed his head against the desk hard enough to put a crack in it.**

"**Ignoring your showing off, what exactly did you do to get the tournament scene up in arms over you?"**

"**Eh, I did my research on the competitors, most of them are still wet behind the ears and won't be able to tell the sharp end of a sword from the blunt one if it was stuck inside them. Pushovers basically." Jaune gave his analysis of his opponents and Ironwood just stared at him blankly.**

"**I'm just starting to realise just how badly Qrow's training has skewed your perception of others. You do know that most of them are the cream of the crop right?" **

"**If they're the best then I fear for humanity's future." Jaune's frankness had Ironwood introducing his forehead to his desk again.**

"I have to know, just what exactly did Qrow teach the boy to give him that outlook." Winter asked.

"Eh… he might have gotten some of my philosophies on tournament fighting." Qrow scratched the back of head and laughed nervously.

"And what would those be?" Winter asked again.

"Ugh, tournament fighting is mostly a waste of time. Unlike spars, tournaments are all about showing off, dragging out fights, making showy moves that have no purpose, just to entertain the crowd. In the real world, Grimm always go for killing blows, human opponents, bandits, terrorists… you name it, they all do the same. If you get too used to fighting in the arena, you'll lose your edge when it counts because out there, your opponents will do their best to kill you first, holding back will only get you killed." Qrow shrugged and gave his honest opinion, being raised in a bandit clan and fighting against Salem's minions tended to leave one with a more grounded outlook on life.

Pyrrha looked down in slight shame at Qrow's criticism, she wondered if her experiences were actually causing her to hold back… if it was what led to her death in the future they were going to avoid.

"Don't worry Pyr, you're nothing like what he's describing. You're the strongest person I know." Jaune gave her a smile and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"**Damnit Arc. You can't just write all of them off like that. Whether you like it or not, they will be the future protectors of Remnant… comrades of yours."**

"**Maybe. But I didn't write them all off though, there was one opponent I couldn't figure out how to beat in a straight fight." Jaune admitted.**

"**Oh? And who was it?"**

"**Pyrrha Nikos of Sanctum sir, she's the undefeated champion for three years in a row. She won last year's regionals without taking a single hit. Out of all the competitors, she's the only one worth a damn. Sir."**

"See? Other me clearly thinks you're good." Jaune praised, getting Pyrrha to blush lightly from the compliment.

"**I've heard of her. So she's the only one who caught your eye then?" Jaune nodded before continuing to explain.**

"**Yes sir. I've gone over her recorded matches, I can safely say I can train for the next twenty years and I still won't be able to take her in a straight fight. Her ability to react on the fly is beyond mine and I can't train that. As soon as I lose momentum and she goes beyond my plans, I lose." Jaune calmly assessed.**

"**That's high praise from you. I don't think you've even said that about Winter."**

"**She's not on specialist Winter's level yet, but the potential is there. I have no doubt she'll become a legend in the future. She's the one obstacle to winning the regionals, everyone else I can beat without even needing my bombs. A simple baton and rifle from one of the AKs will do. I didn't manage to figure out her semblance before the match itself, but I came close. Her opponents tend to mess up and miss when they get close to landing a hit, so I gave it a 50-50 chance she had some kind of ability to manipulate their limbs and push them away from connecting a blow. Limited telekinesis or an illusory semblance maybe."**

"**And you got all that from just watching videos of her fight?"**

"**Qrow trained me well sir. I was close though, I only figured it out when I fought her in person, she had magnetism as a semblance. Since most of her opponents used metal in their weapons and armour, it's one hell of an edge." Jaune smiled, recalling just how close he got to being smacked in the face with his own baton when it suddenly shot out of his hands.**

"**I haven't seen your fight yet so do tell, how did you beat her then?"**

"**I couldn't beat her. I just applied the old adage and made sure she lost first."**

"**I'm almost scared to ask. Which adage exactly?"**

"**When in doubt, C-4. Aaaaaaaallll the C-4."**

"Of course he'd apply that one. Still for someone who uses magnetism as a weapon, that is a natural hard counter." Ironwood sighed lightly before speaking.

"A hard counter? Why?" Pyrrha asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"Well Miss Nikos, C-4 is a plastic explosive, no metal for you to manipulate."

**Jaune sat in the competitors' box, waiting for his turn to compete. Thus far his attempt at promoting Atlas by winning in the arena wasn't going so hot. Half his opponents had forfeited instead of facing him when the realised they were up against the vaunted 'genius of Atlas'. The fact that he'd beaten every single one of his opponents in one hit by ring out further discouraged them.**

**He resisted the urge to snort derisively, as far he was concerned those who forfeited were disgraces to the huntsmen ideal. Grimm and criminals wouldn't give you the chance to forfeit, and to just run away meant abandoning your comrades and protectorate to the mercy of the merciless.**

"**Then again, they're not all bad." Jaune looked down at the field where Pyrrha was dominating again. He could see why her fans were calling her invincible or the goddess of victory, her opponents never even came close to touching her and unlike him, she was giving them a chance to show off their own skills instead of going for the one hit kill.**

**Once her semi-final match was over, there would be a short intermission before it was his turn to fight, then he'd be facing her in the finals. His eyes narrowed when Pyrrha's opponent stumbled at the last second before he could connect a blow, opening him up to a devastating combo from the reigning champion that dropped his aura into the red, ending the fight with Pyrrha's victory.**

'**Again, a last minute mess up. What is that? Could be telekinesis but… too subtle, if it was she'd be using it more. Is she trying to keep her semblance secret to keep an edge? Could be illusion as well, misjudging the distance maybe? No, doesn't seem right, it feels more like a weapon malfunction? He was struggling with it at the end.' Jaune analysed, mind running through and discarding various possibilities. **

**As he heard the call for him to enter the arena, he growled in frustration, still unable to figure out the secret of the invincible girl. Ignoring the stairs, he simply leapt over the side of the competitors' box, eschewing a landing strategy for semblance enhanced defence absorbing the shock and creating a shockwave of white light on landing.**

"He definitely knows how to make an entrance. Not sure if he realises it but that's a great way to mess with your opponents' minds." Roman chuckled and Neo nodded along.

"Just casually displaying your power like it's nothing. The kicker is that it actually is nothing to him. HA! What's the point of doing something if you're not going to do it in style!"

"**So you're the hotshot from Atlas eh? Their standards must be dropping if they allowed a noodle like you to graduate early. But this is Mistral, you're in our territory now and I'm gonna send you packing! You ready to get your ass kicked on live tv?" Jaune's opponent mocked, trying to get under his skin with his trash talk.**

**Against anyone else, it might have worked. But Jaune was a pupil of Qrow, the amount of bullshit he had to put up with during his training was staggering, simple trash talk just didn't carry the same weight as Qrow kicking you down a mountain and asking you to climb back up with one arm tied behind your back. Then there was the time Qrow dropped him off in a nevermore nest without weapons and told him to fight his way out with his bare hands.**

"Oh so that's where the boy gets his insane teaching ideas from. His own mentor is even worse." Torchwick gave Qrow the slow clap.

"And clearly, my methods work. I am such a great teacher." Qrow preened proudly, missing the sarcasm.

Ruby had sunk into her seat, reconsidering her life choices and whether she still wanted to continue pestering her uncle to train her full time.

**Jaune didn't bother replying, settling for rolling his eyes and looking unimpressed. He'd heard the noodle comment hundreds of times before, most of those who said it usually got a first hand demonstration of the power of his bombs, but this idiot had made the mistake of insulting Atlas. A more thorough lesson was in order.**

**Jaune's opponent fell silent and snarled angrily when he failed to get a rise out of Jaune. As the bell signalled the beginning of the match, he was about to go on the offensive when an iron grip materialised around his throat and air was cut off.**

**Jaune looked bored as he lifted his opponent into the air by the neck, strangling him with one hand while the other rested on his hip. Semblance boosted speed, all the training with Ruby on how to move fast had paid off after all.**

**Jaune yawned when his opponent flailed in panic, arms and legs smashing against him before bouncing off his impenetrable defence, only hurting his attacker in the process. Jaune didn't even flinch when his opponent whipped out a gun and emptied a full magazine into his face, the bullets just bouncing off with pale flashes. **

**They remained in that spot for a few minutes until the struggling slowed and ceased completely, the teen going limp in Jaune's grip. Keeping him hanging for a few seconds more to make sure he wasn't faking, Jaune shrugged and tossed the kid away like so much trash.**

**Another one of Qrow's lessons put into use. Aura is an amazing tool, makes just about everything you do better. More strength, more speed, faster recovery, protection from physical injury and the elements… aura made you a badass, but it didn't make you immortal. There were so many ways to bypass aura and hurt your opponents directly, case in point, even with aura, you still needed to breathe. The match was over and both combatants still had their aura well into the green, a completely one-sided thrashing. **

**The stadium was silent from the display as Jaune starting walking off the field, not even waiting for the referee to finish calling the match. He paused at the edge before looking back, the screens capturing his serious visage as he did so.**

"**I. Am. Atlas. And Atlas. Is. Invincible!" His words an open challenge to all comers, Jaune turned and strode off, his white coat proudly bearing the symbol of Atlas billowing in the wind.**

"That. Was brutal." Pyrrha breathed out at the complete domination they just witnessed. She'd won more than a few tournament matches without much effort, but never via such a brutal method that only served to humiliate her opponent.

"Heavy handed, no subtlety, brute forcing everything, the kid's Atlas through and through, I'm not sure if I should say thanks for proving my point or be ashamed that I clearly had a hand in that." Qrow stared at the flask in hand, unsure if he should take a long drink or dunk it over himself in shame.

"Atlas was insulted and he proved the strength of the kingdom to all doubters. I think he did a good job." Ironwood praised.

"Of course you'd think that Mr patriot." Qrow sighed again.

"Mr Arc, I expect that your performance will be improving in the future and you'll reach that level one day. But as your teacher, I must insist that you never go out of your way to crush your opponent's like that, especially in spars or a tournament. Basic respect is to be afforded to your opponents no matter how much you may dislike them." Goodwitch glared at Jaune, getting him to gulp and nod frantically.

"O-of course professor, I'd never do anything like that!"

**Jaune exhaled lightly, double checking his satchels. Baton hung at his side and the rifle was slung over his shoulder. The finals would be beginning in a few moments and this was his last chance to prepare to face Pyrrha on the field.**

**He'd mostly given up trying to figure out Pyrrha's semblance at this point, there just wasn't enough info to draw a conclusion, he'd just have to figure it out on the field. Ideally, he'd be able to go for the one hit kill, super speed into super strength and tossing her out of the ring before she could react. Something told him it wouldn't be that easy though.**

**In the worse case scenario, he still had his bombs on person. If she had done her research on him, she'd probably guess that he had explosives on him but given how he hadn't used any throughout the tournament, he banked on the idea that she wouldn't be expecting just how much he was carrying.**

**Most people, soldiers even, didn't have twenty kilos of high explosives strapped to themselves just on the off chance they'd be needed.**

"Twenty kilos!?" Ironwood coughed and sputtered.

"That's more than enough firepower to turn a paladin into scrap metal! And he has it strapped to himself!?"

"And he's going to use it against me?" Pyrrha was nervous now, she'd faced all kinds of weapons in her life but heavy explosives? That one was new.

"Oh boy, looks like P-money is about to meet her match." Yang crowed happily.

"**Hello again!" Pyrrha gave Jaune a small wave as they met in the centre of the field. They didn't interact much when they met earlier in the competitors' box but he seemed nice, knew who she was but didn't put her on a pedestal like everyone else.**

**Here was a genius from Atlas who was proving to be just as undefeatable as her. All of his matches had been quick stomps, those that didn't end in forfeits anyway. She was a little disappointed she hadn't had the time to research on the newcomer but from what she'd seen, Jaune was a close combat monster with insane strength and speed with a baton to mix things up should it be required. He also had a rifle but hadn't used it yet. Maybe they could be friends after this match, she would still try her best to win of course.**

"**Hello to you too, I hope you don't mind, but I'll be winning this match. I have to show off Atlas academy after all." Jaune smiled and gave her a nod.**

"**Oh. Those are fighting words. Atlas academy huh… we'll see, we'll see." Pyrrha grinned and readied Miló and Akoúo̱, Jaune mirrored her and slid his baton into hand.**

**As the bell sounded, Pyrrha raised her shield to block, her arm shuddered from the sudden impact as Jaune's baton crashed into Akoúo̱ with the force of a freight train. Hammer blows continued falling, trying to break through her defences with brute force alone.**

**She took a deep breath before halting her defence, letting the blow go through instead of fighting it and using the momentum to backflip away, putting distance between them. Miló switched into rifle mode and started peppering Jaune with bullets. **

**Jaune for his part didn't bother trying to tank the hits, using his boosted speed, he circled around before driving forwards again, trying to get a good grip on Pyrrha that he could use to toss her out of the ring.**

**He didn't find the opportunity, Pyrrha was simply to agile for him to get a good grip, the one time he thought he succeeded in knocking her into the air where he could push her out, she simply used the recoil from Miló to clear his reach.**

**Instead of frustration, he felt only exhilaration. It had been so long since he had an actual fight that got his blood pumping, sparring with Qrow didn't count anymore since bad luck would usually put an end to their fights before things could really get going. Winter was too busy to find the time to spar with him and Penny just cheated by staying in the air and blasting him with lasers.**

**Bloodthirsty grin in place, Jaune closed the distance and swung his baton, aiming for Pyrrha's head. A Xiphos stopped his weapon short and when he tried drawing his rifle to shoot her and point-blank range, a shield came up to lock the rifle in place.**

"**You are strong." Jaune gave his honest opinion as they struggled to gain ground against one another.**

"**I could say the same about you, but this is my win." Pyrrha returned the compliment and activated her semblance, using it on Jaune's baton.**

**Jaune bit his tongue in shock when he felt a sudden force rip his weapon free and send it flying towards his face. He just barely dodged it but that left him open to Pyrrha's sword since there was now nothing holding it back.**

**The red blade slashed across his chest, tearing open his coat and sending him stumbling back, several C-4 blocks fell out when they were cut out of their harness. Pyrrha spared the white blocks a glance before facing Jaune again.**

"**Armour padding? You're really going all out aren't you? But it won't be enough to beat me."**

"**Heh. It stopped your blow from going through didn't it? This is my favourite coat though, ahhh… getting a new one is going to be expensive." Jaune complained, smirking internally when Pyrrha failed to recognise the bombs for what they were.**

**Pyrrha rolled her eyes and laughed good naturedly. "I'm sorry. I'll buy you a new coat after this match in exchange? I know a few good tailors in Mistral, they'll be able to make a better quality one too."**

"**I'm good on the money, but I think I'll take you up on the offer to see those tailors. Atlas is great with technology but uh… fashion isn't exactly its strong suit if you catch my drift." Jaune gripped his rifle with both hands and used it as a club to try and hit Pyrrha, flipping it around and shooting at her once she backed off.**

"Cereal girl is really turning on the charm huh?" Yang commented and shot Pyrrha a glance.

"That's just because it's Jaune." Pyrrha shrugged and started hugging her partner again.

"**Very well then, I'm still winning this though." Pyrrha laughed and resumed her attack, noting that more of Jaune's armour padding was falling away, his aura defences were still high but with less padding she'd be able to do more damage once he was open.**

**Jaune just continued grinning, even when he felt his rifle suddenly twist to the side and force him to drop it or break a finger. "Sheesh, what an absurd semblance. Magnetism huh, what a crazy advantage, and now I'm down to my fists."**

"**You figured it our huh? I don't go around advertising it and I prefer to rely on my skills over my semblance but yes, it is nice to have an ace up my sleeve. It helps that most of my opponents use metal weapons." Pyrrha admitted.**

"**But the match is pretty much over. You no longer have any weapons and your armour is falling apart. I don't suppose you would consider surrendering?"**

"**Not a chance, I'm representing Atlas here, how can I just give up?" Jaune laughed and attacked with his fist and legs instead. Hand to hand combat wasn't his strong suit and it showed, he made up for it with his semblance but even super strength and speed had their limits. **

**Pyrrha chipped away at him and more of his C-4 littered the area around them. Finally Pyrrha managed to hook Miló around his left leg and dragged him down in one move. Jaune's back hit the ground with a thud and when he tried to rise, he found a javelin at his throat.**

"**I win. You have nothing left to fight with."**

"**Hhahahahah! Is that what you think, you didn't do your research on me did you?" Jaune asked, getting Pyrrha to pause. **

"**Um… no. I didn't think to do so and there wasn't time earlier. From how I've seen you fight, you're a close combat expert, but your baton and rifle are both gone and you can't use your strength to toss me out of the ring from where you're lying."**

"**Not looking me up was your biggest mistake. Close combat is my weakest discipline since most of the time my enemies don't even get close enough to me for a fight." Jaune laughed as Pyrrha's weapon trembled in her grip.**

"**Your… weakest? But. But…"**

"**I just didn't have a reason to use my other skills against my other opponents, and against you, I didn't want to tip my hand early. You see Pyrrha, I'm a demolitions expert. That armour padding I've been shedding?" Jaune grabbed the outstretched Miló with his hands, channelling his semblance through it and into Pyrrha, boosting her defence just enough to survive his coup de grace.**

**Pyrrha's eyes widened but before she could let go of Miló and leap away, Jaune struck first. "Art! Is an EXPLOSION!"**

**All twenty kilos of C-4 detonated at the same time, the two of them caught right in the centre of the blast radius.**

**The shockwave and the deafening blast got the crowd to start screaming in panic before they fell silent when no further explosions happened. They waited with bated breath for the smoke to clear, unable to tell what became of the combatants behind the thick smokescreen.**

**As the smoke started to dissipate in the wind, two glowing figures could be seen at ground zero. One was standing, the other was on the ground.**

**When the figures were more clearly visible, Jaune was the one on his feet while Pyrrha was face down in the dirt. The aura readout came back online after having been disrupted by the explosion. Jaune Arc of Atlas, 34% status yellow. Pyrrha Nikos of Sanctum, 9% status red.**

"**H-how?" Pyrrha coughed out as she came too, her body too sore to move. **

"**I couldn't figure out a plan to beat you. I knew you had some method to mess with my weapons so I needed some other way to overcome you. That's where my C-4 bombs came in, unlike regular bombs, they just look like clay blocks, you can't tell they're explosives unless someone else tells you or you have a lab on standby. Lucky break too, they're plastic explosives so your semblance wouldn't have been able to detect them, if I had used any of my other bombs, you might have noticed early and gotten away."**

"**S-so you blew us both up!?" Pyrrha asked, trying to comprehend such a suicidal strategy.**

"**Indeed, hahahahah! I knew just how much damage those bombs would do so I boosted both of our defences with my semblance, naturally I gave myself the bigger boost. And when two people take the same attack at the same range, isn't it obvious that the one with the better defence wins? I couldn't beat you, so I made us both lose, I just happened to come out better than you did."**

"**How absurd! You're despicable." Pyrrha closed her eyes and rested on the ground.**

"**Yup! I hope you haven't changed your mind about showing me to those tailors though, because I really need new clothes now." Jaune waved at his battered outfit, not all of his C-4 had fallen out, some still remained on him when they detonated, his pristine Atlas uniform looked more like rags that had been dragged through a warzone. **

"**Haaah… I'll show you to them, but you're buying me new clothes as well mister, I think that's only fair." Pyrrha agreed with a smile, allowing herself to drift off to unconsciousness as the announcer called the match. Losing wasn't so bad, at least she made a new friend out of it, and maybe perhaps something more one day.**

"That's… one way to end things with a bang." Yang said after she found her voice again.

"That explains the suicide bomber headline, what the hell are they feeding these kids nowadays. Who blows themselves up just to win a tournament!?" Roman was just as shocked as the rest.

"Someone who's either very, very brave or very, very foolish. And I'm not sure which." Winter commented.

"He had it planned out from the start, even knew just how much to boost their defence to survive and leave him as the victor. Does he get blown up a lot?" Ozpin asked Blank.

"Not as often as you think, but when you've worked with explosives for years, accidents are bound to happen. Eventually he got to a point where he could tell how much damage his aura would take from an explosion of a certain magnitude, the rest of it is just using the explosion to scale his defences, simple math for him."

"Invincible girl no longer invincible huh?" Yang playfully poked at Pyrrha who was lost in thought.

"It is a good lesson for me. Not every weapon uses metal in them, I know that but I still failed to anticipate it. it's something I'll have to watch out for in the future."

"Don't worry Pyr, we'll continue working at it and improving." Jaune gave her a thumbs up.

"Of course Jaune. But once you get your semblance down, no exploding yourself to win okay?"

"Of course Pyr."

**Jaune is forbidden from holding cult meetings in the Schnee manor. (Ironwood note: Why? Just why!?)**

"**Seriously lieutenant? A cult? You're a cult leader now?" Ironwood's soul was exhausted as Jaune stood in front of him.**

"**Calling it a cult is a bit rude sir, I've done the paperwork. The church of the bomb is now an official religion in Atlas. We don't have an actual church building yet so we're holding congregations in the Schnee manor. If Jacqueass is complaining again, Whitley Schnee did give us permission to meet there. I've already finished raising funds with Qrow in Vale, we just need the building permit to clear and we can start construction on the church." Jaune explained and Ironwood just stared at him incredulously.**

"**Every time I think you're getting close to normalcy, you go and prove me wrong."**

"**Normalcy is overrated sir. Our church is still small but its growing and eventually we'll lead all down the path of enlightenment. Speaking of which, would you like to join us general?" Jaune passed a pamphlet to Ironwood, detailing the new religion that just sprang up in Atlas. Ironwood stared at the pamphlet, to Jaune, to the pamphlet and back to Jaune. Head crashing against the table, small sobs could be heard coming from the man.**

"A church? There has to be a limit to how much someone can love explosions." Ren whispered.

"Nonsense Renny, there is no such thing as loving explosions too much!" Nora denied and shoved a finger in his face.

**Jaune smiled happily as his flock was gathering in the Schnee manor's living room. Familiar faces all around and some new ones too. Whitley and Penny were seated together on a couch, copies of Jaune's explosives manual in hand. Weiss was in a corner sulking at having to 'babysit' her brother's group of 'friends' because Winter wasn't around. Yang was lying on the carpet while Ruby sat on a chair kicking her legs excitedly, Qrow having finally given her permission to join in as long as she didn't work on any projects with Jaune without supervision. The drunk huntsmen on the other hand was busy enjoying the fruits of his raid on the Schnee wine cellar after Whitley had given him permission to do so.**

**The door swung open and Pyrrha entered, Nora, Ren and Blake following behind. Pyrrha took up a seat near the front with her manual in hand like a diligent student, Nora was bouncing excitedly all over the place and Ren joined Qrow at the bar, poured himself a drink and threw it back instantly. Blake just found a seat in the corner to observe the proceedings.**

"Hey! It's us! We're all there!" Nora cheered while Ren just stared blankly at his counterpart.

"Why am I a drunk in this world?"

"Ah. Well, you see… things happened when that Jaune met the both of you on a mission. Given their shared love of explosives and all that. As it turns out, explosive nuts do not stack additively, their effects are multiplied." Blank answered.

Ren opened his mouth to speak before deciding otherwise. Blank was nice enough to allow him to summon a bottle of vodka and he immediately began following his on-screen example, trying to wash away the horrifying images plaguing his mind.

"I'm here too? I don't think I've left them yet at this point." Blake said and swallowed hard, a member of the white fang inside the Schnee manor in the presence of several Schnees? That was a recipe for disaster.

"You're here as an observer and ambassador of sorts. With all the measures Jaune pushed through in the SDC among other charity work, he's something of a hero to faunus kind."

"**Today marks the beginning of the church of the bomb! So welcome friends… and Weiss" Jaune greeted.**

"**Hey!" Came the response from the Schnee, so predictable.**

"**I figured I'd start this with a bit of a lesson on practicality since most of us here are hunters or training to be one. Out in the field, your equipment is the one thing you can rely on aside from your body. But most people don't know how to make the most use of what they have. Do you know what this is?" Jaune raised a small square of C-4 to show the audience and Pyrrha raised her hand.**

"**Yes?"**

"**It's C-4, a plastic explosive that can be used as a standard explosive, a breaching charge or a cutting edge depending on how it's applied." She answered.**

"**Excellent answer. But did you all know it can also be used as fuel for cooking?" Jaune asked and received a wave of murmurs.**

"**Yup. C-4 despite being an explosive is incredibly stable, it won't explode unless a powerful enough shockwave hits it, usually in the form of the detonation crystal linked to it. You can shoot it, set it on fire and it won't explode. And it serves as a pretty good fuel source when you're out of options in the field." Jaune smiled and retrieved a wok and some fresh ingredients from a box behind him.**

"**So, I figured I'd kick off our first service with a lesson on how to cook dinner with high explosives! Anyone wants to give it a shot?" His smile grew larger when a sea of eager hands shot into the air, Nora being the most excited of them all.**

"He's not wrong about that. But… But…" Ironwood was speechless again. Yes, C-4 could serve that purpose, but why would you ever do that?

"It's easier not to question these things sometimes James." Ozpin sighed and sipped his coffee. Over his many lives, he'd seen plenty of eccentric individuals that made Jaune look normal. Hell, more than a few of his lives had actually been among that number.

"Cooking with explosives… hmm" Nora trailed off and Jaune started panicking again, Ren would have too but he was currently blackout drunk from downing the entire bottle.

"Nora no! If you do that… uh… uh… it'll ruin your pancakes! Yeah, the explosives mean lousy pancakes, you don't want that do you?" Jaune pleaded.

"Bad pancakes? Ewwww… Okay, no cooking with bombs then. But I wonder what else I could do…" Nora drifted off in thought again and Jaune prayed Beacon would survive whatever diabolical plans she was concocting now.

**Jaune is forbidden from using his semblance on Qrow.**

**Ironwood stared at the banes of his existence before him with bloodshot eyes. A half empty bottle of whiskey sat on the table next to him. "Tell me. Why did you feel it was necessary to destroy Haven?"**

"**We didn't destroy it, half of it still standing." Qrow defended as his hands fidgeted, reaching for his missing flask. After the events of the last forty-eight hours, Ironwood wasn't the only one who needed to get smashed badly.**

"They destroyed Haven? WHY!?" Ironwood was on the verge of tearing his hair out now.

"Eh, they must have found out Leo was a traitor." Qrow smiled bitterly and drank from his flask, not wanting to be reminded that one of their closest allies had sold them out to Salem.

"Lionheart is a traitor!?"

"Oh yeah. You weren't around for that viewing, he's been selling us out for a long time now. Vale get's destroyed by Salem's minions and it's partially his fault. If it wasn't for him, her agents would never have made it into Beacon for the Vytal festival at all." Qrow spat out.

"I see. Then I have a bullet with his name on it."

"You'll have to get in line Jimmy, more than a few of us here have a bone to pick with him."

"**Situation got out of hand general, there was nothing we could do." Jaune shrugged and scratched at the bandages masking his eye.**

"**Yeah I think we can all agree that the situation got out of hand lieutenant. I sent the both of you over to get the exchange program up and running, how in all the hells did that lead to this?"**

"**The white fang happened sir, a splinter group anyway. They were led by Adam Taurus and a scorpion faunus we have no records of." Jaune winced as the cut across his right eye burned, Adam had come damned close to cutting the eye out completely, sheer dumb luck had saved him from needing a bionic eye. It would probably scar but better that than losing the eye entirely.**

"Damn you Adam, what have you done!?" Blake hissed in anger at hearing the name of her old mentor pop up.

"Scorpion faunus? Must be Tyrian Callows then." Qrow narrowed his eyes at the screen.

"**Scorpion guy was after something inside Haven, we couldn't figure out what, Taurus though? Sonofabitch came after me." Jaune grit his teeth at the memory.**

"**So, you know how I've been pushing for the SDC to treat their faunus workers better? Yeah, bastard didn't like that, it's been undercutting support for his militant actions. He figured he could just kill me and put the blame on human supremacists or something, make me some kind of martyr for the cause and get even more faunus to take up arms." Jaune's seething hatred was palpable.**

"**Freedom fighter my ass, he just wants to watch the world burn. Hahhaehahehah! Well he'll get to watch everything he ever held dear burn to ashes from hell after I sent him there."**

"**You killed Taurus?" Ironwood asked in surprise.**

"**Oh yeah, got im just before he could get me. Some kind of poison on his blade, stopped my regeneration and Qrow got me out of there before the scorpion or one of the other terrorists could finish the job. Managed to seal us in a panic room, and desperate times call for desperate measures."**

"**Major Branwen?" Ironwood looked over to Qrow for confirmation.**

"**Yeah, shit was fucked to all hell when I got us to the panic room. White fang everywhere and reinforcements wouldn't have made it in time. Those bastards timed it such that most of the students were out on their missions along with the faculty. The few that remained were drawn away by a diversionary attack on the city, I don't know how they did it but they must have had inside help." Qrow backed up Jaune's account.**

"Damn! They don't know about Leo after all. Fuck!" Qrow swore and placed his lien inside the swear jar, the anger in him building but lacking an outlet.

"They seemed to have stopped whatever plan they had in play though, take your victories where you can find them." Ironwood growled out, not liking the fact that a traitor was evidently going to get away scot free.

**Jaune and Qrow were walking the halls of Haven, their meeting with Lionheart had gone swimmingly… too well in fact. After working together for so long, this was the first time things had ever gone this smoothly and neither liked it. **

"**Have you noticed how empty the school is?" Jaune commented as they'd been walking for the last fifteen minutes but had yet to pass anyone except a solitary janitor.**

"**Most of the students are out on missions and the professors are tagging along. It's just a skeleton crew that's left, the school is pretty much shut down for the next two weeks until all the missions are complete. Haven is still open only to accommodate those who haven't left yet and those who return early." Qrow responded.**

"**I heard a few of the first years complaining about being sent near Vacuo, evidently the sand gets everywhere and messes with their mechashift weapons." Jaune chuckled but his eyes held no mirth as he scanned his surroundings.**

"**Just checking, you're all kitted up right?" Qrow asked, on equally high alert.**

"**I brought extra today. Standard twenty kilos of C-4, ten grenades, forty metres of det cord, fire and lightning dust crystals, six lotus AT mines Ruby helped me build and a handful of the new black sand micro bombs. I have some flashbangs leftover too." Jaune listed off his weapons as Qrow double checked his own loadout. **

"**Good. Things are about to go red hot soon." Qrow muttered as they continued their patrol.**

"…They're certainly preparing for war. That's enough explosives to outfit a small army." Ironwood said.

"Eh, when you stick around Qrow long enough, you learn that there's no such thing as being over prepared, because anything that can go wrong will go wrong." Summer replied as she stared at her still comatose husband currently chained to a chair.

It was a holdover from their old days back in STRQ when a mission had them arresting a small army of mercenaries without the proper equipment to hold them. After that, Qrow started carrying all sorts of esoteric supplies just on the off chance they'd be needed. And that wasn't even counting all the hidden stashes he had around Remnant, when bad luck consistently follows you around, you get used to overcompensating for it fast.

**Their scrolls beeped as an emergency message came through. "White fang attacking the city? Qrow?"**

"**No, too far away, the trouble always comes to us. It's a diversion, the school itself must be the target." Qrow insisted.**

"They're risking a lot on just a gut feeling. What if they're wrong? What if the attack on the city is the actual threat?" Blake asked.

"It's not just a gut feeling, after you've been in the field for a while, you develop a bit of a sixth sense for things like these. Trust me, I know." Qrow disagreed.

"**Any plans to share Jaune?"**

"**Nothing, until we know what kind of attack is coming, planning is going to be a bitch. Is there anything valuable in this school that might warrant an attack?" Jaune asked as his mind went into overdrive.**

"**Not that I know of, I'm only familiar with Atlas and Beacon, Haven isn't a place I visit very often… there is a vault in the school though, someone could be after the valuables in it." Qrow said.**

"**What kind of valuables would an academy even hold? Relics of the past?"**

"**Heh, you'd be surprised. The vault should be secure though, only one person has the key and that person should be far away from here. Otherwise, the vault is impenetrable." Qrow snickered lightly.**

"**Nothing is impenetrable. Whatever it is they're here for, it's safe to assume they must have a way to get it… assuming they don't simply plan on destroying the school as some kind of statement." Jaune argued back.**

**The next two hours passed without incident, the school becoming even more empty as the remaining staff members and students rushed off to help in the city. Even headmaster Lionheart left the school, he seemed oddly displeased by Jaune and Qrow remaining behind and Jaune could only shrug helplessly. Choosing to remain behind while a terrorist attack was happening elsewhere on the vague idea that they would be needed on campus for some unexplained threat reeked of cowardice, but there was just no way to explain it to the man in a way that he would understand.**

**And at the three hour mark, it happened.**

"**Qrow! I just lost connection to Haven's security system. Everything's down!" Jaune yelled into his mike and cursed when static was the only reply. They'd split up to cover more ground but now that was proving to be a bad idea.**

"**Damnit! How the hell are they jamming this frequency!? This was provided by Lionheart himself!" Jaune swore and started running for the centre of the academy, if Qrow had noticed they were under attack, that's where they were to meet.**

**As he sprinted along the silent hallways, he caught movement out of the corner of his eyes. Jerking back, a high calibre sniper round shattered a statue next to him, the round passing through where his head would have been.**

**A bat faunus leapt down from the wall he was perched on, join by several more of his compatriots, all of them wore Grimm masks.**

"**White fang here eh? Bold of you to attack a huntsmen academy, just how did you think this was going to go?" Jaune's bloodthirsty smile greeted them as his hands slipped into his pockets.**

"**Human scum. Today, the world will know the true power of the white fang!" The bat snarled and lifted his sniper rifle, aiming it at Jaune's head.**

"**Oh sure, I wonder how long your little group will continue to survive when the rest of faunus kind hears about how you're attacking the **_**one**_** academy led by a faunus. I can tell you Mistral will be out for blood when you're trying to hand the kingdom over to the Grimm, just where will you hide after this?"**

"**That filthy traitor sold out his kind to humanity! Lionheart can burn with his precious school, and this kingdom? Hah! Fit for nothing more than Grimm food, every faunus that remains here are nothing more than blood traitors, they love the human kingdoms so much they can all die together!" The bat faunus spat on the ground as his hate filled words tainted the air.**

"**I… see. And you're all in agreement?" Jaune said in a flat tone, nodding when the other white fang members advanced on him together, the only answer he needed.**

"**I'll give you one chance to surrender, I'll hand you off to the authorities where you'll get a fair trial. Now just… oops! Time's up! Would you kindly die?" While they were distracted by his offer of surrender, Jaune had already reached into his pockets and retrieved a grenade, all primed for detonation on impact.**

**Tossing it straight at the bat, the white fang member was too slow to dodge and took the grenade straight to the chest, it exploded in a blast of white and the flying shrapnel reduced the white fang squad to a red mist and assorted body parts.**

"**Burn in hell." Jaune's eyes were cold as he stared at the smoking pile of meat before running off.**

"Wh-what!? H-he just killed them all like that!?" Jaune stammered, unable to comprehend the actions of his other self.

"They're terrorists trying to bring down a kingdom and you heard them, they don't even care about their fellow faunus anymore, do you really think you should be showing mercy to someone like that?" Ironwood said.

"B-but!"

"Haven't made your first kill huh? You'll do so one day, and then you'll get better at ignoring it. Some people just need to die." Qrow shrugged and Summer slapped him on the back of his head.

"That wasn't necessary Qrow."

"Just curious, when did this version of Mr Arc make his first kill?" Ozpin asked.

"Second year of Atlas, while shadowing Qrow on a mission, they came across a group of bandits pillaging a small town on the outskirts. They managed to crush the auraless bandits but not before several civilians were killed… including children, he wasn't feeling very merciful after that. When the bandits tried to run, he set of a bomb on a hillside, burying them all alive. The reality of his actions didn't kick in until later and Qrow helped him through it, along the way he picked up Qrow's ideology, some people are nothing more than Grimm in the shape of humans and they should be treated as the Grimm they are." Blank answered.

Blake's ears were flat and her head was bowed again, seeing the white fang being monsters just left her feeling ashamed.

"Relax Blake, it's not you doing these things, even in that universe you're clearly not one of them. You were with the rest of us in my house of all things remember?" Weiss comforted.

"Thanks Weiss."

**Qrow was having a bad time. The white fang were attacking in force and there was no one else to back them up, communications were down and he didn't think the distress signal made it through. Even the secure channels Lionheart had given them were offline, what really put the cherry on top was this insane faunus attacking him.**

"**You, I know you. You're Corvus! Hehehehe, aren't you a long way from Atlas?" Tyrian laughed maniacally as he pushed against harbinger with the queens servants, his wrist blades poised to strike at Qrow's neck as soon as he slipped up.**

"**Who the hell are you? The rest of these idiots are white fang, but you, you're something else." Qrow grunted and pushed Tyrian back before his semblance activated and cracked a portion of the roof they were fighting on, destabilising the scorpion faunus. He growled when Tyrian simply somersaulted away, giggling madly all the while.**

"**Oh wouldn't you like to know?" Firing away with the built in machine guns, Tyrian forced Qrow to back away and block his shots with harbinger in great sword form.**

**Qrow waited for a lull in the shooting where Tyrian had to reload, he charged then only to swear when the madman started firing again, having faked the lack of ammunition. "Gonna have to do better than that little birdie, hehehehe!"**

"**Damnit, I don't know who the hell you are but whatever it is you're here for, you ain't getting it!" Qrow shouted and swapped to shotgun mode, blasting away at the scorpion with buckshot.**

**Tyrian continued dancing around the place, evading the incoming pellets with ease. "Aww… but that's so disappointing! I found a treasure map see, it lead us here and X marks the spot! We're gonna dig and dig and dig until we find our buried treasure."**

**Qrow frowned as his fears were confirmed, the white fang and whoever this madman was, they knew about the vault and they were here to gain entry to it. "Over my dead body."**

"**Keheheh! That's the idea Corvus." Tyrian's manic grin never faltered once as he attacked again, this time throwing in his stinger to mix things up. Salem's agent danced around Qrow's strikes, ducking under them and sidestepping each one by a hair's breadth, occasionally counter attacking with his own weapons.**

'**Fuck me this is going to be difficult, hope you're having better luck than I am Jaune.' Qrow thought as Tyrian's tail deflected his shotgun blast and wrapped around his hand, a quick wrench and he was short one harbinger, leaving him with only his fists.**

"Wrist blades with built in submachine guns, incredible agility and speed, stinger tail that's far more durable than normal faunus traits." Qrow was busy writing down his observations. Any info on Salem's agents was info that could save their lives one day.

"So that's one of Salem's soldiers? He looks a little…" Jaune trailed off.

"Cuckoo?" Ruby finished for him.

"Yeah." Jaune agreed.

"His insanity aside, that isn't an opponent you can take lightly. I can't tell if he's actually crazy or simply putting on an act to get his opponent to drop their guard." Qrow commented while still taking notes.

"Probably a mix of both. If he's working for Salem, then he's definitely not all there, but his skill is undeniable." Goodwitch added on.

**Jaune's luck was worsening with every second. He still couldn't raise Qrow on the comms or activate Haven's security measures. And someone among the white fang had recognised him at last and they were all gunning for his head.**

"**Did I piss in their breakfast cereal or something? I thought we were making peace with the fang! If Khan betrayed us… no, she was genuine, she had the Schnees dead to rights multiple times now. Power struggle, splinter faction?" Jaune mused as he ducked under a chainsaw wielding terrorist and dropped a live grenade into his pocket as he dodged away.**

**Red mist painted the area when the terrorist failed to get it out in time, the blast going straight through his aura and removing the top half of his body. Jaune sighed as it was getting harder to tell that his coat was ever white to begin with.**

**Blast craters marked the trail of destruction he wrought and he was now in the parade square surrounded by white fang members, most of them dead but several were still standing. Fanatical was the only word he could use to describe them, even with the deaths of their comrades and their own imminent demise, they continued to throw themselves at him, willing to climb over the corpses of their friends just to spit at him.**

**Jaune repeated the grenade trick with another grunt, this time kicking him back into a row of white fang members, disposing of all of them at the same time. If they wanted to die so badly, he had no problems indulging them.**

**His luck absolutely tanked when a flash of red caught his eye, searing pain shot across his chest and he was sent flying. "You survived? No matter, that's a mistake that'll be rectified shortly."**

"**Gah! Who the- Taurus. So you finally decided to show your ugly mug eh? Or still too ashamed of your face that you have to hide behind that mask." Jaune spat out a glob of blood and stared at his chest, a red line had been cut across his coat and he was bleeding through it, nothing fatal but it was annoying, a quick application of his semblance and the wound faded away.**

**He glared angrily at the bull faunus approaching and swore internally. He recognised the white fang member from Atlas files on the organisation and Taurus was a bad matchup for him, his sword skills were good enough that he'd be able to cut down his explosives before they could get close enough to kill. And that wasn't even taking his own semblance into account, the ability to absorb damage and return it via his weapon.**

Blake hissed angrily at the sight of her mentor appearing in the flesh. It seemed that the white fang of that world was finally ready to make peace with the rest of humanity and Adam had to go off and jeopardise everything.

"**You have a lot of guts attacking Haven like this. Do you think the kingdoms will let this go? Do you think Sienna Khan will?" Jaune accused, hands inching towards his anti-tank mines without making it obvious.**

"**The human kingdoms won't matter soon, Remnant belongs to the faunus and you insects are not welcome in it. As for Khan? Once I looked up to her, but now I see that she's nothing more than a fool, willing to capitulate just because some human is doling out treats. The world is about to change, pity you won't be around to see it." Adam waved his men off, they had their own mission to complete, the vault wouldn't uncover itself and he was more than enough to deal with this human.**

"**What the hell is your problem with me anyways!? I've done nothing to you people!" Jaune snarled and used the distraction to arm the lotus' anti-personnel mode.**

"**My problem? My problem is that you are an insufferable gnat. I know who you are Jaune Arc, you're the idiot child who somehow became one of the larger shareholders in the SDC overnight. You think that just because you're pushing through reforms in the SDC it'll be enough to make up for all the suffering humanity has inflicted on faunus kind!? You should have left well enough alone."**

"**The fuck!? Are you saying I shouldn't have done that!? What the fuck is wrong with you!? I'm trying to improve the lives of faunus here!" Jaune was taken aback by Adam's declaration, he was half convinced the man hated him for not doing enough, but for the truth to be the opposite? He could not have called that.**

"**It's too late for that, nothing you do will ever make up for what humanity has done. Your miserable race should have gone extinct a long time ago! But then, you had to go and meddle in things. Your actions with the SDC have convinced faunus to turn away from the white fang, it's even convinced Khan of all people to turn. As long as you exist, the white fang will suffer and humanity won't get its comeuppance. For that you must die."**

**Jaune was speechless for a few seconds, unable to process the words spewing forth. "Y-you. You're saying you want me to allow faunus to continue suffering in the mines just so you can harness their hatred for a war!? What about those who die then huh!? What about them!?"**

"**What about them? Victory demands sacrifice, their suffering will usher in a new golden age for faunus kind. They should be glad that such an honour has been bestowed on them." Taurus said in a matter of fact tone, getting Jaune to lose his train of thoughts again at the sheer indifference on display.**

"**FUCK YOU!" Jaune roared and hurled his prepared lotus mine at Adam, starting the fight.**

"Fanatics, men like them are a problem no matter where they appear." Ironwood shook his head in disappointment and anger.

"Maybe, but you know the white fang wouldn't be so much of a problem for you if you just treat the faunus better." Qrow shot at Ironwood.

"I have done nothing to discriminate against the faunus Branwen."

"Yeah, you just choose to ignore it when you see it, you're complicit by your own inaction. You're a freaking councillor of Atlas, you hold two seats for crying out loud, you could have done something, anything to make their lives better." Qrow's bitter smile was on full display as he put down his flask.

"Oh who am I kidding, you won't even spare the effort to help the _humans_ in Mantle when that city is rotting from within, how am I supposed to expect you to help the faunus?"

"I have to look at the big picture, you wouldn't understand." Ironwood defended.

"Sure, but the big picture is made up of smaller pictures, and it's hard to see those pictures behind a wall of bodies. Looking at the big picture is what creates men like me and monsters like them." Roman added his two cents and the general couldn't find a comeback for that.

**Adam jumped away when the lotus detonated, absorbing some of the energy with his semblance. He was caught off guard by the additional shrapnel bombs homing in on his position, detonating with surprising force when they got close. His aura bore the brunt of the damage but he emerged more or less okay.**

"**You'll need more than toys to beat me."**

"**We'll see about that." Jaune refused to let his disappointment show, the lotus AT was one of his strongest offensive options and to see Taurus no sell it like that was disheartening. As the white fang leader charged him, Jaune activated his semblance to supercharge himself and engage in hand to hand combat, he didn't have enough explosives left to just careless waste.**

"**Your defence is impressive for a human, but how long can you keep it up?" Adam slashed at Jaune with wilt, sending him stumbling back.**

"**Long enough to kill you monster." Jaune fired back and tossed a flashbang straight into Adam's face, the bright flash and deafening thunderclap getting Adam to scream in pain when his enhanced senses had no defence against the sudden assault.**

**Jaune himself was disoriented by the attack, but managed to capitalise on the opening and punched Adam in the face hard enough to send him stumbling back and shattering his mask. He stared in shock when Adam's full visage was revealed for the first time.**

"**Shit."**

"**You broke my mask. Shocking isn't it?" Adam ran his fingers over the SDC brand across his blind eye. Pure hate burned in his one good eye.**

"**This is what your precious SDC did to me as a child. Every time I look in a mirror, I'm reminded of what was done to me. There will be no forgiveness, there will be no peace except the peace of the grave. I have seen the cruelty you humans put out and I have judged you unworthy of living." **

"Damnit Jacques, what the hell have you done." Ironwood exhaled slowly, face paler than normal. The two Schnees in the audience squirmed uncomfortably at the sight of another one of the SDC's transgressions.

"**Look, you clearly have a right to hate humanity for that. But I can't allow you to condemn the innocent along with the guilty."**

"**No one's innocent! They are all guilty! Either they did **_**this**_** or they stood by and let it happen. Where is the justice in that!? Where is the justice for me!?" Adam roared as his hatred bubbled to the surface.**

"**No, there is no justice in this world. Power is the only thing that matters. The SDC had power so they could do this to me and get away with it. Well now I'm the one with the power, and they will be the ones who suffer."**

"**I can't let you do that." Jaune grimaced as he pulled more bombs from his pockets.**

"**You don't have a choice." **

**Their battle was interrupted when Qrow came crashing down from the roof when a portion of the building he was fighting on crumbled under the combined assault of his semblance and their strikes.**

"**Grah! That's gonna leave a mark." Qrow flipped away when a scorpion stinger narrowly missed jabbing him in the throat.**

"**Qrow! Where the hell have you been!? We got white fang all over the place!" Jaune shouted and helped the man to his feet.**

"**I noticed." Qrow said dryly.**

"**Who's scorpion guy? I don't recognise him."**

"**Good question, he's bloody strong that's what he is. And you're fighting Taurus, our luck is terrible as always."**

"**Tyrian, shouldn't you be dealing with the vault now?" Taurus questioned as he sheathed wilt, ready for another iaido strike.**

"**Why so serious? Hehehehe, live a little would you! Not everyday you get to face a true huntsmen like Corvus over there." Tyrian giggled madly before rushing off on the offensive again, not waiting for Adam to follow up.**

"**Aw hell, here he comes, you got a plan!?" Qrow yelled as he met Tyrian's charge with harbinger, the greatsword shuddering under the rapid fire strikes.**

"**Fresh out, I'm just winging it at this point." Jaune said before tossing a small block of C-4 at Tyrian, exploding it when Qrow cleared the blast zone. The scorpion faunus was knocked back but returned to his feet in short order.**

"**Ya know, I get the academy teaches you that no battle plan survives contact with the enemy but that really doesn't mean you should charge in without a plan!" Qrow fired back and started shooting at Taurus, getting him to block and halt his attack while Jaune forced Tyrian back with more explosives.**

"**Shut up Qrow, I wasn't expecting to fight an army of white fang today or Adam freaking Taurus okay!? Oh wait, gimme your flask!" Jaune called out and Qrow hesitated for a second before tossing the flask to Jaune.**

"**At least three quarters full, it'll have to do. Buy me some time!" Jaune retreated and retrieved the det cord from his pockets, stuffing as much of it into the flask as it could.**

"**Bloody hell! You want me to do anything else while I'm at it? Maybe pull the moon out of the sky as well!?" Qrow cursed as he suddenly found himself in a two on one fight. Tyrian was hard enough to deal with on his own but throw in Adam and his life got a whole lot harder.**

"**Done! I'll handle the scorpion, keep Taurus off my back!" Jaune called out and dashed to the side of Tyrian, attracting his attention as expected while Qrow kept Adam from pursuing him.**

"**Aren't you an interesting one? Heheheheahhahh!" Tyrian opened fire on Jaune and the explosives expert simply tanked the hits with his semblance.**

"**You're gonna need a bigger gun if you want to hurt me with bullets." Jaune taunted and Tyrian rose to the bait.**

"**No. Nonono no guns, just me heeheehee!" The scorpion rushed in and started attacking with his wrist blades instead, Jaune ducking and weaving through the blows as best he could, waiting for an opening.**

**Finally the moment he was waiting for appeared, Tyrian struck with his stinger and Jaune took the blow to the chest head on. The wind was knocked out of him but the attack failed to penetrate his defences.**

**Before Tyrian could retract his stinger, Jaune wrapped the detcord around his tail, using the flask as a counterweight to keep in a place. As the tail retracted, the bottle and det cord came with it, the scorpion faunus unaware of the danger it possessed.**

"**Oh? A present? For little old me!? AHahhahahah oh you shouldn't have."**

"**Please, I insist. Kaboom." Jaune triggered the bomb wire and the explosions shot up the line and into the bottle tied to the stinger, all that detcord packed into one place blew at the same time, and with the metal flask still filled with whiskey, all that pressure got magnified, increasing the blast yield.**

**Tyrian screamed as the blast took him, the makeshift breaching charge turning his stinger to pulp and covering him with shrapnel wounds when his aura failed.**

**In his victory, Jaune made a tactical blunder, he was too focused on Tyrian to notice Adam getting away from Qrow with an energy slash and heading straight for him.**

"**Jaune get out of there!" By the time Jaune noticed the warning, Adam was already up in his face. Pulling the trigger on blush, wilt fired out and Adam used the shot to increase his draw speed, the red blade aimed straight for Jaune's head with enough force to cut through aura defences in one swing.**

**Only a last minute application of Qrow's semblance saved Jaune from missing the top half of his head. The pavement beneath him shattered, causing him to fall back and just out of range of a fatal strike, but he didn't escape unscathed.**

"**MY EYE!" Jaune howled in pain as wilt carved a bloody line across his right eye. **

"**AAHHHAAHAHHRRRGGHGHGHHH!"**

"Oh my god." Jaune paled and clutched his right eye to make sure it was fine. Yang placed a comforting hand on his shoulder to steady him while Pyrrha simply held his hand tight.

Weiss winced and subconsciously reached for the scar across her own eye.

"Damnit Adam." Blake clutched her seat tightly, powerless to do anything about what she was watching, and it sucked.

"**FUCK! JAUNE!" Qrow roared and started furiously attacking Adam, driving him back from the downed lieutenant.**

"**I-it's not healing! M-my aura isn't healing it!" Jaune bit out as he clutched his ruined eye, trying to stem the blood loss. Something was jamming his healing abilities, his aura simply wasn't going to the wound, even with his semblance he couldn't regenerate if his aura couldn't be applied.**

"**What did you do to him you bastard!?"**

"**A special poison from our newest sponsors. It's designed specifically to kill huntsmen like you." Taurus spat out and slashed away at Qrow, trying to pull a repeat performance. Behind him, Tyrian was getting to his feet, badly wounded but still very much alive. **

"**Your death should serve to ignite the fires of revolution again, especially once the world learns you were murdered by human supremacists violently opposed to your SDC reforms, maybe I'll even blame it on your Schnee friend." Adam called down to Jaune during a momentary lull in the fighting.**

"**S-stay the hell away from Whitley!" Jaune managed to say through the mind-numbing pain. Qrow forced Adam back and fired at Tyrian to keep the enraged faunus at bay while he picked up Jaune**

"**We need to leave now. The situation is untenable."**

"**W-we can't let them win here."**

"**You're in no condition to fight and I can't hold them both off at the same time. And there's still the rest of the white fang around" Qrow said bitterly, he didn't want to retreat either but there was nothing more he could do.**

"**You're not getting away! Jaune Arc dies here dog of Atlas! The white fang will reign supreme!" Adam charged, trying to bisect the both of them with a single energy slice. It failed when Jaune shoved Qrow away, taking the hit dead on and another long red line appeared on his chest.**

**As Jaune convulsed on the ground and Tyrian kept Qrow from interfering again, Adam strode calmly over to where Jaune lay. "It's over, rejoice, your death will be the first spark in a new great war that will see faunus kind rise to their rightful place."**

"**No." Jaune's good eye snapped open just as Adam raised wilt for the final blow, fingers wrapped around a lightning dust crystal, he jammed it into Adams leg and activated it, shocking the man and sending him to the floor in a spasming heap, wilt and blush clattering to the floor harmlessly.**

"**Go to hell." Jaune whipped out a packet of black sand micro bombs and emptied the whole package into Adam's mouth before kicking the choking man away. Rolling away to put as much distance as he could between them, the explosives went off and the shockwave tossed Jaune into the air, landing in a heap again.**

**Once the world stopped spinning, he smiled grimly when all that was left of Adam was a red smear on the ground. He was roughly wrenched to his feet when Qrow hoisted him up and put him over his shoulder, making a run for it as Tyrian gave chase.**

"**God damnit it kid, can you for once in your life not come up with a combat plan that involves you being in the blast radius of your own bombs? Fuck, you have any mines left? Harbinger's broke and I don't have any weapons left." Qrow said as he beat feet, there was a panic room they could seal themselves into and wait out the storm for reinforcements to arrive.**

"**T-two left, left leg pocket." Jaune said as the vision in his good eye swam with spots, he was close to blacking out and he didn't know how much longer he could stay awake.**

**Qrow didn't respond, simply grabbing the lotus mines from where Jaune said they were and tossing them onto the ceiling, setting them to detonate as soon as they passed before bringing down the corridor on Tyrian and halting pursuit.**

**He heaved a sigh of relief when they made it to the panic room in time. Qrow heard the sound of approaching feet and carefully placed Jaune against a wall, tossing the last of Jaune's grenades at the incoming white fang members before sealing them in.**

"**H-hey Qrow, we're screwed aren't we?" Jaune said in a delirious tone as Qrow started performing first aid.**

"**Yup we're screwed but what else is new?" Qrow cracked a small joke as he bandaged up the wounds, Jaune would need to get a medic to look at it later but from what he could tell the kid would be fine. Quite a bit of blood loss but no internal bleeding or collapsed organs, the eye was worrying but there was nothing he could do about it now.**

"**We just gotta wait for reinforcements to arrive."**

"**Reinforcements? From who? Everyone's out on mission or in the city. I don't think they got the distress signal." Jaune whispered as he slumped further.**

"**They're going to win Qrow."**

"**No they're not. Lionheart will be back soon with help. We just need to wait. They won't win."**

"…**No, they won't. Lionheart won't make it here in time, we need to stop them." Jaune pulled himself back to wakefulness through a supreme act of will.**

"**There's nothing more we can do. Neither of us has the weapons to stop an entire army."**

"**No. But we have our semblances. Qrow, I'm about to do something so incredibly stupid it'll probably get us all killed. But it's our best shot at stopping the white fang here." The plan took shape and unlike his usual plans, this one was completely dependent on luck, hell the entire plan was luck.**

"They're outnumbered and outgunned, what kind of a plan could they possibly have to win?" Winter asked, she wanted them to win but she just didn't see how they could pull off a victory.

"Yeah, the only thing they have left is their semblances, but what does that… no. That's a horrible idea!" Yang muttered before paling when she realised what Jaune was planning.

"**If we survive this, feel free to kill me." Before Qrow could ask what Jaune was talking about, the explosives master had already grabbed his hand and was pumping every last scrap of aura he had in himself into Qrow.**

"**Boost."**

**Qrow's eyes widened when he felt himself lose control of his semblance completely, the thing supercharged to levels he didn't even dare to think possible and he no longer had any control of it.**

**The world trembled as a magnitude eight earthquake struck Haven, shaking the academy to pieces. All around the campus, everything that could fail, failed explosively. White fang members started keeling over when their weapons misfired, gunning one another down, others who were carrying explosives for breaching the vault found themselves on the highway to hell when they just exploded in hand. Even more just died where they stood, unlucky enough to suffer a heart attack on the spot. **

"**What have you done?" Qrow whispered softly as the rumbling continued and he could hear a never ending series of crashes and explosions going on outside the walls of the panic room.**

"**We can't win this, so I made sure they don't win either. With any luck, this will be the end of this group of terrorists. Now, I need… a… nap…" Jaune trailed off and blacked out, Qrow panicked for a bit before noticing he was still breathing.**

"**I hope you knew what you were doing kid." Qrow said and leaned back against the wall himself. With his semblance boosted as greatly as it was, anything that could fail had its probability of failure boosted to a hundred percent and even he wasn't immune. The only thing he could do was sit here and wait out the buff, doing nothing was the best way to make sure he didn't accidentally kill the both of them.**

**It was a few hours later that the boost finally wore off, coinciding with them being dug out of the rubble of the once proud Haven academy by none other than headmaster lionheart.**

"**What the hell have you done to my school!?" The lion faunus roared, a mix of despair and anger in his voice.**

"**Terrorist attack, they were after you know what. We ran out of options when there were just too many white fang members." Qrow answered, watching the medics treat the still unconscious Jaune.**

"**So you destroyed my school!?"**

"**Half of it is still standing and the white fang are beaten. The vault is safe and all traitors have been dealt with." Qrow grinned and Lionheart swallowed hard.**

"**Y-you couldn't have found a better way to deal with them? Take them in for questioning? M-maybe they could have been reasoned with." He asked neutrally, not allowing his internal panic to show.**

"**Nah, that wasn't an option. But relax Leo, they all forgave us in the end, just listen to the sound of forgiveness." Qrow swept his hand out and Lionheart listened but couldn't identify what Qrow was referring to.**

"**All I hear is screaming." Lionheart pointed to a large pile of rubble where several white fang members were still trapped under, none of the first responders had gone near it yet since they needed heavier equipment to deal with it and no one wanted to cause it to collapse.**

"**Yes, screaming… and then silence." Qrow's semblance activated and the rubble gave way, pancaking everyone trapped under it, silencing their cries. Red liquid flowed out of the cracks in the rubble.**

"**See? Forgiveness. By the way, your systems are compromised, there's a traitor around so I suggest you watch yourself eh? Wouldn't want any more accidents like this yeah?" Qrow clapped the headmaster on his shoulder and walked off to check on his student.**

"**Y-yeah, of course." The urge to faint was rising and Lionheart felt the need to be anywhere but here. Salem had no mercy and clearly neither did Ozpin. 'I hear Vacuo has nice weather all year round, I should probably go visit for an extended vacation, y-yeah that's a good idea.'**

"That's right, run away you coward. I'll catch up to you sooner or later." Qrow glared at Lionheart angrily.

"Half of Haven is destroyed just like that. Mr Arc, I must insist that you never use your semblance on Qrow unless things are truly, truly desperate. I'm not sure if Beacon can survive such destruction." Ozpin said, not wanting to entertain any further thought on how much destruction would be caused by 'bad luck'.

"O-of course headmaster." Jaune agreed instantly.

"We're going to have to make a list of semblances you're not allowed to boost at this rate Jaune." Pyrrha commented as she briefly ran through the semblances of people they knew. Boosting Yang was already a problem as demonstrated earlier and now Qrow was an even worse disaster waiting to happen.

"And you should probably hold off boosting mine to the maximum as well, I don't really feel like becoming a pincushion when every sharp metal object comes flying towards me."

Jaune shuddered at the thought and nodded furiously. "That would be bad."

"**Congratulations are in order I suppose. Despite the trouble you've given me over the years, I'd say you've earned this. Congratulations on your promotions, colonel Branwen, captain Arc." General Ironwood handed out the ranks to the newly promoted officers as they saluted him. Hard to believe it had already been a year since Jaune graduated from Atlas. **

"**The world's changed quite a bit since you both got here, but we're not done yet. There are still threats lurking in the shadows, whispers in the underworld about new players appearing." Ironwood said as he stared at the reports indicating rising Grimm attacks and strange figures seen near them.**

"**We'll be ready sir." Jaune said.**

"**We'll need you to be. This year marks the fortieth Vytal festival, if anything's going down soon it'll happen there." Ironwood nodded, pleased that they were taking this seriously. **

"**It's happening in Vale this year isn't it?" Qrow's eyes narrowed as he recalled hearing from Yang about her enrolment in Beacon and somehow Ruby had been accepted in early as well.**

"**Indeed. At this point we don't know what kind of a threat we're facing or who's responsible, but we can guess." Jaune and Qrow nodded, thinking back to the Haven assault, Jaune pegging it as a new terrorist group with unclear motives while Qrow correctly identified it as more of Salem's machinations.**

"**We won't let them win." Qrow said.**

"**I'm counting on that. Thanks to your efforts, Atlas has never been more secure. With all the funding you've gotten us and the new dust bombs, we're ready for any threat that may surface here. But Vale isn't. The Vale council remains blind to the threat and it doesn't help that we don't have any solid evidence to convince them otherwise." Ironwood grimaced at that thought, the enemy was good at hiding their existence.**

"**What are our orders sir? We can't do much for Vale if we're here in Atlas." Jaune spoke up. **

"**Correct. I have a new mission for both of you. On the surface, you'll be part of Atlas's efforts to provide security for the festival. You are advisors that I'm sending ahead, at the same time you will become staff at Beacon to watch for any infiltrators."**

"**Yes sir."**

"**Qrow, you'll be helping Glynda as assistant combat instructor, watch for anyone who shows more skill than they should have. As for you Dr Arc, you'll be teaching a new class on explosives at Beacon, likewise, watch for any suspicious behaviour. And once you're free from your teaching duties, both of you will be looking into the series of dust robberies that have been plaguing Vale. The Dust hasn't resurfaced on the black market and it can be assumed that it is going to be used for an attack of some kind. Do everything in your power to protect Vale, am I clear?"**

"**Sir yes sir!" Both Jaune and Qrow saluted.**

"**Good, dismissed. I'll have the details of your new assignment sent to your scrolls. You'll be working with Ozpin, Qrow is familiar with him but you Jaune, try not to give him as much trouble as you've given me." Ironwood said.**

"**I'll do my best sir, but no promises. Trouble seems to find us even without our effort." Jaune saluted one last time and left the room with Qrow in tow, leaving Ironwood alone in his office.**

"**They're your problem now Ozpin. I can only hope they'll be enough to weather the storm." Ironwood frowned as he stared out the window at the stormy skies beyond, no rain yet but it wasn't far off now.**

"**Godspeed gentlemen."**

The screen faded to black and the lights came back on. Whispering filled the theatre as everyone had something to discuss. Blake and Weiss were deep in conversation over the SDC's treatment of faunus and Adam. Nora and a now sober Ren were discussing possible team formations with Jaune and Pyrrha given Jaune's semblance. Yang and Ruby were tagging along, adding in their own insights wherever they felt JNPR was missing something.

Ozpin's group were comparing notes on the universe they just saw, everything from the new bomb designs by Jaune to Tyrian's fighting style. Winter was off discussing with Blank about the possibility of having the blueprints for all the new weapons delivered to Atlas for immediate mass production. Neo and Roman were the most normal of the lot, simply bouncing ideas on what to do after going straight. Roman was still interested in getting Qrow to join them on robbing every casino in Vacuo blind while Neo was trying to convince him they already had more money than they could spend.

Blank paused his negotiations with Winter to address the entire audience. "Take a break people, go refresh yourselves. The next viewing will start shortly, and will someone please untie Taiyang now?"

* * *

Author's notes: And that's that, here's another story idea that could honestly stand on its own. Same with NG+ and liquid courage if anyone is interested in doing up a fic of their own based on these concepts feel free to go ahead. I might expand them into full fics one day but my main focus is on this at the moment so it won't be happening for a long time. I left plenty of references in this chapter and if anyone manages to get them all, treat yourself to a cookie, you've earned it. This Jaune is inspired by all the various 'Qrow trains Jaune for whatever reason' fanfics floating around and Deidara from Naruto.

Side note: Whitley was fun to write and his portion served as a bit of a character study. There's also fan art shipping him and Penny, and for some reason I ship them, whether it's as friendship or an actual relationship, they seem like an interesting pair. Also, something I found, Qrow pre vol 7 is voiced by Vic and Oscar is voiced by Aaron, for the uninitiated, this makes Qrow and Oscar the Elric brothers with heights reversed.


	10. Chapter 10: Necessary sacrifice

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 10: Necessary sacrifice**

**Inspiration: Halo Reach**

"Welcome back from your rest, since Jaune is back in focus, I'm going to have him step out for a bit." Blank greeted his audience.

"Does he have to?" Yang whined.

"Rules are rules in this place and even I'm subject to some of them. Relax, nothing bad is going to happen to him, I'll just put him elsewhere where he can catch up on the exploits of his other selves, blueprints, manuals, notes, they're there for him to use." Blank answered.

"Huh, so do I get to learn how to build all those bombs?" Jaune asked excitedly.

"Indeed, among others. There's a firing range for you to test out the equipment you desire in there, but you don't get to bring anything back except the blueprints of course, you'll have to build them on your own in your own world. I can't just be supplying WMDs without cost after all."

"Awesome. But uh, when do I get back?" Jaune tempered his excitement for a brief moment and waited for a reply.

"Probably a few viewings from now. We'll see when we get there. Say your goodbyes now, next viewing is almost ready to start." Blank flickered out of existence as Jaune gave his friends a farewell hug.

Pyrrha opted to give him a kiss on the cheek while Yang went for a full blown one that left him a stuttering mess again. Jaune snapped out of his dazed state when a freed Taiyang lunged straight at him, he was mid scream when he vanished in a burst of light, allowing the enraged father to crash into the seats harmlessly.

"Where is he!? I'll kill him!" Taiyang roared and Qrow promptly clunked him on the head with a bottle again.

"That's enough of that, boy's already gone, now sit down or so help me I will chain you to your seat again." Qrow growled as he dragged his disoriented brother in law back to his seat.

Ruby pulled her hood up and hid herself in it while Yang simply facepalmed, neither wanting to acknowledge their father's embarrassing antics.

"Nora, calm down. I'm sure Jaune will share once he gets back." Ren said when Nora started vibrating in frustration.

"But it's not fair! Why does Jaune-Jaune get to see the bombs first! I'm the explosives expert on the team!" Nora pouted and folded her arms angrily.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Jaune will share everything, then you can help him improve afterwards." Pyrrha offered and the bomber nodded reluctantly.

"He'd better, or I won't share any pancakes with him ever again." Nora declared, getting her teammates to laugh, since when did Nora share her pancakes anyway?

Blank popped back into existence again once Jaune was safely settled in his new accommodations. "Alright, I'm back, this viewing covers a universe where the Grimm doesn't exist."

"A world without Grimm eh? So humanity is free from the threat of extinction then?" Ironwood asked.

"Unfortunately no. Similar to the first universe you saw, humanity expanded to the stars and found that they were not alone in a very hostile galaxy."

"How hostile are we talking about?" Qrow frowned at the idea that humanity would still be under threat from outsiders despite reaching the stars. At least with the earlier universe, it was more of a human vs human issue.

"Shortly after first contact, humanity received this message, 'your destruction is the will of the gods, and we are their instrument'. For thirty years, the conflict was essentially you vs the Grimm on a galactic scale, with humanity hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned against an opponent hell bent on xenocide." Blank replied.

"Shit. Does humanity survive or are they all doomed?" Torchwick shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Eventually humanity does triumph but the cost was unbearably high. Sometimes, a few good men in the right place at the right time can make all the difference, even if it costs them everything." Blank said and the lights dimmed, the screen coming shortly after.

**The winds howled as a dust storm blanketed the area. Several armoured figures were taking shelter in a cave, watching the enemy formations assemble in the distance. "That spire was indeed a teleporter linked to a Covenant capital ship, a cloaked super carrier. Reinforcements are on the way, 60% of the UNSC fleet is en route to Reach from existing deployments. The first battlegroup should arrive within 48 hours."**

"**48 hours? We don't have 48 hours." Fox grumbled as he removed his helmet, plopping himself down on the ground.**

"**Half the planet will be overrun or glass by the time they get here. How the bloody hell did the Covenant sneak that thing past our defences anyway?"**

"**No clue, we're going to have to find a way to deal with it though." Coco shrugged and rested her chaingun against the wall before getting comfortable as well. Yatsuhashi was sitting in a corner performing maintenance on his weapons while Velvet was arguing with their CO Taiyang about their next course of action.**

**And the new guy? Six was just standing by, observing everything behind the featureless helmet. Despite herself, Coco felt a small shiver run down her spine, anticipation or nervousness, she couldn't tell which. Jaune, or Six as he preferred to go by, had a kind of air around him, nothing bad… just different.**

**She'd seen his file before his transfer to Noble team, ninety percent of it was blacked out. They'd all done their share of black ops, hell the entire unit was black ops, but Six was black ops personified. One didn't receive the designation of hyper lethal by just being a regular spartan after all.**

"Hey, it's team CFVY and dad!" Ruby exclaimed, pointing excitedly at the screen.

"Yes we can see that, now calm down." Weiss sighed and shook her head.

"Spartan? Hyper lethal?" Winter's attention was focused on the unfamiliar terms.

"Spartans are super soldiers, think specialists taken to the logical extreme. Every single one of them are trained to go up against enemy armies and win. Hyper lethal is a designation given to only two individuals in that universe, an acknowledgement of their skills and ability to turn the status of practically everyone who stands against them into KIA." Blank supplied.

"**That thing is crushing us and we're waiting for backup? By the time the fleet arrives they'll be backing up a graveyard." Velvet argued and pointed to the behemoth in the skies.**

"**Our nukes are either out system or went down with the ships that carried them. Unless you feel like throwing rocks at them from here, the only option we have is to wait for reinforcements." Taiyang sighed in frustration.**

"**You're preaching to the converted here."**

"**How converted?" Velvet asked, something in her tone immediately setting off warning bells.**

"**I know that look Velvet…"**

"**You can say no."**

"**No."**

"**You haven't even heard it yet. You sure you don't want to? It might be the solution to our problems." Velvet asked and smirked when she saw Taiyang start growling, hook line and sinker.**

"**Fine, I'll hear it." **

"**Remember that accident a couple years back, colony ship en route to Signus, seven hundred dead."**

"**Vaguely, slipspace drive malfunction, what about it?"**

"**Actually it worked fine. The drive was mounter improperly after a service overhaul, when it activated, it transitioned half the ship into oblivion and took everyone with it." Velvet shrugged and replied.**

"**And this is relevant how?"**

"**A certain super carrier could with some… assistance… suffer the same unfortunate fate." Velvet's victorious smirk drew the attention of the rest of the team, getting them to crowd in.**

"**What's going on?" Coco asked once they were gathered.**

"**Objective, destroy Covenant supercarrier in geosynchronous orbit above us." Velvet borrowed Yatsuhashi's combat knife and began drawing figures in the sand while Coco just exchanged a glance with Taiyang.**

"**Is this sanctioned sir?"**

"**What do you think?"**

"They're going against orders?" Ironwood asked, unsure of what to make of it, insubordination was a serious offence in pretty much every military to ever exist, but then he didn't think those militaries ever had to deal with something like this.

"Not so much going against orders as taking initiative. There isn't much choice really, if they wait, odds are good the super carrier will just start glassing the planet and that'll be it for them." Blank answered.

"Glassing the planet?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow.

"Orbital bombardment with plasma weaponry until everything on the surface is dead. By the time they're done, even the atmosphere and oceans would have been burned away and of a vibrant garden world, the only thing that'll be left would be a barren world made of broken glass. It's what the covenant does to human worlds that have been discovered."

"Sweet Oum, the hell is wrong with them!?" Qrow spat out his drink in shock.

"They're religious fanatics that make the white fang look sane and peace loving in comparison. They believe their gods demand the extinction of humanity and they are more than willing to oblige. It doesn't help that humanity only wins space engagements at when they outnumber the enemy three to one, and even then, heavy casualties are sustained."

"C-can't they make peace or something?" Pyrrha asked in a small voice.

"Eventually some measure of peace will be found, but the scars run deep. True peace is a long way off for them, I just thought I'd let you all know, as hopeless as your war against the Grimm seem at times, there are plenty of worlds out there far worse off."

**Velvet finished sketching and turned to address the assembled spartans. "Method, a slipspace drive failure in lieu of the nukes we don't have. Delivery system, us. Now we just need a way up there and a slipspace drive."**

"**So, all we need is orbit capable transport and the single most expensive piece of equipment ever made by human hands." Taiyang said in a flat tone.**

"**Well, as a soldier out in the field, there's no way I'd have either of those things. But a good place to look would be… I don't know, the nearest non-existent launch site of the non-existent sabre program denied by three administrations as nothing more than preposterous rumours that our newest addition was most certainly never a pilot for?" Velvet stood and nodded to Jaune in the back.**

**Yatsuhashi grunted as he retrieved his knife. "You're scary you know that?"**

"**All we need is the green light from command."**

"**Yeah, good luck with that." Taiyang said before his face fell when Velvet shoved a data pad in his face.**

"**You're the one asking, sir." Velvet smirked as Taiyang gave in and took the pad, if he was going to make a case to high command, then he needed to give them something concrete. Once more she was glad Taiyang was the CO and not her, when it came to being buried in paperwork, better him than her."**

"**They're never gonna go for this."**

"Ergh… this reminds me too much of Signal." Taiyang grimaced and his miserable expression was shared by Qrow and Goodwitch.

"Oh yeah, it's a good idea they say, everyone knows what to do they say, it's all just common sense they say, so here fill out this stack of paperwork in triplicate just to be sure. That wasn't in the job description." Qrow grumbled as he recalled the massive stacks of paperwork whenever it came to holding any kind of special event in the school, even if they'd done it countless times before, not even a strong drink could help him cope with that headache.

"Understandable but frustrating." Glynda herself wasn't immune to the demon called paperwork, it was why she usually fixed up the damage caused by students with her semblance. There were only so many ways someone could write 'over enthusiastic sparring by students' on budget request forms before they wanted to throw themselves out the nearest window.

**The falcon deposited Noble team on a sandy beach just beyond the launch facility. High command had given them the green light pretty quickly, things were more desperate in orbit than could be seen from the ground evidently.**

"**A bit of a hike to the launch facility isn't it?" Coco said as the spartans began their trek.**

"**Can't get any closer, LZs too hot." Taiyang replied as he took point, he was scowling under his helmet. The hope was that they'd be able to reach the facility and launch asap but the Covenant had already beaten them here.**

"**Launch facility dead ahead… and that's a lot of Covenant." Velvet trailed off as the enemy were massing on the beaches as more and more dropships arrived to deposit their cargo.**

"**Guess top secret doesn't mean much when you have orbital supremacy and can just look down." Fox grumbled.**

"**To be fair, no one expected them to find Reach so quickly, hell they bypassed so many of our inner colony worlds to get here. And now they're between us and the launch site." Yatsuhashi responded.**

"**It changes nothing. They're in our way and we'll just have to go through them. Noble team, engage hostiles." Taiyang ordered and six guns opened up on the unsuspecting enemy milling down below.**

**Jaune said nothing as he hung back and started sniping with his magnum, blowing off the heads of any unshielded alien unfortunate enough to enter his sights. The rest of Noble team fanned out to cover more ground and present less of a target.**

**An elite charge Jaune, screaming as an energy sword ignited. Keeping his cool, Jaune switched to his assault rifle and emptied the full magazine into the charging alien, breaking its shields in the process and getting it to roar. **

**Ducking under a swing, Jaune brought the rifle up and slammed its butt into the elite's jaw, sending it reeling back. Without time to reload, Jaune pulled out his pistol again and shoved it into the elite's mouth and pulled the trigger.**

**Grim satisfaction filled him as the elite's head transitioned into a bloody mess of purple blood and gore. Not flinching as several plasma rounds dissipated against his shields harmless, Jaune continued firing with the magnum, removing heads with surgical precision. Once it too was out of ammo, he ducked behind a rock to reload his guns, not a single wasted movement.**

"He's good. Very good." Winter was impressed, there weren't many soldiers who could remain calm under fire and still keep up a high level of performance.

"Yeah! Break their legs fearless leader!" Nora cheered for Jaune's rampage against the Covenant lines, Ren and Pyrrha politely clapped along, even if Pyrrha was a little squicked out by all the gore. Grimm didn't leave such a mess when you kill them that was for sure.

**Slowly but surely, Noble team pushed their way up the beach, leaving a trail of smoking corpses behind them. Taiyang ducked as a ball of green plasma sailed overhead, narrowly missing him. "Contact, they're hiding in the rocks, flush them out!"**

**Jaune primed two frag grenades and let fly, their detonations solid whumps that could be felt even through the armour. Bits and pieces of the grunts in hiding rained down around their compatriots as the rest panicked and started running. They didn't get very far before being cut down by a hail of gunfire.**

**A wall of energy shields greeted them as they crested a hill, jackals in firing line while hiding behind the cover their shields afforded them. Against regular human infantry without heavy weapons, it was a solid strategy, but they were up against spartans.**

**Jaune lobbed a captured plasma grenade behind their lines, a distance far greater than any human should be able to. Surprised and panicked chittering could be heard from the jackals before the column disappeared in a flash of blue and white plasma.**

**A lone elite rose to challenge them, he didn't make it far before Coco's chaingun reduced him to bloody paste. "And that's the last of them… for now."**

"**Everybody inside, there'll be more where they came from." Taiyang ordered and the spartans double timed it to the entrance. As they got closer, they could hear the voices of the human defenders beyond the door.**

"**Hold your fire! Friendlies coming through! Damn, we got ourselves some spartans boys! We're not dying today after all." Several cheers could be heard from the rest of the garrison as the spartans came into view.**

"Talk about a hero's welcome. They sure are popular aren't they?" Torchwick commented.

"Spartans are legendary for being able to turn the tide of even the most hopeless ground engagements. Originally, they were all black ops, but when the human covenant war dragged on, their existence was revealed to the public as a morale booster for the civilians. It had the side effect of boosting morale among the troops as well." Blank answered.

"Is that wise? If the enemy can crack their communications, then they'll know about these spartans too." Ironwood frowned at the implications of humanity's secret weapons being revealed to the enemy.

"By the time of the reveal, spartans were common knowledge among the Covenant as well even if their leaders try to downplay their threat. Spartans are the one group the Covenant actually fear, they call them demons and for good reason."

"**Flight control is this way sir! The techs are already expecting you." A soldier saluted as he unlocked the doors and allowed Noble team to enter.**

"**I still can't believe high command approved this." Coco shook her head in mild disbelief.**

"**Some plans are just too good to say no to." Velvet shot back.**

"**Whatever, I'm the one who had to hash out the full plan, now let's get those sabres airborne before command changes their minds." Taiyang rolled his eyes and pressed forwards, his team snickering behind him.**

**Along the way, they ran into several Covenant stragglers, remnants of an earlier attempt to breach the base. Cutting them down before they could cause anymore havoc, Noble team fell silent as they passed the bodies of soldiers and techies who had been killed in the fighting earlier, the bodies lay where they fell, staining the ground red.**

**Upon reaching flight control, Taiyang checked with the technicians on standby and had to resist the urge to swear. "Bad news ladies and gents, initial covenant assault took out most of the planet side sabres when the hangar got hit. We're down to the last one that was on standby for a test flight, the rest are already up in orbit."**

"**Orders sir?" Jaune asked as he holstered his weapons.**

"**Six, you and Coco are the only certified pilots among us, get in the sabre and launch."**

"**It's no longsword but the weapon control schematics are similar, I think I'll be able to figure it out on the way up. What about the rest of you guys?" Coco asked.**

"**We'll exfil with base personnel once you launch. This location is compromised and it's just a matter of time before the Covenant hit it hard enough for it to crumble. Keep the comm channels open, we'll set up rendezvous coordinates later. Good luck, we'll see you on the other side."**

"**Yes sir." Jaune saluted and made his way to the cockpit. Strapping himself in, he began pre-launch checks as Coco took the backseat and began checking the weapons systems.**

"**All systems green. We are good to launch." Jaune gave the tech on standby a thumbs up as the cockpit canopy closed overhead, sealing them in. Once the techs had retreated to safety, Jaune keyed ignition and the rocket boosters fired.**

**The craft shuddered as it accelerated to escape velocity. Shooting past the clouds, the sea of stars soon became visible to the two spartans as they left the atmosphere behind and the planet became visible behind them.**

"It's beautiful." Weiss said, awestruck at what she was lucky enough to witness.

"It is, isn't it? Makes you wonder just how Remnant looks like from space doesn't it?" Ruby whispered in an equally awed voice.

"Similar actually, bluer, but no less amazing." Ironwood answered

"What? You know what the planet looks like from space?" Qrow blinked once before asking to double check.

"Yes we do. Space travel is beyond us at the moment since dust doesn't work once it leaves the atmosphere, but reaching space itself is easy enough. You can get the initial thrust to clear the gravity well with dust so getting into space itself is no issue. But after that, it's coming back down. We have some success with basic chemical propellant and batteries to control the drones we send up, enough to get a few pictures but there hasn't been a lot of progress on that front." The general sighed heavily at the thought that the technology was currently a dead end.

"A shame really, if we could get an observation satellite in orbit permanently, we might be able to track the Grimm and frontier settlements from the skies. No longer will we have to worry about settlements just going dark without warning."

**Once the rocket boosters fell away, Jaune gunned the thrusters and headed to the rally point with the other orbital sabres. The comms sputtered as a new voice came in. "Noble actual to sabre Bravo 029, come in."**

"**Copy actual, Colonel Cordovin?" Coco answered while Jaune focused on flying.**

"**Indeed Noble five, welcome to operation uppercut, I'll be your control from here on out. Six, these sabres have been customised for orbital defence, these aren't the long range stealth units you're used to, you might to get reacquainted with them."**

"**Yes mam." Jaune acknowledged.**

"**Rendezvous at anchor nine with the frigate Savannah and the other Sabres asap, I don't know how much time we have before the super carrier starts glassing Reach. That cannot be allowed to happen." Cordovin's orders came in loud and clear, the two spartans acknowledged their orders and continued on their flight path.**

"Cordovin? Haven't heard from her in a while, last I checked she was still stationed at the base in Argus." Ironwood mused quietly.

**As the sabre approached the frigate, several contacts appeared on the radar. IFF tags indicated incoming Covenant fighters. "Attention, station defences are still offline from an earlier Covenant assault, Anchor nine requesting support until we can get them back up and running."**

"**Here we go, let's see what you got Mr ace pilot." Coco chuckled as Jaune put the sabre into a sharp one eighty, turning to engage the incoming hostiles.**

"**Banshees eh, they're seriously underestimating us." Coco grinned as the sabre's autocannons opened up on the nearest fighters, overloading the shields and scraping the banshee behind it in a single good hit.**

"**You're complaining?" Jaune raised an eyebrow as he put the sabre into an aileron roll to avoid fuel rod cannon rounds.**

"**Hell no, I'm just saying, this is a pretty good warmup. If it was just anchor nine, these banshees would be enough, too bad we're here, sucks to be them today." Coco laughed as she fired off a barrage of missiles. She was rewarded by several small suns springing into existence as several red dots disappeared from the radar.**

**Additional contacts appeared on the radar and Jaune recognised the signatures. "You wanted a fight, you got one. Incoming fighters, seraphs probably."**

"**Stronger shields, won't help em. These guns will chew straight through their shields and I got plenty of missiles for everyone. Get on em Six."**

**Jaune positioned the sabre above the seraphs before putting the fighter into a dive right on top of the enemy. Autocannons blazed away at the unlucky target and its shield shimmered before failing, the 50mm HE shells blasting holes in it but the seraph remained flying. Two missiles straight to the stern rectified that issue.**

"**And another one bites the dust."**

"They're doing pretty well, I thought you said humanity loses in space." Winter asked once Jaune and Coco reduced another seraph to scrap metal.

"These are fighters nothing more, when it comes to capital ships, the difference in power becomes exceedingly obvious. Not to mention, these sabres are very, very, very expensive and difficult to make. Most human fighters don't have shields, those plasma rounds the sabres are shrugging off? They'll go straight through your average fighter. Such is the nature of the war sadly, the Covenant can field energy shields and weapons on practically every single unit they have, all the way down to cannon fodder infantry. Humanity on the other hand, is restricted to only the most elite of the elite."

"So these spartans then. Can they create more?" Summer asked and Blank was silent for a bit.

"…They can, they are, but not nearly enough." He said finally, some discomfort in his tone.

"There something wrong with that? Wouldn't more spartans be a good thing?" Taiyang asked next.

"When you're facing an enemy hell bent on your extinction, an enemy that has already wiped out a significant chunk of your population. It makes you desperate, and when you get desperate, things like ethics go out the window. Spartans are the best of the best, but what was done to create them… in peace time you'd be lucky to get a court martial, more likely someone would just put a bullet in your head for those sins."

"What could be so bad? Jaune-Jaune is kicking ass!" Nora cheered before Blank silenced her.

"What could be so bad? I said the Covenant burns every human world they find. That creates refugees, men, women, children who've lost their homes, their families and friends, who've lost everything and are left with only hatred for the enemy." Blank said and Nora's cheer died instantly, she swallowed hard as she recalled Kuroyuri, by her side, Ren's hands were clenched into fists.

"There aren't nearly enough resources to support all of them. So you give them all a gun and point them at the enemy. If they win, you send them out again, if they still return, you repeat. Again and again, until they die in hopeless battle, then they get replaced by the next revenge driven refugee. That's the adults, but to become a spartan, to be skilled in every single aspect of warfare humanity can teach, do you really think it's possible to train an adult that way?"

"…Child soldiers?" Torchwick was the one to voice the ugly thought that reared itself in their heads.

"Desperate times, desperate measures." Blank finished and said no more, leaving the audience to stew. Ozpin in particular stared into the murky liquid inside his mug, wondering if he'd end up doing something like that if Salem pushed him to the edge. Plan to make Pyrrha the fall maiden aside, he wondered if Raven had the right of it after all when she accused him of throwing them into a war they had no hope of winning in some fool's gamble.

'I'm nothing like that… am I?'

"**Anchor Nine to all UNSC forces, station defences are back online, we're detecting a large wave of fighters inbound with boarding craft. Keep em off us." The radio sputtered and Jaune directed the ship towards the nav point where the Covenant were coming from.**

"**How are we on ammo?" **

"**Plenty left, this thing's loaded for bear. How's the sabre handling?" Coco asked as a quick check of the readouts indicated they still had over half their arsenal remaining.**

"**Excellent, the controls are more responsive then before… here they come." Jaune refocused on the battlefield as the first Covenant ships came into view.**

"**Banshees, seraphs and phantom dropships, Five, focus on those dropships, they can't be allowed to get boarders on anchor nine. The station's own guns will handle the fighters."**

"**You got it." Coco smirked and pulled the trigger, sending a volley of missiles towards the nearest phantom once she had a lock. The shields flared brightly and failed but the dropship carried on through, blue plasma torpedoes streaked towards the sabre and Jaune put the fighter into a barrel roll to evade.**

"**Ah nuts, these ones are tougher than the ones planet side." Coco grumbled and lit up the offending phantom with the sabre's autocannons, puncturing multiple holes in its hull and spacing the occupants.**

**Jaune said nothing as he concentrated on flying, those plasma torpedoes were lethal and even with the energy shields on the sabre he wouldn't be able to take too many of them before going down. Weaving through the oncoming barrage, he lined up the shot perfectly and Coco took it, delivering eight missiles to the phantom's vulnerable back, destroying it completely.**

**An explosion caught his eye and Jaune smiled lightly when the last phantom was blown to pieces by the Savannah's guns. Most of the fighters had been destroyed already and the few that remained were being picked off by friendly sabres after being boxed in by anchor nine's barrage.**

"**And that's the last of them. Docking for resupply now." Jaune spoke into the mic and headed for anchor nine's open hangar bay.**

"**Right, I've synced up the weapons system with your controls, they should function the same as a longsword now, I'll be with the escort team, good luck Six." Coco gave Jaune's shoulder a nudge before exiting the ship and heading for the pelican holding the drive core. Her fingers clenched into fists as blue white flashes on the surface of Reach could be seen from space as large swaths of land were wiped away by plasma fire. The supercarrier had begun bombardment and her home was burning.**

"Shit. How are they supposed to fight something like that?" Qrow shivered lightly and thanked the gods Salem had nothing on that level.

"By throwing everything they have at the enemy." Blank answered.

"**Noble Six, this is Cordovin." The radio sparked to life again as a message from high command came in.**

"**Go ahead colonel." Jaune acknowledged as the sabre was refuelled and rearmed.**

"**We have detected a Covenant corvette on a predicted docking path to the supercarrier. Get the drive on that ship and we have our way in. Noble five will escort the bomb, I need you and the other sabres to provide fighter support and clear the way for boarding. Since the Savannah has generously donated their drive to the cause, they'll be on station to assist."**

"**UNSC Savannah, our wings may be clipped but we've got your back." A brief communique came through from the frigate and Jaune nodded.**

"**Six, I don't need to say it but the fleet won't get here in time to save Reach. You're the only option we have. Do. Not. Fail."**

"**Yes mam. We'll get it done colonel, Six out." Jaune gunned the thrusters once he was cleared to launch again, falling into formation with the other surviving sabres.**

**It wasn't long before the corvette came into view, an ugly purple scar against the void. "Savannah here, we're jamming their comms, hit em hard while they can't call for help. Might want to clip their engines as well, slow em down for boarders."**

**The sabres acknowledged and began their attack run as soon as the frigate opened up. Jaune peeled off from the rest to engage the corvettes fighter escort, launching a full salvo of missiles and blowing a hole in the enemy formation.**

**After destroying several seraphs, Jaune watched the corvette's shields fail upon taking a direct hit from the Savannah's MAC. "Shields are down, taking out the engines now. Boarders, stand by."**

**Coming around from the Corvette's stern, Jaune emptied half his remaining supply of missiles into the engines, wiping them all out and slowing the corvette to a crawl.**

"**All hostile fighters destroyed, supercarrier is holding steady, I don't think they noticed us, good work sabres. Boarding party is en route, Six, you're with them, escort the package." Cordovin's orders came through and Jaune nodded, with all enemy patrols down and the corvette stricken, he was more useful fighting inside the ship with the boarding party as opposed to just flying around outside.**

**Seeing the boarding party being harassed by Covenant EVA units, Jaune strafed the landing platform with his autocannons and reduced them all to bloody chunks before landing himself. Exiting the sabre, he found an elite coming out of a nearby hatch, several dozen rounds of AP ammo later and a fresh corpse was floating off into space. Two grenades down the hatch ensured his buddies would be joining him shortly.**

"Anyone else a little freaked out he's that good at killing things and so quiet at the same time?" Weiss commented, her face was slightly green as Noble six carved a bloody path into the ship's interior, leaving only carnage in his wake.

Neo shrugged and held up a sign, 'Looks fine to me.'

"Of course you'd think that." Roman sighed as Neo kicked her legs happily.

"He's a professional. Killing is just another task to complete for him… at least those aren't humans he's massacring." Ironwood grunted out.

"It's like he's a machine." Ruby said and shivered in discomfort.

**Jaune rammed his combat knife into an elite's back, severing its spine instantly. Ripping it free, the spartan allowed the corpse to just float away. "This is Six, hangar bay is ours, I'm lowering the shields now for package delivery."**

**Entering several commands on the console the now dead elite was guarding, he watched as the shields lowered and the pelican containing the slipspace drive was free to land.**

"**Fireworks aboard HQ." Coco reported once she stepped off the dropship.**

"**Excellent. Six, take a squad and storm the bridge, the docking run with the supercarrier will have to be initiated manually. Five, protect the bomb from enemy reinforcements." Cordovin ordered.**

"**Yes mam. I get guard duty by myself again, this is going to be boring, so hurry it up would ya Six?" Coco gave Jaune a curt nod as she set up her chaingun and prepared to repel the Covenant attempting to take back the hangar bay.**

**Jaune pushed deeper into the ship, headed for the bridge. Cutting through to the next hangar bay, the UNSC Savannah was in full view from the bay doors. As he cut down the Covenant defenders, Jaune uttered a silent prayer as the frigate took several more direct hits from the Corvette.**

"**Noble actual, this is the Savannah, we can no longer stall the corvette. Severe structural damage sustained." The captain of the frigate said with an air of resignation.**

"**The package is aboard, break away now." Cordovin's orders came several seconds later.**

"**Too late for that mam, reactor's gone into meltdown. Looks like we won't be able to give you that ride home after all. Godspeed." The comms cut out and explosions blossomed along the Savannah's hull as the corvette continued firing on the ship with its plasma batteries. Jaune's visor polarised when the frigate's reactor went critical and detonated, destroying the ship and taking all hands with it in a blinding flash. **

"No." Ruby whispered and clasped her hands over her mouth, Summer leaned over to give her a comforting hug.

"How? The corvette shouldn't be able to destroy a ship that size on its own!" Winter was in shock.

"Covenant ships have energy weapons and shields. Humanity has kinetic weapons and armour plating. Their shots bounce of the shields while the Covenant's melt through multiple layers in a single hit. Even a corvette is capable of doing severe damage to a human capital ship and a covenant destroyer is more than enough to lay waste to small fleets on its own." Blank said.

**Bitterness welled up inside him as more of his comrades were ripped away by the merciless Covenant. Pushing it down, Jaune replaced it with grim determination, the Savannah was gone but before long he'd be sending the supercarrier after it. They would not go unavenged.**

"**Frigate's gone mam." Jaune updated Cordovin with a sombre tone.**

"**Damn! You're in deep with no cover, get the corvette moving towards that blasted supercarrier and get the hell off the ship!"**

"**Yes mam." Jaune led the rest of his squad in breaching the corvette's bridge, sending a tidal wave of lead towards the crew within. Even as several of the boarders fell under a hail of plasma fire, none of the rest gave ground, all were out for blood now, for the fallen on Reach, for the fallen on the Savannah, human blood had been spilled and it was up to them to collect on that debt.**

**Jaune slammed the butt of his rifle down on an elite zealot, breaking its shields and staggering it. The markings on its armour identified it as the captain and Jaune took satisfaction in that knowledge when he brought the rifle down again, bringing the elite to its knees. Drawing his pistol, Jaune pumped several rounds into the back of its head, executing it instantly.**

"**All targets neutralised, the bridge is ours. Initiating docking procedure now." Jaune reported as he entered the commands needed to send the corvette on its final voyage. Once the commands were locked, he put several rounds into the console, ensuring anyone trying to interfere would have a hard time reversing his actions.**

"**Six, our ride out is under heavy fire. Get back here asap." Coco's voice came from the comms as the sound of gunfire echoed in the back ground.**

"**Roger that." Jaune took point and led the rest of the marines back to the hangar bay, ambushing the Covenant within from behind. Announcing their presence with several well placed grenades, the alien menace found themselves being violently ripped apart by the returning humans.**

"**You're late." Coco greeted as Jaune walked over.**

"**Your watch is fast. Is the bomb good to go?"**

"**Yeah, it's already armed. Just need to hold here for a bit more before I lock down the doors, don't want them spoiling the surprise early by cutting through the doors."**

"**Very well." Jaune nodded and took up a defensive position near the pelican while the marines did the same.**

**Several waves of Covenant reinforcements hit their positions and one by one, the unshielded marines fell in battle until only the two spartans remained standing. A small beeping on their mission timers indicated they had just over a minute left before the corvette made contact with the supercarrier.**

**Coco shut down the doors and locked them, by the time the Covenant burned their way through, it would be too late to do anything to stop them. While Jaune did a circuit of the room to make sure every alien son of a bitch in there with them was deader than dead, Coco worked on the bomb and the pelican.**

"**Ah… so that's how it is." She sighed and stepped away from the pelican.**

"**I got good news and bad news." Coco said once Jaune returned.**

"**Pelican got hit bad, thruster gimble is shot to hell and that means the only way off this slag heap is gravity." She paused and stared out the hangar at Reach, very far below them.**

"**And it's a long way down."**

"**And the good news?" Jaune asked after a moment.**

"**That was the good news."**

"Oh that can't be good." Blake said and shuffled in her seat uncomfortably.

"Understatement of the century right there kitty cat." Torchwick fired back with a mirthless laugh.

"**Bad news is, timer got fried by plasma. It'll have to be fired manually." Coco removed her helmet and gave Jaune a wry grin.**

"**That's a one-way trip."**

"**Yeah well, we all make it sooner or later. They're gonna need you down there so better get going." Coco chuckled before removing her dog tags and pressing them into Jaune's hands.**

"**No, you're a spartan II, I'm just a III, I'm more expendable than you are." Jaune tried to argue before he felt his armour lockup when Coco triggered the override and overloaded his shield generators.**

"**That's not true and you know it. Sides, armour's breached." Coco lifted her right arm to show a patch of blackened and burned armour that was cracked in multiple places and leaking fluid.**

"**Suit's no longer air tight, I won't survive the vacuum. When you get down there, tell them to make it count." Coco smiled for the last time as she shoved Jaune out the hangar bay and sent him hurtling towards the planet.**

**As Jaune fell, the supercarrier came into full view above him as the Corvette passed directly under the belly of the beast.**

**A flicker of lightning as Coco triggered the drive.**

**Silence in the void for a split second, and then an orb of darkness lined with purple highlights blossomed where the Corvette used to be, consuming the supercarrier in the process.**

**When it dissipated, half the juggernaut was gone and the remaining two pieces began to fall and burn up in atmosphere.**

**As Jaune continued to fall, protected from the friction by his overloaded shields, his face fell when several slipspace ruptures became visible in the distance and silver-grey ships began emerging from them.**

"**No."**

**The covenant fleet had arrived, and they had come in force.**

The screen dimmed and the lights came back on. Yang slammed her fist against the armrest and growled, her eyes burning red and embers already rising from her hair. "Are you kidding me!? After all that and it was for nothing!?"

"It's war Ms Xiao Long, as tragic as Ms Adel's sacrifice was, sometimes it just isn't enough and things get worse anyway." Ozpin said, a bitter taste in his mouth.

"What happens to Jaune after that?" Pyrrha asked.

"He survives the fall and regroups with the remaining members of Noble team, continuing their fight against the Covenant." Blank answered.

"Do they win?" Weiss followed up.

Blank's silence was telling.

* * *

Author's notes: I've waited twelve years for this, twelve years for Halo to return to PC after Halo 3 came out and there wasn't a pc port like 1 and 2. Next two chapters will be focused on Halo, final mission of Reach and the very first mission that started it all. You know, parts of history can be summed up with X happened and led to Y which eventually caused Z. If Halo didn't exist or become as popular as it did, RvB would never have happened, if RvB never happened, RT probably wouldn't have gone as far as they did, and if that didn't happen, RWBY wouldn't exist. Funny how that works isn't it?

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as Spartan-B312 Noble 6

Coco Adel as Jorge-052 Noble 5

Yatsuhashi Daichi as Emile-A239 Noble 4

Fox Alistair as Jun-A266 Noble 3

Velvet Scarlatina as Catherine-B320 Noble 2

Taiyang Xiao Long as Carter-A259 Noble 1

Caroline Cordovin as Colonel Holland

* * *

Murphy's law reference list:

Love it when a plan comes together – A team

Qrow and Winter barfight – Naruto (Rock Lee's drinking)

Home away from home away from home – Destiny 2

Making things explode by looking at them – Avatar the last airbender

Casino episode – Breaking Vegas

at first you had my curiosity but now you have my attention – Django unchained

Schnee Weiss – pun, literally snow white

Lotus, Shiva, Nova – Halo

Cool guys don't look at explosions – cool guys don't look at explosions

When in doubt C-4 – Mythbusters

Landing strategy – Deadpool superhero landing

Badass but not immortal – Call of duty black ops 3

Art is an explosion – Naruto (Deidara)

Cooking with C-4 – Mythbusters

Sand gets everywhere – Star Wars

Would you kindly – Bioshock

Big picture, small picture, hard to see behind wall of bodies – Mass Effect 2

Why so serious – Batman

Whiskey flask bomb wire – Gundam 0083 stardust memory

Adam slicing Jaune's eye – Metal Gear Rising Revengeance

Boost – Highschool DxD

Heart attack on the spot – Death note

Sound of forgiveness – llamas with hats

If you got even half of them pat yourself on the back, you've earned it.


	11. Chapter 11: One final effort

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 11: One final effort**

**Inspiration: Halo Reach**

"This one's a continuation of the previous universe after a short time skip." Blank said, his audience winced in response.

"Oh boy, does he win? Hehehe… what am I saying, of course he loses. It's hopeless for them." Roman chuckled in a self-deprecating manner and several of the audience members glared at him.

"Do you have to be that pessimistic?" Blake glared at the master thief, and the man just rolled his eyes.

"I'm being realistic, you saw what one ship did, how do you think they'll fare against an entire fleet? By sacrificing more people? They're gonna run out of heroes to sacrifice long before they win."

"They lose, yes. But they lose on their terms, and their sacrifice buys humanity hope for the future." Blank answered, halting the argument before it could proceed any further. The lights dimmed and the screen came on shortly after.

**Jaune fiddled with the AI canister in his hands. Dr Merlot had handed it to him after the AI 'chose' him to carry it. He didn't understand the significance of this one particular AI or the strange alien artefacts the good doctor was working on. And he supposed it didn't matter, the mission was simple, deliver the package to the Autumn asap. That was the only thing that mattered.**

"Merlot…? I know that name. Why do I know that name?" Roman blinked in surprise before wracking his brain to try and recall where he heard it from.

An expression of distaste flickered across Ozpin's face momentarily as he recalled the insane doctor and his unholy obsession with the Grimm. "Yes, you were at Mount Glenn weren't you? He's the man personally responsible for the disaster when he decided to start experimenting on Grimm _inside_ the city."

A loud crack resounded through the room when Roman's armrest was crushed into a misshapen mess. "Is that so? And where is he now? I need to pay the man a visit."

"Presumed dead when Mount Glenn fell, it's been a long time since that day, and there have been no sightings of him at all. He was at the centre of the mess so it's unlikely he survived it. Good riddance." Goodwitch followed up, the revulsion for her ex-colleague clearly audible.

"**Knowledge from an ancient civilisation, AI as a custodian? What's your take on it Six?" Yatsuhashi asked in an attempt to pass to the time while the Pelican was en route to their destination.**

"**Don't know. And it doesn't matter, our mission is to deliver it safely to the Autumn. The doctor seems to think it's some kind of silver bullet to our Covenant issue." Jaune carefully stowed the canister inside his satchel.**

"**He has the right of it though, it's just a matter of time before Reach falls. And after Reach, Sol will be next in the firing line. If the AI doesn't live up to the doctor's words, we'll be too extinct to regret it."**

"What's Sol?" Ruby asked inquisitively.

"Sol here refers to the solar system where humanity originated from in that universe. If it falls, that'll be it for humanity, even if humans continue to survive past the fall, they'll be nothing more than a shadow of their former selves and it'll be centuries, possibly millennia before they recover… assuming they survive that long." Blank answered.

"So protect at all costs then?" Yang summed up with a single line.

"**Too right, you think Fox will be able to get Merlot to safety and then evacuate?" Yatsuhashi grunted out.**

"**Castle Base has to be destroyed, and the Pillar of Autumn is the only way off world on this continent." Jaune said.**

"**Yeah… that's what I thought. So it's just us left then, you, me and the boss man."**

"**Stow the chatter Nobles, we're almost to the DZ, you're both taking the express route down." Taiyang said as he read over the reports coming in on his data pad.**

"**Covenant air attacks are making it hard for evacuation convoys to reach Aszod. And UNSC air defences haven't been able to keep their ground forces from landing either. This Pelican won't make it anywhere near the docks before being shot down."**

"**Got it boss, these ground pounders are all green." Yatsuhashi grinned under his helmet and slapped his thighs.**

"**Did I mention that we have several Covenant cruisers on intercept course? They're going to try and destroy the Autumn before it can get to orbit." Taiyang added, getting the heavy weapons specialist to groan.**

"**Wouldn't be a Noble mission if it were easy. We'll get it done sir, what about you?"**

"**I'm out of missiles but I have enough ammunition for the chaingun to last awhile, I'll draw their attention away while you two get to the Autumn."**

"And that's a death flag if I ever heard one." Blake muttered under her breath.

"What happened to all the other evacuation sites? Just one left on the entire continent? That's a little hard to believe." Weiss commented.

"Technology in that world is advanced, but not nearly far enough for humanity to have every vehicle capable of reaching orbit on its own. Most space bound flights take place at a space port as you'd expect, and that makes for easy priority targets for orbital bombardment. Aszod remains standing solely because it isn't an obvious target, it's a repurposed ship breaking yard and only survived by being beneath notice… until recently anyways." Blank answered.

**An alarm beeped as several red dots appeared on the Pelican's radar, Taiyang stared at the screen before growling in frustration. "Head's up, we have bogeys on our six."**

"**We hear them." Jaune replied as the distinctive whine could be heard over the wind and engine noises. Several Banshees came screaming out of the cloud cover, living up to their namesake. Jaune and Yatsuhashi braced themselves against the wall, doing their best to aim their weapons at the incoming enemies.**

**Plasma bolts came surging into the Pelican's open door, slagging whatever they impacted or dissipating against the Spartan's shields. The Spartans returned fire and were rewarded with a small reprieve when the Banshees backed off.**

"**Boss, can you fly straight please? It's hard to aim at these sons of bitches with all this rocking!" Yatsuhashi fired another grenade at the Banshees and bit back a curse when it sailed past them harmlessly, what he wouldn't do for a rocket launcher right now.**

"**Deal with it Four, I'm trying to keep us airborne." Taiyang shot back as he put the Pelican into another corkscrew to avoid the Banshees' fuel rod cannons.**

"**Yeah whatever you say boss, ah! Got on-scratch that, two down." Yatsuhashi grinned when his grenade went off in close proximity to a Banshee. The blast itself did next to zero physical damage, the emp on the other hand sealed the deal. With the sudden loss of control, the Banshee careened off to the side and crashed into its wingman, taking the both of them down for the count.**

"**Alright, this is it gentlemen, get ready to drop. Skies are jammed up from here on out. Six, get that AI to the Autumn yesterday. Yatsu, you're with him, it's a ground game from here on out."**

"**Sir what about-" Jaune begin to speak but his CO cut him off with a wave.**

"**I don't want to hear it Six, you have your mission."**

"**It's been an honour sir." Yatsuhashi saluted and prepared to jump.**

"**Likewise, I'll do what I can to draw their fire. Six, that AI chose you, she made the right choice. Go, on my mark." Taiyang said before lifting up three fingers.**

**Two fingers, one finger, zero. "Mark!"**

**Jaune and Yatsuhashi leapt out the Pelican, keeping their bodies straight and folding their arms inwards, their shields took the brunt of the damage from the fall as they slid down a hill. Coming to a less than graceful stop at the end of the fall, the two Spartans did a quick equipment check to make sure everything was in order.**

"Eh, eight for effort, six for style and minus five for the stop. I've seen better landing strategies. At least it's all downhill from here. Eh?" Yang joked in an attempt to lighten the mood, all it got her was several groans from the audience and a smile from Taiyang. He would have fired back with his own pun if it wasn't for Qrow's red eyes boring holes in his skull.

"Try it Tai, just try it, I got a bottle with your name on it right here and I'm not afraid to use it."

"**AI canister is intact. We're green." Jaune murmured and his gaze was drawn to the Pelican streaking by overhead, trailing smoke from a damaged engine and several more Banshees still on its tail.**

"**Come on, we need to move while the commander distracts them." Yatsuhashi said and the two Spartans began their trek towards their destination. Halting on a ledge overlooking a small Covenant encampment situated next to an abandoned UNSC outpost, Yatsuhashi frowned as he tried to formulate a plan to get around them without getting bogged down in a firefight.**

"**Damn, we'll have to go around. Too much heat."**

"**No, there's no time for that. One elite, a squad of grunts some jackals… follow my lead." Jaune didn't bother waiting for a reply, simply leaping off the cliff side, aiming straight for the lone elite.**

**Crashing into the alien warrior with all the force of a falling half ton sack of rocks, the elite folded under him as its spine snapped instantly from Jaune using him to cushion the fall. Just to be on the safe side, Jaune rammed his combat knife into its jugular, severing it completely. Using his remaining momentum, Jaune leapt to his feet and drew his magnum, popping several grunt heads before they even knew what hit them.**

"Now that's a landing strategy! Definite style points right there." Roman nodded appreciatively at Noble Six's chosen approach.

"It's faster than climbing down, but what if he missed?" Ren asked.

"A shield overload would save him the same way he survived the fall from space I'd think." Ozpin said.

"If triggered in time it would, but that would leave him in the middle of a group of enemies with depleted shields though, not exactly a good thing, but he made it so the point is moot." Blank supplied.

**Tossing a grenade to break up the Jackal defensive line, Jaune nodded when Yatsuhashi caught up with him and used his grenade launcher to finish off the disoriented jackals. Switching to the pistol, both Spartans calmly mopped up the remaining grunts as they milled around in panic.**

**Pushing forwards, they ran into another group of Covenant. A bark of surprise came from the lead elite before he was cut down by a hail of bullets courtesy of Jaune. Ducking under the plasma bolts, Jaune continued sniping with his pistol until it ran out of ammo, holstering it, the Spartan made a mad dash for the fallen elite while Yatsuhashi provided cover.**

**Kicking the corpse to the side, Jaune pried the concussion rifle from its lifeless fingers, turning the weapon against the Covenant. Red explosive plasma bolts sailed towards the unsuspecting Covenant forces, despite everything, Jaune allowed himself to feel a moment of satisfaction seeing the enemy be blown to pieces with their own tech.**

**Tossing the depleted weapon to the side, Jaune entered the outpost proper and scavenged more ammo for his pistol and rifle. He gave a low whistle when he spotted a rocket launcher lying off to the side with some spare rockets, slinging it over his shoulders, he now had the firepower to take on enemy tanks should the need arise.**

"**Six, I got transportation. These Mongooses are still fully functional and a full tank of gas too." Yatsuhashi called from outside.**

"**Good." Jaune took one last look around the place, ensuring he hadn't missed anything useful. When he found nothing of note, he returned outside and mounted his Mongoose, Yatsuhashi already seated on his own. A brief nod from Jaune and they were off.**

"What kind of vehicles are those? They're tiny! I want one for the Noramobile!" Nora giggled at sight of the ATV appearing comically undersized compared with the giant Spartans.

"They're perfectly normal sized actually, the Spartans are just giants in their armour that's all." Blank said.

"What kind of armour is that anyway? Is it possible to replicate it on Remnant?" Ironwood asked, interested in adding to Atlas' arsenal.

"It's called the Mjolnir, I suppose you do have the tech to recreate it, the fusion reactor could be replaced with dust, but it wouldn't be a good idea anyway. The armour is designed to improve everything, accelerate your performance by cutting lag time between thinking about the action and actually performing it." Blank said after a pause.

"Isn't that a good thing? I can't think of many times where you wouldn't want to react faster when fighting Grimm." Qrow said, trying to think of the possible drawbacks.

"True, but the suit makes you act too fast. Imagine reaching up to scratch your nose, only for the suit to accelerate that movement such that you punch yourself in the face instead. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, the Mjolnir doesn't discriminate on what actions it accelerates, muscle spasms caused by pain or shock are all fair game, you could kill yourself by having the armour contort you into impossible shapes… that was the fate of the initial test drivers by the way."

"Ah… well… never mind then. I'm good with the Mk I human body." Qrow leaned back into his seat.

"Then how can Jaune-Jaune and the rest use that armour?" Nora asked.

"They've been augmented very thoroughly, so they're the only ones who can use the armour without killing themselves."

"More of the unethical bs then?" Roman said.

"Indeed."

"**That's a lot of Covenant." Yatsuhashi ducked as several pink needles passed overhead, his fingers itched to reach for a gun and return fire, but there simply wasn't time to do so. They had a mission to complete and wasting time engaging hostiles was detrimental to their chances of success.**

**The two Spartans had already shot by several groups of angry alien invaders, splattering a few by running over them, but for the most part they simply sped past before they could be shot to pieces.**

"**Stop for nothing." Jaune called back as he swerved to the side, narrowly avoiding a drop pod that landed right in his path. The elite that stepped out didn't have the time to blink before Jaune made him road kill.**

**The Autumn was visible in the distance now and the Covenant were closing in fast. They were bringing the big guns this time too, Jaune could see several Scarab heavy walkers deploying from orbit. The giant four-legged behemoths simply falling out of the sky and walking off the drop, all headed towards the ship.**

"**Phantom incoming, ah hell, it's carrying a Wraith." Yatsuhashi swore under his breath. Plasma fire rained down around them and his face fell when a good hit to the bridge support caused part of the section ahead to collapse.**

**Too late to stop, both Spartans slammed down on the accelerator instead, speeding up to make the jump. As the Mongooses cleared the gap, their landing was less than perfect, Jaune jumped free as his ride smashed against a wall and started belching black smoke. Yatsuhashi managed to stick the landing only to have to throw himself off as well when the Phantom's turrets turned the front of the Mongoose to molten slag.**

"**On foot again. Today just isn't our day, is it six?"**

"**We'll make do." Dusting himself off and making sure the package was still safely secured, Jaune advanced on foot, hefting the rocket launcher just in case the Wraith wanted to go a few rounds with them.**

"**They're dug in and blocking the road." He paused at the crest of the hill, staring down at the enemy emplacements below. Several grunts were running about, the distinctive orange and blue handheld shields signalled the presence of jackals and there was a sniper tower set up. In between the brown and grey rocks, he could make out several large shadows moving, too big and primal to be elites, that left brutes.**

"**Wraith all the way at the end, whoo boy, this is gonna be something alright. You gonna give them their presents?" Yatsuhashi pointed towards Jaune's rocket launcher and shrugged when Six shook his head.**

"**I have a better idea. Those snipers are a problem, I'll take out the nest with a rocket and flank them. You keep the rest of them occupied by firing on them here. That tank is mine." Jaune took careful aim with the launcher, depressing the trigger, he felt the kick against his shoulder as the rocket surged forwards, headed straight for the doomed snipers.**

**The sudden explosion kicked the Covenant into panic mode as they found themselves under attack from an unknown force. Yatsuhashi added to the confusion by using his grenade launcher as makeshift artillery, hitting the enemy from out of sight.**

**Taking advantage of the confusion, Jaune skirted the side of the cliff face, making sure to stay low and keep out of sight. His chosen path afforded him good cover from most of the enemy forces and the few he could not avoid were easily put down with headshots. At the end, it was just a mad dash to the Wraith to take it out before anyone could stop him.**

"It is a sound plan. As long as he keeps the element of surprise, he has a good shot at reaching the tank. But why wouldn't he simply shoot the tank with a rocket?" Winter said after she was done evaluating Jaune's tactics.

"Heheheh… You'll see, it's a good reminder of why you should have armoured cockpits." Blank chuckled.

**Jaune paused as he took cover behind a boulder, the Wraith had dialled in Yatsuhashi's approximate location and was lobbing plasma mortars towards it in an attempt to flush the Spartan out.**

**Most of the Covenant ground troops had also advanced under the mortar fire, leaving the tank all alone. Jaune grinned and made his play once the turret gunner looked away.**

**Rushing out into the open, Jaune put three rounds into the brute's head. The first shot knocked off its helmet. The second took off a chunk of flesh and fur. The third struck home and reduced the head to a pulpy mess.**

**With the gunner dead, there wasn't anything left to stop him. leaping onto the Wraith itself, Jaune could already picture the surprised look on the driver's face as he started smashing the cockpit hatch with his bare hands, denting the metal with every blow.**

**The tank shook as the panicked driver tried to shake off the Spartan to no avail. Finally, something gave in the hatch and Jaune found purchase, with a mighty heave, the ripped the hatch free completely, exposing the brute beneath it.**

**The brute snarled in anger as it levelled its plasma rifle at the Spartan, red plasma bolts crashing harmlessly against his shields with a yellow flicker. Jaune's smile was positively freezing as he casually planted his magnum against the side of the brute's head, giving the alien a few seconds to panic at his impending execution before pulling the trigger.**

**Getting a good grip on the corpse, Jaune ripped it free from the seat and tossed it to the side. Sliding into the newly vacated seat, Jaune's training took over and the tank rumbled in response to his control.**

**The Covenant infantry never knew what hit them as their tank's mortar fire suddenly became hopelessly inaccurate, landing amongst them with almost pinpoint precision and blowing them all to hell. Jaune smiled when angry warbling came through the Wraith's radio, one of the ground officers demanding an explanation no doubt.**

**Several more plasma mortar rounds demolishing the remaining infantry forces served as their explanation. Yatsuhashi emerged from hiding to finish off the stragglers who survived the bombardment. "Good kills Six."**

"Ah… so that's a thing then." Weiss commented, honestly, such a plan was more Ruby's style than Jaune. She was the one who thought riding a Nevermore to their destination was a good idea.

"It was impressively executed, draw away the enemy with a diversion and sneak by them to capture the priority target. Couldn't have planned it better myself, not with only two men at any rate." Ironwood praised.

"The Jaune Arc of our world, he shares the same traits as these other versions yes?"

"Indeed, he has a natural grasp of tactics even if he could stand to work a little on his explanations and self-confidence." Blank answered and a look of quiet contemplation crossed the general's face.

"Jimmy… what exactly are you planning?" Qrow asked, not liking the look.

"I was wondering if I should extend an offer to the boy on behalf of the Atlas military. If his aptitude for strategy and tactics hold true, he would make an excellent officer. Oh, I don't intend to poach him from Beacon or anything like that, but after graduation? It is a possible career path, and he'd possibly do better as a leader than as a solitary huntsman." Ironwood shrugged.

"You're not turning the kid into one of your machines Jimmy…" Qrow warned.

"We already saw a version of him that ended up in Atlas, minus the enthusiasm for… explosives, I think he'd do just fine actually."

**Exiting the tank, Jaune left a plasma grenade behind to scuttle it. Much as he'd like to drive it all the way to the Autumn, there was simply no way the tank was going to make it through the caves standing between them and their destination.**

**Exchanging nods, the two Spartans entered the caves, being careful to avoid any possible Covenant ambushes. As they entered a section of the caves with a view of the sky, the comms crackled to life and Taiyang's pained voice reached their ears.**

"**Nobles, I'm tracking your position now, you have a situation." Before either of the duo could ask what their commander was on about, the massive silhouette of a Scarab came into view.**

"**Mother- sir, we can get past that." Yatsuhashi cut himself off mid curse as the Scarab continued on its path.**

"**No. You can't. Not without help." **

"**Commander, your Pelican does not have the firepower to take down that thing." Yatsuhashi protested as autocannon rounds impacted against the Scarab's armour plating with a shower of sparks. The badly damaged Pelican soared into view seconds later.**

"**True. But I've got the mass." Taiyang's words rooted both Spartans in place as his imminent action became clear to them.**

"…**Solid copy. Hit em hard boss." Yatsuhashi finally said and saluted, an action mirrored by Jaune a split second later.**

"W-why are they saluting?" Ruby asked in an unsure voice as she clutched Summer's sleeves tightly.

The adults in the audience merely bowed their heads.

"**You're on your own Nobles, Taiyang out." The stricken Pelican swung around for another pass on the Scarab, guns blazing all the way. The walker opened fire on the incoming dropship but failed to put it down before Taiyang rammed the Pelican straight into its side, sending both vehicles up in flames.**

"NO! DAD!" Ruby shouted before vanishing in a burst of petals, appearing next to Taiyang and wrapping him up in a hug, reassuring herself that her father was still with them.

Taiyang just smiled softly as he gently patted Ruby on her head, comforting the girl. Yang walked over and gave him a big hug as well before being joined by Summer. Qrow would have stayed out but Summer wasn't having any of it and dragged him in as well.

"**Crevice to the east, let's go." Yatsuhashi grunted out as they continued pressing forwards. As much as they wanted to mourn their fallen, they didn't have the time to do so, not without wasting Taiyang's sacrifice.**

**Coco went first, then Velvet got sniped, Fox was either KIA or about to be and now their CO was gone. Noble team was down to just two men now.**

**Yatsuhashi held up a hand, signalling a halt as his helmet sensors picked up a droning noise. "Buggers ahead, quiet or loud?"**

"**Precise." Jaune's response was curt as he drew his sidearm, striding out into the open, he opened up on the flying insects as soon as they came into view. The magnum rounds tore through the unshielded drones without mercy, his precision ensuring the aliens died as soon as their heads became visible.**

"**This is for the commander." Jaune said as he strode over to where one of the drones had fallen, its wings clipped but still alive. Raising his boot, the Spartan slammed down and pulped the alien's skull, splattering gore everywhere.**

"**Damn straight." Yatsuhashi echoed as he finished off the remaining targets with his own magnum. Once done mowing down the opposition, the Spartans pushed forwards again.**

**The next batch of Covenant they encountered were a pair of Jackal skirmishers and a single sniper. Jaune elected to save his remaining ammo and simply cave their skulls in with the butt of his rifle. Picking up the needle rifle wielded by the sniper, Jaune hefted it as he holstered his pistol, until he found more ammo for his magnum, the rifle would serve his precision needs.**

**Once the two emerged from the caves, the found themselves overlooking a Covenant assault on outskirts of Aszod. Tracer rounds could be seen pouring out of the structure, indicating some human defenders were still alive and in need of assistance.**

**The comms crackled to life as a communique from the Autumn came through. "This is Captain Schnee of the Pillar of Autumn, we're tracking you Noble and we're beginning launch procedures. Proceed to the docks, platform D, I'll be there in person to pick up the package."**

"W-what the hell!?" Ironwood sputtered in shock, the expression his face matched by the Schnee sisters.

"Jacques is a captain!? Are you kidding me!?"

"Different universe, this version of him is for the most part an upstanding individual." Blank answered.

"For the most part?" Blake raised an eyebrow in challenge.

"He's a career soldier in this universe and definitely infected by the 'just following orders' syndrome. One of his earliest 'triumphs' in his military career was serving as a chauffeur and evaluator for the Spartan II program. Sure he didn't have the full details, but he knew enough to know that black ops didn't even come close to describing the mess he was part off."

"So he's still an immoral bastard then?" Blake followed up angrily.

"Not quite. Even if he refused, someone else would have done it and the project would have gone ahead regardless. Captain Schnee does his best to live up to the ideal of an officer and a gentleman but if its punishment you're interested in… his fate is… gruesome to say the least."

"Gruesome? How gruesome are we talking here?" Qrow asked once he managed to extricate himself from the Rose-Xiao Long-Branwen group hug.

"Very. It might appear in a future viewing, but all I'll say is that no one deserves his fate. Even death by torture would be considered merciful compared to what was done to him. Be glad your universe has nothing close to that level of horror." Blank said.

"**We'll be there sir." Yatsuhashi fired on the infantry below him while Jaune hung back and sniped with the needle rifle.**

"**You better be. We can't delay the launch for much longer, those cruisers will cut us off if we don't leave fast." With that last communique, the comms went dead, leaving the Spartans to mop up the enemies below.**

**Jaune tossed the needle rife to the side once he emptied the last of its ammunition into an elite, he was rewarded with a pink explosion when the needles detonated and reduced their victim to a pile of smoking meat. Jumping down from his vantage point, he fired his assault rifle to supress enemy grunts before ducking into a small building.**

**Scavenging several magazines for his magnum and a fresh designated marksman rifle, he returned to the fight and removed the heads of any unshielded enemy he came across. Once the soft targets were dead, only the elites remained standing.**

**A war cry signalled the approach of one, his energy sword already drawn. Jaune backpedalled and fired until his weapons were empty, breaking the shield but the zealot remained standing. That changed when the Spartan drew the rocket launcher and used it to club the elite into oblivion. Taking the respite to reload his weapons, Jaune picked up the sword, deactivated it and added it to his arsenal.**

"**You sure you know how to use that?" Yatsuhashi joked when he regrouped with Jaune.**

"**Swish, swish, stab, it's a sword, what are you expecting?" Jaune shot back good naturedly. With all Covenant forces in the immediate vicinity, they were free to advance while the remaining members of the garrison stood by to secure the area.**

"**Sir, be advised, the Covenant have set up Shade turrets on the other side of this building. They've got us pinned here and we can't push them out." A soldier saluted the Spartans and gave his report.**

"**Good work Corporal, hold the line here until we clear out those turrets then fall back to the Autumn. We'll handle the turrets." Jaune ordered as he hefted his rocket launcher, five rockets left, should be enough to handle whatever was on the other side.**

**Cautiously advancing up the steps, Jaune peeked around the corner and counted three Shades in total plus a few Ghosts milling around. Taking a deep breath to centre himself, Jaune popped out of cover and fired two rockets, one at each of the closest turrets, before ducking back behind cover to avoid the counterattack.**

**Two explosions heralded the demise of his targets, reloading the launcher, he stepped out again and fired twice more, destroying the final turret and the lone elite piloted Ghost.**

"Whooo! Explosions! Blow them all up fearless leader!" Nora cheered excitedly, Ren and Pyrrha just clapped along.

**Slotting the final rocket home, Jaune slung the launcher over his shoulders again, better to save that last one just in case. Switching to the DMR, he peered down the scope and began sniping the panicking grunts with surgical precision. By his side, Yatsuhashi had retrieved a sniper rifle from a fallen soldier and was doing the same. **

**Noble four chuckled when he lined up a perfect shot on two Ghosts, the armour piercing sniper round going straight through both drivers and leaving the vehicles to crash from the sudden loss of control. "All targets eliminated. Let's go."**

**Entering the complex proper, Jaune stopped at a weapons locker to change his loadout. Given that it was going to be close quarters battle inside, Jaune discarded his DMR in favour of a shotgun to pair with his assault rifle.**

**Plasma fire scorched the doorway as soon as the Spartans walked in, their energy shields flared when several bolts struck home. Tossing several grenades to break up the enemy lines, Jaune and Yatsuhashi advanced with shotguns drawn. Pumping their enemies full of buckshot, enhanced shields or not, the elites were going down.**

**Clearing the rooms one by one, the duo systematically cleaned out the covenant infestation. The surviving guards rallied together to provide backup for the Spartans while pushing to the evac point.**

**The first sign things were getting difficult again was a massive orb of green plasma sailing overhead to crash against a group of assembled soldiers, frying several in an instant and wounding the rest.**

**Thunderous footfalls echoed as the perpetrator stepped into view. Yatsuhashi growled at the sight of the behemoths. "Ah shit, hunters!"**

"Hunters?" Ozpin asked curiously.

"No relation to actual hunters or huntsmen, just a designation given to them by humanity. Functionally walking tanks, very heavily armoured and hard to kill unless you attack its weak point for massive damage." Blank supplied.

**Jaune readied his rocket launcher and fired it straight into the hunter's torso when it lifted its shield for another shot. The rocket struck true and the explosion ripped apart the worms that formed the hunter's body, killing it instantly.**

"**One down. Wait, where's the other?" he received his answer when an unholy howl of rage came from behind a stack of crates. A stack that crumbled when the hunter behind it smashed it to pieces, Jaune tried retreating, discarding his empty rocket launcher to lose the weight.**

**It didn't work, the hunter's charge was simply faster and a giant metal shield obscured his vision when the hunter used it to smash him. The Spartan's vision went red as the strike sent him flying, his shields flaring and collapsing instantly from the blow.**

**Coughing several times, his mouth tasted coppery and a quick check of his vitals indicated he was in the red. Another good hit like that would kill him instantly.**

"And they travel in bonded pairs, when one dies, the other feels it and enrages instantly." Blank added.

"No damnit, get out of there Jaune!" Yang gripped her seat tightly as Jaune was struggling to rise, the hunter bearing down on him ready to finish the job.

"**Pushing the pain out of his mind, Jaune forcibly threw himself to the side, narrowly avoided being stomped to paste by the hunter. Machinegun fire peppering the hunter distracted it long enough for Yatsuhashi to dash past and haul him to safety.**

"**Damnit Six, lose some weight!"**

"**H-had a big breakfast." Jaune managed to get out in between bloody coughs.**

"If he's alright enough to joke, then he'll be fine." Roman commented with a small laugh, hiding his relief at not having to see the Spartan get smashed to pieces.

Neo prodded him in the side and held up a scroll for him to read.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Neo, I'm most definitely not a softie at heart." Neo rolled her eyes at Roman's denial and amended her words to read 'big softie' instead, just to mess with the man.

"**Alright, I'm good." Jaune said once the suit's biofoam injectors kicked in. Numbing cold flooded his system as the medical aid sealed up his internal bleeding, it would hold until he could get a med pack and perform proper first aid.**

**Rising to his feet, Yatsuhashi clapped him on the shoulders before running off the fight the hunter, the soldiers were good, but having them take on the hunter by themselves was a death sentence. Jaune hung back and flanked the hunter while Yatsuhashi tried to bring it down with his grenade launcher. **

**Jaune resisted the urge to curse, his weapons were scattered during his impromptu flight and all he had left was the energy sword he looted earlier. No matter, it would work fine, he just had a smaller margin for error than if he were using a shotgun.**

**After a minute of fruitless waiting, Yatsuhashi finally gave him the opening he needed. A good hit from the grenade launcher dislodged the hunter's back armour enough to expose a good deal of the orange worms beneath.**

**Dashing forwards, Jaune ignited the energy sword and rammed it home, the pained screeching music to his ears as the worms fried on contact with the plasma blade. Ripping the sword free, Jaune stabbed again and finished it off, the behemoth collapsing in a heap once Jaune ripped the blade out again.**

**Deactivating the sword and strapping it to his hip, Jaune retrieved his scattered weapons, snorting when he came across his magnum. Pieces of it littered the area, most of them flatter than a pancake after the hunter stepped on them.**

"**S-sir! Med pack here!" A soldier ran up to Jaune and offered the white box to the Spartan, still in awe over the way Jaune brought down the walking tank that was shrugging off everything they threw at it.**

"**Thank you Private. Four, take these men and push forwards, I'll catch up once I finish patching myself up." Jaune said. Plopping himself down on the ground, he began the painstaking process of removing pieces of his armour so he could get to the wounds underneath.**

"**You got it Six. Gentlemen, you heard the LT, form up, we're pushing to the docks." Yatsuhashi received several salutes from the surviving soldiers as they readied to march again. Giving Jaune a nod, the Spartan lead them onwards.**

**Removing his helmet to clean out the blood specs on the visor, Jaune rapidly patched himself up with the med kit. Tossing the empty kit away, Jaune stowed the painkillers in his satchel, he wouldn't use it since he needed his mind clear, but it could be useful for one of the soldiers. Rising to his feet, he checked the package, slight worry assailed him when he saw a crack on the canister, but he breathed easier when the AI chip within remained intact. As long as the contents remained safe, the container was honestly irrelevant, in the worst-case scenario, he could always slot the chip into his armour, would probably mess with his systems, but desperate measures and all that.**

"You know, now that we get a good look at his face… why is it so pale? I think Weiss-cream's hair has more colour than that." Yang said, ignoring the annoyed 'hey!' coming from the Schnee heiress.

"Yeah, doesn't he get enough sun or something?" Ruby asked.

"Actually, he does not. Spartans effectively live inside their armour since they could be called into battle at a moment's notice. The amount of time spent outside their armour in the sun annually could honestly be counted in hours. If they're in the field, they're suited up, even at base or on a ship, they're still usually suited up and there's no sun indoors anyways." Blank answered.

"That's horrible." Qrow muttered with distaste, the idea of being unable to feel the warm sun on his skin… it sent shivers down his spine.

"It's… not that bad. No one ordered them to do it, it's just that Spartans are more comfortable inside the armour than out. It's like a second skin to them, especially considering it boosts everything, being out of it feels like they're missing part of themselves. A product of their conditioning and environment perhaps, but it is their choice."

**As Jaune continued through the docks, he passed the bodies of fallen Covenant soldiers and regrettably several human ones as well. His comms came alive as Yatsuhashi sent out a message to the Captain. "Sir, this is Noble four, we're at the pad and waiting. Be advised, we have surviving members of the defence force waiting for evac as well."**

"**Roger that, I'm on the way over now, keep the LZ clear so we can land and I'll meet you on the pad."**

"**Yes sir."**

**The line went dead and Jaune double timed it to where the others were waiting. "Report."**

**The sergeant saluted Jaune and gave a brief run down on what was going on. "Sir, we've set up the mass driver to give the Autumn cover, if it goes down the ship will never be able to reach orbit."**

**Jaune looked over and spotted Yatsuhashi already set up in the mass driver control pod and firing at incoming Phantoms, destroying them before they could offload their troop complement. "Good work, take up defensive positions and keep those Covenant bastards away from the mass driver. Captain Schnee is on his way with a Pelican, that'll be your ride out of here."**

"Very… big… gun…" Ruby was drooling absentmindedly as she watched the mass driver wreak havoc on the inbound dropships.

"What kind of cannon is that, it doesn't look like a weapon to me." Winter asked, slightly confused by the design of the mass driver, if anything, it looked more like some kind of industrial tool rather than a military weapon.

"It's a mass driver, a rail gun if you would. It was never meant to be a weapon, its purpose is sending things into orbit, whether its scrap metal, ship parts, ore or what have you. But of course, if its strong enough to shoot something into space, it's strong enough to do massive damage to whatever gets in its path, whether it's by accident or because someone is deliberately aiming it." Blank answered.

"Resourceful. Human ingenuity at play I suppose." Ozpin sipped from his cup and smiled.

"Indeed, most weapons were at one point or another designed as tools before being repurposed, whether that's a good thing or not depends greatly on the situation at hand."

**Despite Yatsuhashi's best efforts, several dropships still made it through and dumped a whole bunch of Covenant troops on their doorsteps. Jaune took up his position as a sniper again and resumed providing fire support for the soldiers engaging at close range.**

**Plasma bolts, needles and AP rounds filled the air as both sides sought to push the other off the landing pad. Jaune tossed his last two grenades to shatter a jackal phalanx and ducked when a glowing plasma grenade sailed past in return.**

**He resisted the urge to chuckle when the grenade stuck to a brute trying to attack him from behind. It screamed and clawed at the glowing orb stuck to its face before a blue flash removed the entirety of its upper torso.**

**His smile was wiped away when the latest Phantom dropped off a brute chieftain armed with a hammer. Firing on it with his rifle to distract the beast, he was too slow to save the nearest pair of humans. The hammer swung down and the resulting shockwave broke bones and sent one tumbling off the edge of the pad to his doom. The other survived long enough to watch the brute raise the hammer overhead and bring it down.**

"Not a good way to go." Ironwood winced at the resulting mess.

The students were mostly green in the face from the rather graphic display… except for one.

"Nice hammer, what's it do?" Nora asked, more interested in the shockwave than the carnage.

"Gravity hammer, when it's triggered it releases a gravity wave that pushes everything else back hard enough to kill at close range. With it, you could even slap a tank around no problem." Blank answered.

"Oooh… can we do that with gravity dust?"

"Yes."

"hehhehehehehe…" Nora cackled as she rubbed her hands together. So many ideas, so little time, Magnhild would be the coolest war hammer in existence by the time she was done. And if Jaune brought back more goodies to upgrade her grenades as well?

"Hehehehhehehe…"

**Jaune's energy sword hummed as the pale blue blade sprung into existence. The Spartan closed to melee range and slashed at the chieftain, the energy blade sparked when it clashed with the chieftain's shields.**

**Pulling back, Jaune evaded the hammer and leapt backwards, riding the gravity blast to put distance between them. Drawing his sidearm, Jaune emptied the mag into the chieftain's shields, weakening it further.**

**A roar of rage drowned out the rest of the battlefield as the brute enraged and charged with hammer swinging. Carefully evading the gravity blasts as the hammer sent loose crates and weapon lockers flying, one of which crushed a grunt to death by sheer dumb luck.**

**Once he got the timing down, Jaune stepped forwards and into the hammer's path, slapping the hammer arm upwards. Normally fighting a brute in a contest of strength was suicide even with his augmentations and armour, but redirection of momentum was easy enough.**

**Sidestepping the surprised brute, Jaune swept upwards with his sword, the weapon cutting through the weakened shields and neatly lopping off the brute's arm. Slashing again, he decapitated the brute in one stroke. The energy sword sputtered and died shortly after, its power cell spent.**

**Tossing the useless hilt away, Jaune retrieved the hammer and set about smacking other aliens off the edge to their doom.**

"Oooh… hammer buddy fearless leader… hmm…"

"Nora, I don't think Jaune will like it if you modify Crocea Mors into a hammer." Ren sighed and poked her nose to get her to let go of those thoughts.

"But think of the potential Renny!"

"**Noble to Autumn, all hostiles on the LZ cleared and the skies are free of bandits, standing by awaiting your arrival." Jaune spoke into his mike once he sent the last of the brutes screaming to its death on the rocks far below.**

"**On my way." Jacques response was swift and Jaune could make out two Pelicans leaving one of the cruiser's hangar bays.**

"**This is it Six, time for you to leave, I've got the cruisers, get the package on the Autumn and get off this planet. I've got your back." Yatsuhashi called out.**

**Jaune nodded and waited for the Pelican to land. As the captain stepped out, the surviving soldiers piled in, glad for the ride to safety. Jaune retrieved the canister and handed it over the Jacques.**

"**Excellent work Spartan, Merlot assured me I could count on you."**

"**Not just me sir." Jaune deflected the praise.**

"**They'll be remembered, and we'll avenge them… all of them." Captain Schnee bowed his head and offered a quick prayer to the countless souls taken by the Covenant war machine before heading back inside the Pelican.**

"**Come on lieutenant, we need to leave now. Our window is closing."**

"Wait, what about Yatsuhashi?" Blake asked.

"He's staying behind to buy the ship time to launch." Qrow said.

"What!? But that's suicide! Can't the Autumn shoot at the enemy cruisers or something!?"

"Not from that angle." Blank answered.

"So Mr Daichi is staying behind to sacrifice himself in order to buy the ship time to launch." Goodwitch followed up with an expression of distaste. There was no choice in the matter, but having to watch one of her students just sacrifice themselves like that wasn't something any educator wanted to see.

**Before Jaune could board the Pelican though, several crimson plasma bolts impacted against one of the Pelicans, shooting it straight out of the sky. A Phantom emerged from beneath the platform, having flown low to avoid radar and the reach of the mass driver.**

"**Shit, where'd he come from!?" Jacques snarled and braced himself against the door as several plasma bolts came close to hitting his ride.**

**Jaune returned fire with his rifle ineffectively and his shields flared as they absorbed incoming fire. His face fell as he watched several elites jump out of the dropship and land on the mass driver platform.**

"**Zealots! Four! Get out of there!" His warning came too late as the first zealot had already climbed onto the cab with energy sword drawn. Slicing downwards, he shattered the reinforced glass and came close to burying the blade in Yatsuhashi's skull.**

**The Spartan grunted and freed his shotgun, firing at point blank range with one hand, he managed to knock the elite off the cab and stun it. Rising out of the cab, he chambered another shell and fired it at the stunned elite's cranium, blowing it to pieces.**

"**Who's next!?" His challenge was answered when a second zealot climbed up behind him. Jaune's rifle bursts lacked the stopping power to put down the elite or even slow it down. Jaune could only watch on powerlessly as Yatsuhashi failed to turn in time.**

**A blue energy blade sprouted from his chest when the zealot stabbed him in the back with his sword, fatally wounding the spartan. As the blade was ripped free in a shower of blood, Yatsuhashi managed to turn despite the elite's grip on him. Drawing his combat knife, he rammed it into the elite's neck in an effort to take it with him.**

"**I'M READY! HOW ABOUT YOU!?" Ripping the blade out and letting it fall, both mortally wounded combatants fell over the side and hit the ground with a sickening thud.**

"**Shit, Lieutenant, get aboard now! We have to get out of here!" Jacques ordered and was surprised when Jaune shook his head.**

"**Negative sir."**

"What? He's not going? What is he planning?" Weiss asked in confusion.

"So that's how it is. Someone needs to man the mass driver. He's volunteering." Winter answered as she closed her eyes.

"What? Damnit, does it have to be that way?" Yang growled out, her eyes blazing red again.

"Unfortunately so, the cab is exposed, a good hit will kill any unshielded human inside. A spartan is the only one who can man it. If no one does, the approaching cruiser will destroy the ship and kill everyone aboard." Blank replied.

"**I have the gun. Good luck to you sir." Jaune said as he turned and walked away. Jacques clutched the AI canister close and bowed his head.**

"**Good luck to you as well Spartan."**

**As the Pelican took off, Jaune reloaded his weapons and went hunting. There were Covenant troops still in the area to be killed before he could get back on the mass driver.**

**What followed was five minutes of frenetic action as the Spartan relentlessly hunted down and slaughtered every single Covenant soldier despoiling the docks with their presence.**

**Jaune tossed the empty fuel rod cannon away once he was sure the final zealot wasn't getting up again. The bastard survived the initial salvo, the second ripped it in half. Surprisingly, the bastard still tried crawling towards him after that. One final orb of emerald death rectified that issue. Much of the area was now a ruined wasteland and Jaune left it behind to mount the mass driver.**

**Firing it as soon as it was charged, he shot down every Phantom and Banshee that approached. The mass driver took several good hits and warning signs were flashing as several systems started to fail from the accumulated damage.**

**The Covenant cruiser was almost in firing range, Jaune could see the plasma collecting as it prepared to fire on the Pillar of Autumn. Taking a deep breath, he entered the state known to most Spartans as Spartan time, enhanced reflexes mixed with adrenaline caused the world to appear to move in slow motion.**

'**Mass driver doesn't have the power to crack the cruiser's shields. But It'll have to drop them temporarily before it can fire that plasma torpedo, only one shot in that window. It'll have to count.' Jaune's accelerated thought process worked through the calculations and he waited for the chance to arrive.**

**A shimmer in the air around the cruiser indicated a small gap in the shields had opened up and the ship was about to fire on the grounded Autumn. Jaune took the shot and struck the cruiser right before it could shoot.**

**The plasma torpedo failed to fire when part of its guidance system was destroyed by the mass driver round. The accumulated plasma fed back into the ships systems in search of release, causing a chain reaction as the cruiser couldn't compensate for the backflow. A massive explosion gutted the ship and flight controls went offline, sending the ship hurtling towards the ground.**

"**Threat neutralised. Pillar of Autumn, you are clear to launch." Jaune said as he exited the mass driver.**

"**Good kill Noble Six, all hands prepare for cast off."**

**Guiding rockets attached to the ship fired as the Autumn's engines roared to life. Pushing the giant hunk of metal into the air, the rockets manoeuvred the ship into position before falling away, the Autumn's own engines taking over from there.**

"**This is the Pillar of Autumn, we're away and the package is with us." Captain Schnee's last transmission came through, getting Jaune to smile.**

"**Mission accomplished."**

"He did it, he got the package to the ship. So what happens to him now?" Pyrrha shuffled nervously.

Blank said nothing, allowing the screen to continue playing after a scene transition.

**Jaune stepped away from his wrecked Ghost, the smoking thing wouldn't last much longer, not with Banshees hounding him all the way. A fighting retreat for the last one and half hours had led him here.**

**The mass driver was gone, the self-destruct taking out a full company of troops and their rides. After that, he'd slowly retreated deeper into Aszod, using everything he could get his hands on to kill as many aliens as he could.**

**Now, he was here. Banshees circled overhead, ready to pounce on whatever vehicle he tried commandeering. Additional Phantoms were approaching, bringing with them the most elite of the elite.**

**One of humanity's vaunted demons was here all alone, the honour of putting one down was too much to pass up.**

**Firing until his weapons were empty, he ripped fresh ones from the corpses of his foes, turning them against their own. And when those ran dry as well, he used them as clubs. When they broke, he used his fists and legs.**

**The battle dragged on as reinforcements continued pouring in. Bit by bit Jaune was worn down, in body and in equipment. His armour had taken one to many hits while the shields were down and the shielding system was starting to fail. The recharge rate was erratic and his full body protection was compromised in places.**

**A crack formed on his visor as an elite blindsided him with the butt of its rifle. Staggering back, Jaune overcharged his plasma pistol, discharging it at point blank range and overloading its shields. Surging forwards, Jaune pushed the smoking pistol right into the elite's mandibles, eliciting a scream as flesh burned on contact with the superheated metal, a quick squeeze of the trigger and elite's head vanished in an emerald flash.**

**Tossing the ruined weapon aside, Jaune picked up the plasma rifle and fired on a group of advancing suicide grunts. The subsequent plasma grenade detonation gave him time to sprint to cover and allow his shields to recharge.**

**Falling back to the nearest building, Jaune ripped a chaingun turret free from its emplacement and used it to mow down approaching Covenant troops. A second crack appeared on his visor when a fuel rod cannon shot blew up next to him, sending a shower of metal shrapnel flying in every direction, one of which struck his helmet dead on.**

**Once the concentration of enemies became too much to stop, Jaune discarded the turret and tossed several grenades into the throng of enemies. Not waiting for the detonation, he retreated again to buy more time.**

**He didn't get far before an elite intercepted him with a war cry. Firing on it, the elite's shields failed and the bullets tore through its body, but it refused to die until it landed a mark on the demon.**

**Jaune's head reeled back as the elite headbutted him with the last of his strength. His breaths came in ragged wheezes now from the hit, the wound inflicted on him by the hunter earlier opening up again.**

**The helmet itself was compromised, the headbutt had damaged the air filters inside it and now no air was being allowed in or recycled, ensuring Jaune would suffocate if he continued wearing it. Ripping it off, Jaune pulled out the painkillers he'd saved earlier and injected everything into his bloodstream, a guaranteed lethal dose, but he wasn't long for this world anyways.**

**Feeling the numbness spread, Jaune rose to his feet and continued fighting against the elites who caught up with him. At this point, the view transitioned to that of his fallen helmet camera.**

**Jaune fired on an approaching elite with his assault rifle, killing it just as soon as the weapon ran out of ammo. A zealot approached from behind with sword drawn, Jaune spun around and clubbed it with his rifle, staggering it. Drawing his sidearm, he fired on it until the shields shattered and the elite stopped twitching.**

**Reloading his rifle, Jaune fired on the oncoming horde as plasma return fire impacted him, breaching his damaged shields and starting to melt through the armour beneath. Several more elites dropped dead near the helmet cam but more made it through.**

**One shoulder charged Jaune, knocking him to the ground and igniting an arm mounted energy dagger for the coup de grace. A kick sent it stumbling back.**

**Another tried to finish off the wounded Spartan, several magnum rounds to the face discouraged it. Jaune continued fighting as best he could even though he could feel his body starting to fail.**

**Finally one elite made it past his defence and had its dagger primed for a fatal strike. The screen cut to black just as it stabbed downwards.**

**When it came on again, the scenery was different from before. instead of the wasteland covered in smog from a burning world, lush green glass and snow-capped mountains filled the screen. A blue sky hung overhead and the chirping of birds could be heard. **

**Jaune's broken and discarded helmet lay on the ground abandoned, the only indicator that it was still Reach.**

"**It didn't take long for Reach to fall. Our enemy was ruthless, efficient, but they weren't nearly fast enough. For you had already passed the torch, and because of you, we found Halo." A far older Merlot stepped into view and picked up the fallen helmet.**

"**Unlocked its secrets, shattered our enemy's resolve. Our victory… your victory… was so close, I wish you could have lived to see it. But you belong to Reach, your armour, your body, all burned to glass and ash. Except your courage, that you passed on to the rest of us. And with it, we can rebuild." Merlot bent down and placed the helmet back where he found it.**

"**You weren't one of mine Jaune Arc, but the same courtesy extends to you. For morale purposes… Spartans never die, they're just missing in action. And I suppose its true, because of you, you paved the way for humanity to have a future, much of your deeds will be lost to time, but this? This will forever be remembered, your memory will never truly die. Rest easy Spartan, you've earned it."**

The screen faded to black and the lights came on again, Blank allowed the audience a few seconds for the audience to compose themselves.

"Why? Why'd he have to die? Couldn't there be another way?" Ruby asked in a small voice.

"It's war. Sometimes… sometimes good men don't come home. They give their lives in duty, so that others may live. It… isn't fair, nothing in war is fair. And all you can do is honour the people you lose." Ironwood sighed and recalled the many faces he lost over the years.

"Mr Arc's sacrifice bought humanity a future, but he wasn't able to see it. it's… bittersweet." Ozpin grimaced slightly at the thought.

"Merlot… it is still surprising he's a good man here, given what he's done." Goodwitch tried to change the subject to lift the depressing mood.

"Good is subjective. Merlot here is a strong proponent of 'for the greater good', nearly everything he's done in his career has been to advance humanity." Blank answered.

"So he's responsible for all the unethical bullshit then?" Roman grunted out.

"Largely but not completely. Along the line though, he realised that 'for the greater good' doesn't really hold weight in the end. Sooner or later, you'll run out of people to sacrifice that way. It's easy to say we'll draw the line at some point, but at what point is that? When you have to sacrifice 49% of the population to save the remaining 51%? Or when there's literally no one left."

"Then what did his answer change to?" Winter asked.

"To try and save everyone possible. Maybe it's impossible, but he's still going to try anyway. Some would call him a coward or a defeatist though, since his goals shifted from trying to find victory to simply trying to allow humanity to survive."

"That Halo he was talking about, what is it? How did it save humanity?" Blake was next to ask a question.

"A relic of a long dead civilisation who once held dominion over the galaxy. Finding it marked the beginning of the end of the covenant when the falsehoods it was built on started unravelling. You'll see it in the next viewing."

"Umhmm, more importantly, all in favour of not seeing fearless leader run off on a suicide mission say aye!" Nora called out.

"Aye." RWBY plus Ren and Pyrrha answered.

"In any case, take the time to refresh yourselves, I'll go prepare the next viewing. Due to circumstances, a little tweaking will need to be done." Blank said and popped out of existence.

* * *

Author's notes: Nothing much to see here, references abound, hunt em if you want. Can't do 6's 3 day last stand here because I kinda had him take a fall to a hunter, no way he's surviving for 3 days fighting without rest with that kind of injury. Canonically, 6 and chief are complete immortal badasses and the number of times their shields actually break in the main campaign could honestly be counted on one hand. This version of them is based on how a good player would play them, not their actual nigh invincible true versions.

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as Spartan-B312 Noble 6

Yatsuhashi Daichi as Emile-A239 Noble 4

Taiyang Xiao Long as Carter-A259 Noble 1

Jacques Schnee as Captain Keyes

Dr Merlot as Dr Catherine Halsey


	12. Chapter 12: 117

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 12: 117**

**Inspiration: Halo Combat Evolved**

"Alright, it's ready. As I've said, this is a continuation of the previous two although, it is a slightly different universe now." Blank said once he popped back into existence and the audience had finished refreshing themselves.

"Different how? Does Jaune survive the last battle in this one?" Weiss asked.

"In a sense. Jaune Arc isn't Noble six in this version, he's another, a Spartan II assigned to the Autumn this time."

"Huh, so who was Noble six in this universe then?" Blake asked.

"Very good question. The timestream of that particular period is messed up for a number of factors. Six's identity switches around on every viewing of the universe, even the gender is subject to change."

"How… is that possible?" Ironwood frowned in confusion.

"Good question. And I have no clue myself, I can view other worlds, get insight into them, but not even I have all the answers. I just chalk it up to a quirk of those universes, it's easier to not think too hard about it." Blank replied.

"Heh, hehehhehe…" Nora's evil cackling distracted the audience from asking anymore questions. By her side, Ren sighed explosively as he could tell what she was thinking again.

"Nora. No."

"Oh come on Renny, he's already worn a dress!" Nora whined in protest, poking at Ren to get him to change his mind.

"I don't think Jaune will appreciate you forcing him to cross dress again Nora… although… it might be interesting to see." Pyrrha admitted

"See! She agrees!"

"Pyrrha, please don't encourage her." Ren buried his face in his hands, silently praying for the gods to have mercy on Jaune's soul for Nora surely wouldn't.

"Huh… he did wear a dress to the dance that one time. I'm sure with a little make up and…" Yang trailed off, already planning Jaune's makeover whenever he returned.

"I'll help!" Ruby pipped up cheerfully.

"Nope! You'll have to wait with everyone else until I unveil my masterpiece." Yang shot Ruby's suggestion down, getting the younger girl to 'awww' in disappointment

"A dress? Kid's got weird tastes." Qrow blinked before shrugging and sipping from his flask.

"Like you have room to talk Mr I can wear a skirt better than my sister." Taiyang snarked back, immediately drawing the attention of his daughters and Winter.

"Moving along! Let's get the movie playing already!" Qrow shouted as cold sweat ran down the back of his neck. Nervous laughter left the man as he plotted vengeance internally.

"Aw what's the matter Qrow? Or should I say Qrowe-" Summer began only to be cut off when Qrow's hand materialised at her mouth.

"Ah ah ah… that's enough! You promised never to bring that up again!" The drunk hissed out.

"So that's what it's like to be young again, I feel old now. Older than normal anyways." Ozpin chuckled to himself and sipped from his cup.

"Very well, if everyone's ready, I'll begin playing now." Blank said and the lights dimmed, the screen coming on to show a vast expanse of stars.

**The pillar of Autumn's blocky profile stood out against the void. Several Longsword fighters coasted alongside the cruiser as it powered forwards. The camera panned and a distant galaxy came into view first, its ember radiance a magnificent sight, a massive gas giant appeared next. And finally, a ring, floating in front of the planet.**

"That's a big ring. How much do you have to love jewellery to build a ring that big!?" Roman stared in disbelief.

"It's just a ring, what's so special about it?" Ruby asked.

"Well Red, think about the scale for a moment. That's space, we have a big ass ship flying towards a planet. And in front of a planet that is still far, far away, we have a ring. One that's large enough to be seen from this distance. I'll bet you everything I have that that thing is larger than an entire kingdom."

"since you're curious, its diameter is ten thousand kilometres. Halos are called ring worlds for a reason." Blank supplied.

"Point proven. Big ring indeed." Roman clapped several times in awe.

"**Weiss, all I need to know is did we lose them." Jacques voice rang out.**

Weiss blinked in surprise, not expecting to hear her name or her father calling her. "I'm in this one?"

"Yes, but no relation to Jacques here. You're the AI being transported to the Autumn in the last viewing." Blank answered.

"That's… new." Weiss muttered, not sure what to make of it.

"**I think we both know the answer to that." Weiss replied as the camera zoomed in on the Autumn's bridge.**

"**We made a blind jump, how did they-"**

"**Get here first? Covenant ships have always been faster. As for tracking us all the way from Reach, at light speed my manoeuvring options were limited." Weiss answered the captain's unfinished question.**

"**We were running dark yes?" Jacques strode over to a console and began reading the readouts on it, double checking with the crewmen on duty if the readings were accurate.**

"**Until we decelerated. No one could have missed the hole we tore in subspace. They were waiting for us on the far side of the planet."**

**Jacques stared at the map on display, frowning at the multiple red dots situated on the other side of the planet and stared at the lone blue one representing the Autumn. 'Out of the frying pan and into the fire, damnit.'**

"**So where do we stand?" The question was rhetorical and they both knew it, humanity didn't win in space when they were outnumbered. Even when the numbers were mostly even it still led to overwhelming defeat.**

"**Well, our fighters are picking off the last of their recon picket now. Nothing serious, but. I've isolated approach signatures for multiple CCS-class battle groups, make it three capital ships per group. And in about ninety seconds, they'll be all over us." Weiss delivered the bad news anyway.**

**Captain Schnee sighed heavily and steeled himself. "Well that's it then, bring the ship back up to combat alert alpha. I want everyone at their stations."**

**With the slipspace drive cooling off, they wouldn't be able to make a jump out of system, not before the Covenant reduced them to a molten heap. But if they were going down, they were going down swinging.**

"**Everyone sir?" Weiss's hologram popped into existence on a nearby projector and alarms started blaring across the ship. **

"**Everyone. And Weiss, let's give our old friend a warm welcome."**

"**I've already begun." Weiss waved a hand and smiled.**

"They were chased all the way from Reach? That's persistent." Ironwood growled out.

"How are they supposed to survive this? They're hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned." Winter asked, her fists tightly clenched at the idea that her sister was in danger, even if it was an AI version.

"The Autumn got 'lucky'. That ring is considered a holy artefact to the Covenant, humanity's proximity to it means they can't use their heavy weapons out of fear that the ring will be damaged, either in the crossfire or from the Autumn's wreckage crashing into it." Blank answered.

"Yeah, but that means boarding action. Something tells me these alien bastards aren't exactly hurting for bodies to throw at the ship." Qrow said.

"Correct. The Autumn will fall eventually, but not fast enough for the Covenant."

**Weiss's voice echoed all over the ship as she directed combat units to their positions and non-combat personnel to evac points. Several Warthogs were driving around, ferrying men and material wherever they needed to go.**

"**You heard the lady, move like you got a purpose!" Qrow ordered his group of marines and they fell into position for inspection.**

"I'm a sergeant here I guess." Qrow shrugged and rolled with it.

"Staff sergeant actually." Blank corrected.

"**Men, we led those dumb bugs out to the middle of nowhere to keep em from getting their FILTHY claws on Earth. But we stumbled onto something they're so hot for that they're scrambling over each other to get it. Well I don't care if it's God's own anti-sonofabitch machine or a giant hula hoop, we're not gonna let em have it! What we will let em have is a bellyful of lead and a pool of their own blood to drown in! Am I right marines!?" Qrow barked out.**

"**SIR YES SIR!" The marines shouted back in unison.**

"**Umhmm, damn right I am. Now move out, double time!" Qrow watched as the marines rushed off to their positions.**

"**All you greenhorns who wanted to see Covenant up close, this is gonna be your lucky day!"**

"Now that's how you inspire someone, none of your fancy programming for no tin soldiers Jimmy, actual flesh and blood troops, that's how its done!" Qrow cheered for his alternate self and shot Ironwood a challenging glare.

"I'm not having this argument with you again Qrow, I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, the AKs and Atlas' mechs are there to keep human casualties down. How many of those marines do you think will live to see another day? Robots, don't have that problem." Ironwood fired back.

A cough from Goodwitch got the two to back down before they could start arguing again.

"**Bringing low level systems online, cracking the case in thirty seconds." Two technicians were at work, keying multiple commands into the console. Their workstation overlooked a cryogenics bay, most of the pods were empty save two. And now, they were bringing one of the occupants back to the land of the living.**

**The hatch unsealed with a hiss, vapor venting as it opened. The chief engineer next to the pod gulped as the armoured giant within stepped out and onto the deck. Jaune shook his head to clear out the cobwebs, shrugging off the vestiges of cryo sleep.**

"**Good to have you back with us Chief, the Autumn is under attack by the Covenant, you need to get to the captain fast." The chief engineer said once he regained his bearings.**

**Before Jaune could reply, the doors to the work station on the level above them started to melt through. "Oh god, they're coming through!"**

**One of the technicians inside backed away in fear while the other drew his sidearm. The doors blew inwards seconds later and plasma fire poured through, cutting down both men before they could scream.**

"**Damn, come on, we got to get the hell out of here!" The chief engineer grit his teeth upon watching two of his boys get slaughtered before leading the way out, Jaune following behind him.**

"Hell yeah, Jaune's awake, now he's going to tear them all to pieces!" Yang cheered alongside Nora who was naturally chanting for Jaune to break some legs. The two shared a high five, drawing simultaneous sighs from Weiss and Ren.

"I regret ever complaining about team RWBY, if I had to be on a team with Nora and Yang together…" Weiss trailed off, and a collective shudder went through the other students and faculty members.

"I'm… not sure if we'd have a school left after the first week if that happened." Blake said, her ears flat against her head.

"Yeah, that's why me and Jaune made the rule that the two of them can't be left in the same room together unsupervised. Not after the… pancake incident." Ruby said and a second collective shudder ran through the students and staff.

"That's 'Jaune and I' Ruby, but good call on that either way." Weiss acknowledged.

"**This way!" The chief engineer unlocked the door and made a dash for the next one at the end of the corridor. He never made it, a series of explosions wrecked the hallway and sent the man flying, neck twisted at an odd angle.**

**Jaune sighed and crouched down, reaching out, he closed the man's eyes with his palm before rising again. Testing the doors indicated they were jammed in place, too much for even his enhanced strength to be able to move in a timely manner.**

**An alternative route to the bridge would have to be found. Ducking through some pipes, Jaune navigated the darkened hallways as the ship rumbled from the constant attacks. Several times he came across a firefight in progress, human defenders doing their best to keep the Covenant at bay until the blast doors could be sealed. Much as he wanted to join the battle, reaching the captain took priority.**

"**Sir, captain needs you on the bridge asap, better follow me!" A marine saluted when Jaune's armoured figure approached. Nodding his assent, Jaune followed behind as the marine led him through an armoury and to the bridge proper. A frown marred his face as he passed the wounded and they dying, he'd make the covenant pay for that too.**

"**Captain Schnee." Jaune greeted as the aging captain turned to face him.**

"**Good to see you Master Chief." Jacques nodded and shook Jaune's hand.**

"**Things aren't going so well. Weiss did her best but… we never really had a chance to begin with." The captain admitted.**

"**A dozen Covenant battleships against a single Halcyon class cruiser, with those odds I'm content with three-make that four kills. Sleep well?" Weiss asked as her hologram turned to face Jaune.**

"**No thanks to your driving, I did."**

"**Ah, so you did miss me."**

"We're acquainted here? And what's wrong with my driving!?" Weiss said.

"You're an AI originally assigned to Jaune and his team for a mission. The idea was to put the best AI with the best group of soldiers on one of the most advanced ships in the UNSC to create the only group with a chance at completing a mission that's borderline impossible even for such a group." Blank answered.

"What kind of mission would be that difficult? And if it's that hard, why was it even approved?" Winter asked in confusion, if the chances of failure were that high, why even bother setting out?

"Their mission was to go behind enemy lines, locate the Covenant leadership and capture them. Force the Covenant to the negotiating table that way. A straight shot at ending the war. Whether or not it would have succeeded is anyone's guess since the attack on Reach derailed the plan before it could get off the ground."

**An explosion rocked the Pillar of Autumn and sent them stumbling. Jacques kept himself from falling by grabbing hold of the nearest console. "Report!"**

"**Must have been one of their boarding parties, my guess is an anti-matter charge." Weiss replied, lines of code flickering across her hologram as she processed the damage to the ship.**

"**Ma'am! Fire control to the main cannon is offline!" One of the bridge crew shouted out.**

"**Captain, the cannon was my last defensive option." Weiss frowned, the mac was the only weapon they had left that could destroy enemy capital ships, their nukes had already been spent during the battle of Reach. **

"**Alright then, I'm initiating the Cole Protocol, we're abandoning the Autumn. That means you too Weiss." Jacques ordered.**

"**While you do what? Go down with the ship?"**

"**In a manner of speaking. That ring out there, I'm going to try to land the Autumn on it." Jacques pointed to the Halo ring floating in the distance.**

"**With all due respect, this war has enough dead heroes." Weiss argued back.**

"Is it that hard to land a ship on something? It did take off from a planet after all." Roman pipped up.

"Quite actually. Unlike frigates, cruisers aren't designed to operate in atmosphere. Landing is a more polite term for controlled crashing." Blank said.

"Ah…"

"**I appreciate the concern Weiss, but it's not up to me. Protocol is clear, destruction or capture of a shipboard AI is absolutely unacceptable. That means you're leaving the ship. Lock in a selection of possible landing zones and upload them to my neural lace, and then sort yourself out."**

"**Aye aye, sir." Weiss sighed and her hologram winked out. The captain turned to face Jaune next.**

"**Which is where you come in Chief. Get Weiss off this ship, keep her safe from the enemy. If they capture her, they'll learn everything. Force deployments, weapons research… Earth."**

"**I understand." Jaune acknowledged.**

**Weiss popped back in once her tasks were done. "Done, the Autumn will continue evasive manoeuvres until you initiate a landing sequence. Not that you'd listen but I suggest letting my subroutines handle the final approach."**

"**Excellent work Weiss, thank you. Are you ready?" Jacques nodded and waited for Weiss to finish whatever she had left to do.**

"**Alright, yank me." Jacques keyed several commands into the console before removing the AI chip and handing it to Jaune.**

"**Good luck Master Chief." Jaune accepted the chip and slotted it into a port on his helmet, a brief sense of vertigo and the sensation of someone dumping a bucket of ice water over his brain followed and Weiss's familiar presence entered his mind.**

"**Huh, your architecture isn't that different from the Autumn's…"**

"**Don't get any funny ideas."**

"Hehehhe… looks like Jaune still can't get you out of his head eh Weiss cream?" Yang playfully poked the heiress in the side, getting a growl and face palm in response.

"Damnit Yang!"

"**Here, you'll probably find more use for this than me, but you'll have to find more ammo as you go along." Jacques handed Jaune his sidearm and a few spare mags. The Spartan accepted the weapon with a nod and snapped of a salute.**

**Leaving the bridge, their next course of action was to find a lifeboat off the ship while the captain took it in closer to the ring. Rounding a corner, he ran into a trio of surprised grunts, downing each of them with headshots. Jaune retrieved a plasma pistol and two grenades from one, adding them to his arsenal.**

**Entering a mess hall, he chanced upon a firefight happening between a group of marines and some elites. Overcharging his plasmas pistol, he discharged the orb of emerald plasma and watched it take down the shields of one of the elites. A hail of lead from the marines brought it down soon afterwards.**

**Ducking behind a wall to avoid the return fire, Jaune repeated the process, downing another shield and letting the marines finish of the alien. The last one standing was distracted by the door opening behind it as a fresh group of marines poured into the room.**

**Its roar was silenced when Jaune dashed over to the elite and clubbed it in the back of the head with his pistol, snapping its neck instantly. The Spartan gave the marines a small nod before leaving them behind to secure the area, time was off the essence.**

"He's effective, I just wish he wasn't so…" Pyrrha trailed off, unable to find the word she was looking for.

"Mechanical?" Blake offered.

"Yeah, that's it. It's… a little disquieting. More so than with Six." Pyrrha said.

"Indeed." Blake nodded silently, the Jaune on screen reminded her slightly of some of the veteran white fang members she used to know. Something about ruthless efficiency paired with a mask and general quietness, it made them feel… different.

"**Keep your head down! There's two of us in here remember!" Weiss snarked as Jaune ducked behind cover. Plasma bolts impacted harmlessly against the walls, angry warbling coming to an abrupt halt as Jaune's grenade detonated.**

"**How could I forget? You keep reminding me every ten seconds." Jaune fired back as he cautiously stepped back into the open. A bunch of dead bodies greeted him and he lowered his weapon slightly when no new target presented themselves.**

**Stepping into the boarding craft, he found no life signs aboard but he did pick up a fresh batch of plasma grenades and a portable overshield generator.**

"**They're attaching their boarding craft to the lifeboat airlocks, we go out and they come in… crafty bastards." Weiss analysed.**

**Pushing further into the ship, Jaune joined the marines in repelling boarders. His overshield generator lasted up until he reached a Covenant kill box. Elites and grunts were stationed on the landing above, raining plasma bolts and grenades down on the human defenders trapped below.**

**Using his overshield to tank the hits, Jaune pushed back. Tossing every plasma grenade he had left and sticking a few grunts with them, he smiled when the panicking aliens ran back to their cohorts and wiped out the entire file in the sapphire explosion.**

"Talk about friendly fire. Eh?" Taiyang joked and a bottle immediately conked him on the head.

"No. None of that here Tai, we don't have enough braincells for you to murder with your twisted sense of humour." An irate Qrow growled out.

"Jokes aside, that is terrible discipline. Why would you ever run back to your comrades when a live bomb is stuck to you?" Ironwood frowned at the sheer lack of thinking on display, as a soldier himself, it rubbed him the wrong way… even if it was technically the enemy of humanity doing it.

"Grunts are cannon fodder infantry, discipline is largely ignored in battle in favour of simply mobbing the enemy with numbers. They certainly lack quality but as they say, quantity has a quality all its own." Blank said.

**Emerging from a series of maintenance hallways, Jaune remained silent as he found himself behind a large group of Covenant soldiers, too many to take out without heavy weapons. While strategizing a way to get past them, he started smiling when he saw the grenades hanging at the belts of several grunts.**

**Firing several times and taking out the grenade carrying grunts, he heard the tell-tale roar of anger and watched as the elites returned fire. Priming and tossing his last plasma grenade into the mix, its detonation triggered every other grenade lying on the floor. Once the explosions died down, the entire group of Covenant had been reduced to a messy pile of burnt and melted body parts.**

"**Messy as ever I see, one lifeboat left on this section of the ship, it's just up ahead." Weiss informed the Spartan.**

"**Got it." Following the nav markers Weiss laid down to mark the path, Jaune suppressed the grin that threatened to form when he came across a grenade rack used as a makeshift barricade… and a group of Covenant on the other side of it.**

**Announcing his presence by lobbing nearly half the grenades on the rack, he watched as the explosions ripped the aliens to pieces.**

"Perfection." Nora sniffed and wiped away a tear as Jaune once again proved why he was one of her favourite people.

"Nora, one of these days we need to get you into therapy. No one should love explosions that much." Weiss sighed and gave her a tired stare.

"Only therapy I need is blowing up Grimm!" Nora smiled brightly and gave a thumbs up.

"Not helping your case Nora." Ren could only sigh.

"**That's it, no more Covenant nearby, quick get aboard the lifeboat before it launches." Weiss said after a quick tap of the Autumn's sensors indicated the next group of Covenant boarders were too far away to stop them.**

"**Marines aboard first." Jaune said as he waited for a newly arrived squad of marines to board before entering himself. One tripped and just feet away from the entryway, instead of waiting for him to get up, Jaune picked him up by the collar and hurled him inside before stepping through himself.**

"**Now would be a very good time to leave!" Weiss urged again when the ship rumbled from incoming Covenant attacks. Jaune slammed a fist against the door controls and they sealed shut with a hiss.**

"**Punch it."**

"**Aye aye sir." The pilot nodded and pulled down her visor. Engaging the thrusters, the lifeboat shot out of the airlock and into space.**

"**Look." Weiss directed Jaune's attention to the Halo ring, now that they were much closer to it, its size was readily apparent. The ring was downright huge, filling a good portion of the windscreen and at this point, they couldn't make out the whole ring anymore.**

"**What the hell is that thing!?" One of the marines asked, moments away from panicking.**

"**Hell if I know, but we're landing on it." The pilot replied as she did her best to steer the lifeboat.**

"**The Autumn! She's been hit!" Another marine cried out when the stricken cruiser rushed by, multiple sections of its hull had been melted away and fires were burning in others. Thick black smoke poured out into the vacuum as the ship began its final descent towards the ring.**

"**I knew it, the Autumn's accelerating. Captain's going in manually! Sure you wouldn't take a seat?" Weiss asked as the lifeboat began rocking violently upon making contact with the ring's atmosphere, the burning wreck of the Autumn going down on a different vector from them.**

"**We'll be fine." Jaune reassured, he was safer bracing against the hull with his own hands and feet. Strong as the seats were, they really weren't designed to hold a Spartan in half a ton of armour.**

"Captain goes down with his ship eh? I was kinda hoping it would last a little longer given what it took to get them off planet." Qrow shrugged and drank deeply from his flask, a toast to the doomed vessel.

"And now they're scattered all over a giant ring in space. They'll be hunted down like rats." Roman's negativity reared its head again.

"Must you seriously find the cloud in every silver lining?" Goodwitch glared at the man who just gave her a shrug.

"Calling it as I see it. Why don't you ask the general what he'd do in such a situation? If a bunch of enemy soldiers are scattered across unfamiliar territory behind enemy lines, would you not hunt them down and stamp them out?"

An ugly expression marred Ironwood's face as he found himself having to agree with the master thief. "As much as I'd rather not agree with Torchwick, he has a point. Eliminating the opposition while they're scattered before they can regroup is a solid plan of action."

"If they work together, I'm sure the humans can find a way to win." Ruby said optimistically.

"That's highly unlikely Red." Torchwick sighed exaggeratedly.

"She's not wrong actually." Blank took the moment to interject.

"What? How?"

"You really shouldn't underestimate just how much damage a few determined humans can cause, let alone multiple groups of them."

"Ah of course, silly me, how could I forget?" Torchwick facepalmed as he recalled his plans being foiled by a particular group of very determined huntresses in training. The muttered curses got Neo to giggle silently and pat the man on the back.

**As the lifeboat approached the ground, disaster struck them. Mechanical failure caused the airbrakes to blow early and fail to slow down the lifeboat before they were ripped away by friction.**

"**We're coming in too fast, damn! I'm losing control of her… brace for impact!" The pilot yelled out as the treeline came into view. Panicked shouting filled the cabin and Jaune did his best to brace against the wall.**

**The lifeboat impacted against the ground with a massive jolt and skipped across the ground several times before coming to a stop. Jaune's head snapped back and collided with his helmet during the rough landing, causing him to black out momentarily.**

"**Jaune? Jaune! Can you hear me!?" He came to with a groan, Weiss's frantic shouting echoing in his skull.**

"**I'm up, what's with the shouting?" Rising to his feet, the Spartan blinked away the haziness clouding his mind.**

"**At last! Are you alright? Can you move?"**

"**Never better, what's the urgenc-oh." Jaune trailed off when he noticed the bodies. Some were still strapped into their crash seats, others had been thrown free during the crash and were lying outside. Weapons and ammo were scattered all around.**

"**Oh indeed. The others… they didn't make it." **

"They escaped the ship just to die because the lifeboat crashed? What a cruel twist of fate." Weiss folded her arms and shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"It's unfortunately not as uncommon as you think. Lifeboats should get you away from whatever emergency necessitated their use, but what happens afterwards is anyone's guess. It's one of the reasons why you'll find poison capsules inside the med packs on board airships and lifeboats." Her sister spoke up.

"Survivors… commit suicide?" Weiss's eyes were wide as saucers.

"It's dying with dignity. Rescue isn't always possible Ms Schnee. When you're trapped out in the Grimmlands, cut off from rescue and support, sometimes your options boil down to death by Grimm, death by thirst or starvation, death by injury and sickness or death by poison. One of those options is a lot less painful than the others." Ozpin spoke at this point.

The immortal sighed internally, he'd died via a lot of different methods over the centuries, and poison was usually one of the more painless ways to go out. A bitter smile crossed his face as his thoughts went in the morbid direction of picking out the best way to die, he was seriously messed up inside and he knew it.

**Jaune closed his eyes and offered them a few seconds of silence. There wasn't anything he could do for them now. Grabbing his rifle from where it fell, he scavenged ammunition from the crash site and took the opportunity to look around.**

**The place was… picturesque for lack of a better word. A clear blue sky, white puffy clouds, lush green grass, a distant waterfall and a river of sapphire water coursing through. It was like stepping straight into a painting. Even if there were oddities like a horizon that curved upwards and a beam of blue energy shooting into the sky intermittently, they did nothing to detract from the beauty of the place.**

**Walking to the edge of the cliff, he peered over it and stared at the forest down below. Looking back to the crash site, he gave thanks to his luck for holding despite everything. One more bounce, skid just a bit more, touchdown a little closer… he'd have taken the express route down and he'd be among the dead now.**

"**Covenant battlenet is already up and running it seems, tapping into it now… warning, we have multiple dropships on approach. They're coming to investigate the crash, recommend immediate evasive action, with any luck they'll think everyone died in the crash." Weiss advised her Spartan.**

"**Got it." Jaune spared the crash site one last glance before double timing it across the bridge. Taking shelter behind a boulder, he watched as the purple U-shaped Spirit dropship dropped out of the clouds and circled the abandoned lifeboat.**

**As it deposited its complement of elites and grunts, Jaune exhaled slowly when none of them so much as twitched in his direction. He continued to remain hidden as a Banshee's whine filled his ears, the two fighters swooped low and made several passes before flying off. His luck was holding, none of them noticed him and he was free to continue onwards. **

"Meh, I still think he could have fought them all off." Nora shook her head in disappointment as she watched Jaune sneak past without firing a single shot.

"Nora, Jaune can't fight every single alien he sees. Not when he doesn't know what's waiting for him ahead." Pyrrha tried explaining to no avail.

"Yeah, but Jaune-Jaune's already a badass there, if he gets rid of them then they won't be around to cause problems later."

"That may be the case Ms Valkyrie, but its usually better to err on the side of caution. And I hope you won't rush off into battle with every Grimm you see in the future as well, sometimes that leads to attracting more Grimm that you _can't_ deal with." Goodwitch chimed in.

**Jaune gently lowered the elite's corpse to the floor before ripping his knife free. The rest of the patrol continued ahead, unaware that their rear guard had been eliminated. Sheathing his knife, he continued through the valley, his pace picked up when he heard the sound of gunfire coming from around the bend.**

**Maintaining his stealth, Jaune's eyes widened marginally when the passage opened up into a wide expanse, an alien structure dominated the centre of the field. But most importantly, there were marines holed up inside it firing on the Covenant forces besieging them.**

**Drawing his sidearm and scoping in, the Master Chief got to work. Grunts and Jackals fell over dead when they came under sniper fire. While the elites were bewildered and searching for where the gunshots were coming from, the marines took advantage of the much needed reprieve to hose them down.**

"**And the cavalry has arrived! Good to see you again Chief, we thought we were the only ones who made it off the Autumn. Everything's a mess right now." Qrow greeted once the remaining Covenant forces in the area had been mopped up.**

"**Captain's CNI transponder is still transmitting so wherever he is, he's still alive. Covenant battlenet is flooded with reports about human resistance on the ring, who'd have guessed. Hmm… if I'm reading this right, a bunch of Helljumpers just stole prime real estate out from under the Covenant's noses and they are royally pissed. With any luck we'll have a base of operations on the ring and possible evac in the future." Weiss reported.**

"And there I am, I knew I was too handsome to die on the ship." Qrow joked, ignoring the snort of disbelief that came from Winter.

"Still, what's a Helljumper? Doesn't seem like a name you'd give to a military unit."

"They are members of the 105th, Orbital Drop Shock Troopers or ODSTs for short. They're known as the Helljumpers because it's a pretty good summation of what they do. ODSTs are inserted into the battlefield by being dropped from orbit inside one-man human entry vehicles, functionally an armoured coffin. During orbital re-entry, it gets burning hot due to the friction. And if they survive the landing, they're neck deep in the enemy even before the hatch blows. Feet first into hell indeed." Blank explained.

"Why was such a unit even created? I highly doubt those such a manner of entry would have very high survival rates given they don't have aura." Ironwood asked.

"Necessity. Aerial insertion is still the fastest way to get troops onto the battlefield, that's true in both that universe and this one. Problem is, before the 105th were formed, aerial insertions were still done by dropships or parachutes. One is too big a target and the other is too slow, both led to massive casualties by enemy AA. With orbital drops though, the pods are small and coming in fast, difficult for even a computer to shoot down, and every successful hit results in only one death instead of a full squad if a dropship gets hit."

"Oof… well at least the Grimm don't hav-" Ruby began only for Yang and Qrow to slap their palms over her mouth.

"DON'T! Don't you dare Rubes!" Yang hissed out.

"You are not jinxing us!" Qrow growled out.

Faced with double red eyed glares, Ruby could only nod nervously while sweating bullets

"**Got it, Weiss see if you can get in touch with any friendlies, we can't hold here forever." Jaune assisted the marines in scavenging weapons from the fallen bodies and fortifying their position against subsequent assaults.**

**The Covenant did not disappoint. Several more Spirits arrived to harass them but each and every time the humans repelled the onslaught. Jaune fired his rifle with one hand as he dragged a wounded marine behind cover, the poor man was screaming as a pink needle was lodged in his side. His howls were downright ghoulish when the needle detonated and sprayed the area with a red mist. Jaune handed the man off to the medic who got to work trying to save his life immediately.**

"**Weiss! Any luck on reinforcements? This isn't sustainable." Jaune picked up a plasma pistol and used an overcharge to put a hole in a jackal shield wall. Pouring fire into the sudden breach, he was rewarded with the shield wall crumbling and the jackals falling to pieces under a hail of lead and plasma.**

"**This is Pelican Echo 419, UNSC forces in the field do you read me?" Jaune paused when the transmission came through his comms, he could feel the smug smile on Weiss's face.**

"**Good enough for you?" The overwhelming sense of smugness in her tone just got him to roll his eyes.**

"**Echo 419, this is fireteam Charlie, we read you loud and clear. Is that you Grim Reaper?" Weiss greeted the pilot.**

"**Good to hear from you fireteam Charlie. Let me just help mop up these insects." Maria's chuckling carried through the speakers as the Pelican emerged from behind the mountains. Its main guns opened up on the Covenant lines, high calibre machinegun rounds puncturing shields and armour as the aliens were reduced to bloody chunks.**

"**We have wounded requiring immediate casevac, can you assist." Jaune asked once the Pelican began its descent.**

"**Can do. We don't actually own Alpha base yet but by the time I get them there it'll be ours. Anything else you need?" Maria's answer was swift.**

"**Nothing at the-" Weiss halted mid-sentence as several more life boats shot across the sky, landing beyond the mountains.**

"**Correction, we'll need you to disengage your Warthog. The Covenant are going to be right on top of those lifeboats when they land, we need to get there fast."**

"**Copy that. One Warthog coming right up." Maria said and the docking clamps on the Pelican disengaged, allowing the Warthog to drop. Jaune got in the driver's seat and two volunteers from Qrow's squad hoped aboard, one mounted the turret and the other got into the passenger seat.**

"**I'd go with you Chief but I need to see to my men first. Kill a few bastards for old Qrow would ya?" Qrow shook Jaune's hands before he boarded the dropship with the last of his men.**

"**Count on it." Jaune said and kicked the Warthog into gear, dirt shooting out the back of the tires as he drove off.**

"Road trip! We should definitely have a road trip during the holidays!" Nora declared, one arm outstretched and a finger pointing straight up.

"That's… not a bad idea actually. I don't have anything lined up for the break, Ren?" Pyrrha turned to the taciturn member of JNPR for his opinion.

"It's fine with me, we just need to check with Jaune. Hopefully the situation with the Vytal festival can be resolved before then." Ren said.

"Yeah, not having Beacon fall or dying in the process is a good idea." Pyrrha chuckled as a haunted look came to her eyes. She was snapped out of it when Nora scooped her into a hug.

"None of that here! We're watching fearless leader kick ass so cheer for that instead, no more moping… okay?"

"Of course Nora."

**The first reminder that the entire ring world was probably artificial came when Jaune drove up to a cave, only to see that it was a tunnel cut straight into the solid rock.**

"**This cave is not a natural formation, someone built this so it must lead somewhere." Weiss opined.**

"**Let's see where it leads then." Flooring the accelerator, the Warthog shot into the tunnel. Soon enough they left the sunlight behind and only the lights installed in the tunnel illuminated their way.**

"**The architecture doesn't seem very Covenant to me." Jaune said after a while.**

"**That's because it isn't. I'm still pulling data from the battlenet but I can tell you the Covenant definitely didn't build this. They only chanced across the ring when the followed us from Reach. Whoever or whatever built this wasn't Covenant, and the ring… it's old, really old. Older than the Covenant old." Weiss replied.**

"**So we're dealing with a non-Covenant alien ring built by god knows what, and it's been around for a very long time yet all the lights are still working fine. You are not filling me with confidence Weiss." Jaune deadpanned.**

"The lights? He's worried about the lights? What?" Yang was perplexed.

"He's not entirely wrong, you can tell a lot about how advanced a group is by the level of tech that goes into the basic everyday stuff. Because sure, everyone's got super high tech or fancy magical weapons but how much of that stuff trickling down into everyday life is a better gauge of their actual level. And really, when was the last time you heard of a light bulb lasting for thousands of years and still going strong?" Roman interjected.

"Indeed, on the subject of thousand-year lightbulbs, not even the Covenant have that." Blank confirmed.

**The twisting tunnels soon opened up to a massive underground space. Jaune didn't have the time to admire the view though, not with a Covenant scouting force already in place. Before they could react, he'd already used the Warthog as a battering ram to splatter the nearest groups.**

**Driving off to the side, Jaune parked the Warthog where the marines could provide cover before exiting the vehicle. Switching to his assault rifle, the Spartan flanked the enemies while they were pinned down by turret fire. Several grenades and a few hundred bullets later and the Covenant were no longer a problem.**

**Walking to the edge of the platform, Jaune stared downwards and frowned when the abyss just seemed to stretch on forever, disappearing into the mists. Kicking a grunt corpse over the side, he frowned when he failed to hear it land.**

**There was no way the Warthog would be able to jump the chasm and make it to the other side. Suppressing his frustration, Jaune began to search around the place, if someone built this place then they probably would have some method of getting across. Just from the way the chamber was designed, he could tell there should have been a bridge of some kind, a bridge that was missing for some reason.**

**Finding a side passageway that led upwards, Jaune decided to try his luck there. Running into a surprised elite, the Spartan slammed the butt of his rifle into it stunning the alien. Emptying the magazine into it finished it off.**

**Continuing forwards, he found himself overlooking the chasm while staring at a console floating in the air made entirely out of light. Squares, rectangles, triangles and other geometric shapes made up the strange thing, constantly shifting in an unpredictable pattern.**

"**Doesn't match any known Covenant control schematics. Analysing now." Weiss reported but Jaune tuned her out. Unbidden, his hand reached out and pressed several shapes. The console shifted from his input and metal arms extended from below both platforms. Once they stopped extending, the air shimmered and a bridge of light appeared.**

"**What did you do?" Weiss asked after a second of silence.**

"**Made us a bridge."**

"Hardlight bridge, interesting choice as long as it doesn't cut out under them." Ironwood said.

"Surely they would have taken precautions against that." Goodwitch argued back.

"Nothing is infallible. Sabotage or simple mechanical failure could send anyone crossing into the abyss. Or someone could just turn the bridge off with a button." The general shrugged in response. In his opinion, a hardlight bridge would possibly save on building materials but the drawbacks were too large to be feasible.

"How did he know what buttons to press? I still don't understand what's even on that control panel." Blake asked curiously.

"That is a long and convoluted story for another time, it involves gambits that's been going on for over a hundred thousand years. Just take it that he has a magic touch when it comes to these things." Blank said, not wanting to go deep into the mess.

"Okay?" Blake shrugged and decided to just roll with it.

"**Shit, shit, shit, shit…" The turret gunner cursed nonstop as the Warthog drove across the hardlight bridge. The Spartan didn't fault him for it, driving across a bridge made of nothing but light was nerve-wracking even for him, and he half expected it to just dump them in the chasm at any second.**

**Despite their worries, the bridge held and the Warthog was free to continue on through. The tunnels started leading uphill and they were back aboveground in no time. **

"**There's a lifeboat, but no sign of the survivors. No bodies at least, so they might have just walked away." Weiss reported once Jaune drove past the first lifeboat. No bloodstains, no bullet casings or plasma scorching, just a single sniper rifle lying abandoned. Adding the weapon to his collection, Jaune proceeded on foot, leaving the warthog behind to provide cover just in case the survivors returned while he was out searching.**

"**There's another one of those structures, maybe they took shelter in there." Weiss pointed out another alien structure similar to the one he found Qrow and his marines at. There were plenty of Covenant troops milling about the area and Jaune got to work.**

"**It's as good a guess as any." The steady report of the sniper rifle echoed throughout the area as he sniped every single Covenant soldier standing out in the open. Once he finished picking off all the targets he could, he slung the sniper rifle over his shoulders and switched to his assault rifle.**

**Advancing cautiously, he made use of whatever cover he could find while mowing down enemy grunts and jackals. The lone elite that survived his sniping joined his compatriots when the Chief stuck him with a plasma grenade.**

**Once he was done mopping up the Covenant, he turned to stare at the sea beyond the cliffs. Despite everything, he couldn't help but marvel at it, a sea, possibly an ocean all of it artificial if the rest of the ring was anything to go by. As Jaune descended into the structure, he could only hope that whoever built all this was either not hostile to humanity or too dead to be hostile. **

**Rounding a corner into a marine fireteam, his shields ate several bullets before the Spartan calmly but firmly shoved the rifle away from his face. "Enough soldier, save your bullets for the enemy."**

"**Uh yes sir! Sorry sir!" The beleaguered corporal snapped off a hasty salute and an apology.**

"**They got us pinned here, bunch of em on the other side of this building. I thought you were one them flanking us from behind." The marine explained and Jaune nodded.**

"**I'll handle the Covenant, prepare for evac, Weiss?"**

"**Already on it. Echo 419, we have marine survivors in need of immediate dust off. Can you assist." **

"**Roger that, I'm inbound. And from where I am, I see two more lifeboats in the area, can't tell from up here but it looks like there are more survivors down there." Maria's voice came through as Jaune was busy repainting the adjacent room with Covenant blood.**

"**Understood, the Chief and I will head out and see if we can rescue them. Will you be on station for evac Grim Reaper?"**

"**Of course, plenty of fuel left in this bird."**

"Ya know, I didn't ask earlier but this Grim Reaper callsign… it wouldn't happen to be…" Qrow trailed off.

"It is." Blank confirmed.

"Wow, the other me gets to ride in a airship with the Grim Reaper herself. Just… wow." Qrow whispered in awe.

"Who's the Grim Reaper uncle Qrow?" Ruby asked curiously.

"Only one of the greatest huntresses to ever live. Her legend is what inspired me to start using a scythe in the first place. Although she's probably dead now, no one's seen her in a long time." Qrow said.

"Actually, she's perfectly fine, just retired." Blank corrected.

"Well, I'll be damned. Hopefully she's not too retired to show me a few tricks." The veteran huntsman resolved to go searching for the legend whenever he could in the future, the potential was too much to ignore.

**Jaune watched the Pelican take off with the evacuated marines before heading back to where he parked the Warthog. He raised an eyebrow when he spotted the wreckage of several banshees lying around, victims to the Warthog's turret.**

"**Did ya get em Chief?" One of the marines asked when he approached.**

"**Survivors evacuated. Two more lifeboats in the area, we're going to rescue them and then evac ourselves." Jaune answered as he got back into the driver's seat. Soldiers to save, aliens to kill, they weren't done yet.**

**The sun was starting to set by the time Jaune finished relieving the last group of marines. When Maria's Pelican showed up again, the arrival was met with quiet cheering from the exhausted marines. The Spartan himself simply stowed his weapons and allowed himself to breathe easier.**

**While the UNSC survivors piled aboard the dropship, Jaune helped secure the battered Warthog to the Pelican itself. The thing had been through a war and then some, but it was still functional and there was no sense in leaving it behind to go to waste, not when they had no idea how long they'd be trapped on the ring.**

"**Sure you wouldn't take a seat? It's been a long day." Weiss asked once the Pelican's doors sealed behind him.**

"**I'm sure. Any word from the captain?"**

"**None so far. His own lifeboat came down on the other side of the ring it seems. A lot of Covenant activity in his area but he's still alive." Weiss answered.**

"**Rescue mission next then."**

"**Probably. Sure you don't need the rest?"**

"**I'm good. We're just getting started here." Jaune said with a confident smile.**

With that the screen faded to black and the lights came back on, whispering filled the theatre as it did so.

"Well that one had a happy ending." Yang offered.

"They're still trapped on the ring and surrounded by enemies Yang." Blake denied.

"Aww don't be such a sourpuss." Yang grinned when Blake growled at her for the pun.

"It's a lot more positive than the last two at least. No imminent death or disaster at any rate. I still wonder what happens to my father though." Weiss said.

"Worried about him? I suppose that's to be expected, I'm sure he's fine, Jaune's going to rescue him after all." Yang reassured and Weiss scoffed.

"Hardly, we aren't even related in that universe. I'm just… curious, that's all."

"Whatever you say Weiss queen."

In another corner of the theatre, Ruby and Nora were busy planning their post save Beacon from evil fire lady road trip. Ren and Pyrrha just watched on in exasperation as they sketched out a plan to visit every pancake place and gun store across the four kingdoms while stopping by at local zoos to see the sloths.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Pyrrha asked.

"We should, but can we?" Ren muttered under his breath as he stared at the two girls huddling over a map.

"Probably not." Pyrrha sighed and shook her head.

"Alright, feel free to refresh yourselves while I set up the next viewing." Blank said and received several grunts from the audience in response.

* * *

Author's notes: That's it for Halo for a while at least. Next time, something more light hearted. By the time this chapter goes up I'll be on my 2 week vacation for, but I've already finished the next chapter so it'll be up on schedule. It's comedy again so Jaune is back and Ironwood + winter are out. Greetings from Slovenia by the way.

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as Spartan John-117 The Master Chief

Weiss Schnee as Cortana

Jacques Schnee as Captain Keyes

Qrow Branwen as Sergeant Johnson

Maria Calavera as Echo 419 Foehammer


	13. Chapter 13: Card games on a plane

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 13: Card games on a plane**

**Inspiration: YGOTAS**

* * *

Note: For the purposes of this chapter, think Ruler Jeanne D Arc from Fate

* * *

"Welcome back, this one's another light hearted one. General Ironwood, Specialist Winter, this viewing doesn't have much for either of you, so you're free to step out if you wish. I can have copies of the various strategies employed by the UNSC prepared for your viewing if you wish." Blank said and Ironwood and Winter both stood up.

"That would be appreciated, Any chance we can see the blueprints of the Shiva and Novas as well?" Ironwood asked.

"Of course, but same rules apply as with Jaune Arc, you can test them out on the range but no bringing physical copies of the weapons back. Feel free to make copies of whatever notes you find in there." Blank agreed.

"Thank you in advance then. Weiss, I trust you can behave yourself in my absence, don't allow that dusty old crow to corrupt you." Winter glared when Qrow gave her the finger in response. She smirked when that smug look transitioned to grumbling as the swear jar shook in front of him.

"Of course sister, do take care of yourself." Weiss wave goodbye to her sister as the two of them vanished in a flash of light.

There was another flash and Jaune was back with them. "Oh hey guys, I'm baaaacck!"

He didn't get to finish before Nora tackled him in a hug. "JAUNE-JAUNE YOU'RE BACK!"

"Ow. Good to see you too Nora." Jaune laughed and patted her on the head, his happiness turned to confusion when Nora refused to let go.

"Err… Nora? You can let me go now."

"Nope." Nora denied his request and just hugged tighter. Jaune's confusion deepened and a pit of dread formed in his stomach when he noticed Yang and Pyrrha approaching, both hiding something behind their backs.

"Uh… guys? W-what are you doing? I-is that a dress Yang?" He laughed nervously as the grins on their faces widened and he noticed Ren giving him a sad look.

Yang laughed as she proudly displayed the garment the magic of the theatre had brought into existence. "Oh don't worry about it lover boy, we just want to give you a little makeover that's all."

"No! Nonononono! Nora! Get off!" He started panicking now, struggling to pry Nora off him to no avail. Her grip was iron and the proud grin on her face told him he wasn't escaping unless she wanted him to.

"Relax Jaune, it'll be over shortly." Pyrrha sank any remaining hopes he might have had as the three girls worked to drag him off to his destiny.

Blake watched the poor knight get dragged off kicking and screaming before turning to Ren with a raised eyebrow. "Not going to help your leader?"

"I would but… better him than me." Ren shrugged and admitted the truth.

"Nora might still decide to put you in a dress you know."

"Maybe. Or she might be satisfied with Jaune's noble sacrifice."

"Shouldn't we do something to help Arc?" Goodwitch glanced at Ozpin.

"I don't think so, let them enjoy themselves. The world could use more happiness in it." The headmaster said, letting out a satisfied sigh as he sipped from his mug.

"And the Arc?"

"Acceptable losses. I for one have no intention of getting between the three of them and their prize."

"Tai, sit down." Qrow said firmly when Taiyang started growling and made to stand.

"Fine! But I still don't like the kid." Taiyang folded his arms and sat down with a huff.

"Just let it go dear." Summer sighed and rubbed her husband on the back to soothe him.

"So what are we watching this time Blank?" Ruby asked.

"Another universe without Grimm or aura. There is magic though. It's a troubled world, thousands of years in the past, the world was nearly destroyed by a god of darkness when he gave humanity enough rope to hang themselves with. After a great deal of sacrifice and loss, humanity managed to seal the darkness away, entombed most of the ancient magics and knowledge of it was eventually lost to time, nothing more than a myth in the modern age." Blank said, getting Ozpin to perk up instantly.

"They sealed away the god of darkness? Please don't tell me someone tried to unseal him in the modern day."

"It was just a fragment of the whole. And no, knowledge of the god was buried even more thoroughly than the magic. When the tomb full of deadly traps and warnings was uncovered, they found the inscriptions… and made them into a children's card game."

"A children's card game? You're joking." Weiss scepticism was palpable.

"Inspiration can come from the strangest of places. It became extremely popular and naturally bad guys started using it for their own nefarious purposes."

"That's ridiculous." Weiss stated in a flat tone.

"Indeed it is. But it is serious business in the actual universe, where it's a game with your soul as a side bet and the stakes are for the entire world. Today though, we're not watching that universe, we're watching a variant of it."

"A variant?" Summer asked while absentmindedly playing with Ruby's hair.

"Indeed, you could call it a parody world of sorts. The people in that world know how ridiculous some of the things that go on in their world is. They are also somewhat aware of the multiverse in that they know other multiverse watchers have split up the adventures of their base world into seasons and make references to that."

"That… must be strange, being aware that someone else is watching you all the time. How are you supposed be a criminal in such a world?" Roman shivered lightly.

"By either A, not caring, or B, putting on a show… duh." Qrow deadpanned.

"Huh… fair point."

"Well, I don't think the four of them will be done soon so I'll just get the viewing started. For some context here, Jaune is a Schnee here by adoption. Jacques Schnee was always a Schnee and never married so you don't exist in this world Weiss, neither does your sister. Well, there was a version of you that existed in the distant past where everything went to hell though." Blank said as the lights dimmed.

"Okay… wait, what about Whitley?" Weiss perked up when there was no mention of her brother.

"He exists but… fate wasn't kind to him. A car accident happened, and it paved the way for Jaune and his brother's adoption. As for your father, uh, Jaune kinda drove him to his death by out Schneeing him. You'll uh… you'll see what I mean." Blank fell silent as the screen came to life.

**Jaune sat in his seat frowning while Oscar stared out the window of the plane. "Hrrghh… you know, I really don't see the point in owning my own airline company if I can't make the planes look like dragons. Design flaws my ass."**

"**Hey bro! come check this out!" Oscar called out and Jaune perked up.**

"**Is it dragons? Are there dragons outside?"**

"**No. It's just really pretty out there." Oscar said as he turned back to watch the aurora borealis outside.**

"**Then why did you waste my time?"**

"Woah… that's…" Ruby trailed off in shock at Jaune's mannerisms.

"You know, minus the dragon bit, he kinda reminds me of you Weiss."

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Weiss growled out.

"Oh, and I should mention that he is completely obsessed with dragons. Fate, destiny and past haunting the present or some such." Blank added as an afterthought.

"**This is your pilot speaking, reminding you that absolutely nothing suspicious is going on. Also if you look out the window, you'll see one of the many plot holes of season four… oh wait that's the grand canyon." A squeaky high pitched version of Hazel's voice came from the loudspeakers.**

"Hrnrk…" Ozpin suppressed the laughter threatening to overflow, Goodwitch did the same although it was clear from her red face that she was losing the struggle. The rest of the audience didn't even try, erupting into raucous laughter as they fought for breath.

"**Hey bro, I think the pilot might be evil." Oscar turned back to Jaune only to find him not paying attention.**

"**If I close my eyes and pretend real hard, it's like I'm flying on a dragon. Wheeee…" Jaune said in a tone completely devoid of emotions.**

"**Hey bro, are you sure it's safe for us to fly straight into that weird weather phenomenon?" Oscar asked as the plane continued climbing into the aurora.**

"**Don't worry Oscar, Schnee Corp is partnered with United, they're pros. I'm sure everything will be…" He trailed off when the lights started flickering and the pilot started doing his worst impression of a ghost.**

"**Completely boned." He finished.**

"**Behold! The power of the Orichalcos…" Hazel's voice came from the speakers and Jaune just sighed, clearly the crazy had followed him on board.**

"**I guess we better go confront whatever villain of the week that is." Jaune sighed and stood up, wanting to get it all over with so he could get back to pretending he was flying on a dragon.**

"He isn't even phased. Does this happen often?" Taiyang asked, impressed with the sheer nonchalance Jaune was displaying.

"Often enough he knows what to expect. It's true in the main universe as well, to the point where he's just annoyed whenever these things crop up. The man only wants two things, beating his rival in a duel and making more money." Blank said.

"So this Orichalcos is the source of the magic in that world then?" Ozpin piped up.

"It is the source of one form of magic. No apparent ties to the god of darkness but its there. Just magic green rocks that fell from the sky one day."

"…I see." Ozpin quietly sipped from his mug.

"Must be one of the plot holes mentioned." Weiss nodded sagely.

"In effect, the more you try to make sense of it, the more your brain will start to hurt."

"**Oh no, the crew has mysteriously vanished! Weird…" Oscar pointed out the obvious as the two of them ran through the completely empty plane.**

"**Whoever did this doesn't play by the rules. Usually my enemies just kidnap you, this guy? He kidnapped everyone **_**except**_** you." Jaune looked around for the culprit, usually whenever these things happened, the bad guy was always so quick to announce themselves and report for their beating.**

"**We are through the looking glass." Oscar whispered.**

"**Oscar, remind me to dock the flight crews' pay for the hours they missed while being magically abducted." Kidnapped or not, he wasn't paying anyone for work they hadn't done. Schnee Corp was a business not a charity.**

"And if there was any doubt he was a Schnee it's gone now. No offense Weiss." Blake sighed and buried her face in her hands.

"Some taken." Weiss spat out curtly, she was distracted from her annoyance by the return of Yang's little makeover group plus a girl she'd never seen before.

"No… Arc? Is that you? Wha-what did they do to you?" She whispered the last bit in awe.

"Haha. Laugh it up Weiss." Jaune deadpanned as he shuffled to his seat, flanked by a proud Yang and Pyrrha. His usual jeans, hoodie and armour combo was completely gone. Replaced by a purple dress and silver armour. Hair extensions had been added that reached all the way to his waist, all carefully braided up and held in place by a silver tiara. Black stockings and high heels completed the set.

"Well? What do you guys think? Did we do good or did we do good?" Nora gave the shocked audience a thumbs up and a bright smile, one that was mirrored by Yang.

"No. Way. How does Arc look better as a girl than we do!?" Weiss practically screeched, her mind thoroughly fried from what she was witnessing.

"Oh sure, rub it in some more why don't you? Damnit, I thought I got away from this when I left home!" Jaune's face was flushed red from embarrassment, he just wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

"So what are watching anyways?" Yang asked once they had locked Jaune down, no escaping for him.

"We're watching a version of the kid who's so much more Schnee than Jacques himself that he drove the man to an early grave. Oh and I see you still remember your makeup skills, good job." Qrow praised Yang and received a grin in exchange.

"**They weren't just abducted Schnee, they were never here in the first place." Hazel said once Jaune and Oscar entered a briefing room, spinning around on his swivel chair.**

"**They were illusions created by me with the power of the Orichalcos!"**

"**So the Orichalcos can take people's souls, make monsters turn real and create illusions of hundreds of people?" Oscar stated in disbelief.**

"**Welcome to season four, the show where the magical powers are made up and the plot doesn't matter." Jaune sighed.**

"**I still haven't forgiven you for being related to someone who was vaguely associated with the death of my sister, Schnee! Let's duel!" Hazel said in his squeaky voice as he rose to his feet.**

"And that's still a more believable reason to hate the Schnees than some members of the white fang have." Blake shook her head in frustration.

"Is it that bad in there?" Summer asked, when she was still around, the white fang weren't the terrorist group they were known as today.

"Some have valid grievances I'll admit." Blake said, thinking of Ilia.

"But with the benefit of hindsight, more than a few are just monsters looking for a good excuse to be monsters."

"**In the interest of safety, there's absolutely no smoking in this duel. All dueldisks must be set to airplane mode and in the likely event that I completely own your ass in card games, emergency lighting will illuminate the exit so you can get the hell out of my life." Jaune hit a button and the table and chairs sank into the ground, leaving an empty space for them to duel in.**

"I like this kid. I like him a lot." Roman grinned appreciatively.

"**You have a button just to get rid of the furniture?" Hazel asked with a smirk.**

"**Of course I do, what kind of a fool plays card games on a table. What is this, the dark ages?" Jaune missed the sarcasm and answered seriously.**

"**You tell me Schnee, because once I win this duel and the seal of Orichalcos takes your soul, an age of darkness is all you'll ever know!" Hazel declared and displayed the card, a magic circle formed around him and expanded to encircle both duellists.**

"What are those things on their arms? They're all glowy and stuff." Nora pointed at the duel disks and waited for an answer.

"Those are their dueldisks, they have hologram tech installed that allows them to summon holographic versions of their cards into reality. Unlike older field models, these ones are completely portable and cheaper to mass produce." Blank answered.

"So they can start playing card games anywhere huh. Must be real _handy_ eh?" Yang joked and the audience just groaned in unision.

"**Wah!" Oscar yelled out when he was tossed back into the stairs by the magic barrier. The plane rumbled in turbulence as the seal of Orichalcos took effect. **

"**We seem to be experiencing some rough air, for those of you in the Schnee Corp rewards program, we'd like to once again thank you for your patience, for those of you not in the program, flight attendants will be by shortly to poke you with sharp objects and make passive aggressive remarks about your appearance." A pre-recorded message played over the loudspeakers as a portion of the plane just vanished and the seal raised them both into the air.**

"**Behold Schnee, our duel will take place in the very heavens themselves." Hazel said with a smirk and Jaune just rolled his eyes.**

"**I imagine it'd be pretty cool… if I was actually duelling someone I cared about."**

"Sick burns all around. All we need to do is get you punning and it'd be perfect. Isn't that right Jeanne?" Yang grinned and poked Jaune in the side, getting the cross-dressing knight to groan.

"No… no more… my dignity can't take much more of this."

"Erm Jaune? I'm not sure how to put this but… you don't really have any dignity left, not after you became vomit boy right before initiation." Ruby shrugged.

"Why thank you crater face. Your words are truly uplifting." Jaune gave Ruby a baleful glare.

"**It's a good thing the auto pilot is engaged, or this could be seriously dangerous." Jaune said. The crew may be missing but the auto pilot was still working fine, as long as no one turned it off, he could crush the hopes and dreams of the moron standing before him.**

**Elsewhere on the plane, Oscar had made it to the cockpit. "Don't worry Jaune, I'll save us. Okay… let's see, how do I fly a plane? Well these buttons look important."**

**Oscar started pressing buttons at random and the loudspeakers came to life again. "Automatic pilot off, switching to manual."**

**Instantly, the plane started taking a nosedive. "Warning, plane descending too rapidly, collision with the ground imminent."**

"**Oh god, what did I do." Oscar said nervously as he looked around at the unfamiliar instruments.**

"And that right there is why we don't say things to jinx ourselves, because the universe will definitely rise to the occasion and mess us up." Qrow said while staring at Ruby.

"Eheheheh… crystal."

"**Now watch, as I magically force you to experience a flashback to someone else's memories, which is yet another thing the Orichalcos is apparently able to do." Jaune just stared blankly at Hazel while purple smoke engulfed him.**

"**Uh huh, got it." His vision went black for a moment before it slowly came back into focus, when it did so, the plane was gone.**

"**huh… wha? Where am I?" Jaune rubbed his head as he found himself in an underground shelter of sorts. Crates were stacked all over the place, containing medical supplies and food stuffs.**

"**That smell, that disgusting, repulsive smell. I'd recognise it anywhere." Jaune looked up as a hatch in the ceiling opened, several young kids ran in holding various cans before the last one shut the hatch behind him.**

"**Come on guys, lets get these supplies downstairs, we scavenged the heck out of this stuff." The lead child called out.**

"**Poor people." Jaune spat out derisively.**

"Wow. Just wow." Weiss blinked in disbelief.

"My father may be completely obsessed with money but not even he's that bad… at least I've never seen him actually say something like that."

"As I said, he out Schneed your father." Blank said.

"**Excuse me mister, but how'd you get into our secret hideout?" One of the kids that bore a passing resemblance to Oscar asked.**

"**Oh I'm not really here. This is just some illusion created by some Orichalcos punk in the hopes that it'll make me feel some sort of responsibility for how bad his life was. Let me guess, you're supposed to remind me of Oscar?" Jaune stared at the overly cheerful child whose home was clearly a warzone of some kind.**

"**Oscar? No mister, my name's Eren." The child denied, still smiling all the way.**

"**I'm gonna call you Noscar, and our relationship is going to be nothing like the one between me and my brother."**

"**Okay mister!"**

"**Shut up Noscar."**

"My brother and I!" Weiss corrected by force of habit, blushing lightly when everyone else turned to look at her.

"Do I insult my brother a lot in that universe?" Jaune asked, more than a little weirded out by his onscreen self's almost casual disdain.

"Quite often actually. You do care for him of course, you just have a pathological inability to spit it out." Blank answered.

"Oh."

"**I can't believe what I'm seeing here. This is worse than I could have possibly imagined." Jaune muttered under his breath as he and Noscar strolled through the destroyed city.**

"**Hazel's sent me to a place far more terrifying than the shadow realm. He's transported me into the plot of a young adult novel."**

"Just when I thought he was going to grow a heart. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with the plot of a young adult novel!" Blake hissed out.

"**Noscar answer me, how does a group of children survive in a war-torn environment like this." Jaune asked when Noscar sat down on some rubble to rest.**

"**We mostly get by by using our street smarts and ingenuity." Noscar replied.**

"**Yeah. Oscar's pretty good at handling dangerous situations too."**

"**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The scene changed to show Oscar struggling with the controls as the plane continued its out of control descent.**

**When it swapped back to Jaune's illusory world, they were on their way back to the hideout from their scavenging run. The sight of it burning in a raging inferno greeted them.**

"**NO! The hideout! It's been destroyed! I have to go save my friends!" Noscar tried to rush off only to be caught by Jaune's hand.**

"**Noscar no, you have to survive so you can be in the second book, Hunger Games 2 The Divergent Maze Runner!"**

**Noscar stopped struggling when the sound of tank threads rumbling reached them. "Oh no, the tanks are here! They've been shelling our city with artillery fire for months! And now that they've found us there's no escape."**

"Oh dear." Roman pulled his hat down over his eyes so he didn't have to watch the two of them be blown away by the tanks.

"W-well it's just an illusion right? It's going to be fine?" Pyrrha offered.

"**Hazel you fool! Didn't anyone ever warn you!?" Jaune roared as the tanks bearing the Schnee logo opened fire.**

"**Never bring a tank to a trading card fight!" Slamming his own cards down on his dueldisk, several mechanical monsters came into existence, taking the shots for him.**

"**So now you finally know the pain I felt when I lost my sister all those years ago Schnee. The guilt in your soul is as plain as the look on your face." Hazel said, appearing inside the illusion for the first time since it began.**

"**Look I get it Hazel, war is bad, death is bad, my adoptive father is bad. Now will you please stop beating me over the head with all this symbolism and end this pretentious charade already." Jaune snarled in frustration.**

"What does the SDC or Schnee Corp in this universe have to do with all that though. What kind of a company is it? Since I guess dust doesn't exist there." Qrow asked.

"Schnee Corp used to be the leading arms manufacturing company, selling weapons to the highest bidder without care for the consequences. After Jaune took over though, they're now in the entertainment business." Blank supplied.

"**The only way you're getting out of this is to face the sins of your family and accept that deep down, you and the rest of humanity deserve to be wiped out!" Hazel shouted.**

"**Or. I can just summon my XYZ Dragon Cannon and shoot my way out of here!" Jaune fired back and summoned a robot dragon tank. The normal tanks never stood a chance as it wiped them all out in a single blast of pure power.**

"**Yep, I guess that works just as good." Jaune stated when the flash died down and they were back on the plane. **

"**You were supposed to have an epiphany about the evils of humanity!" Hazel roared when Jaune just tore his plan to shreds without a care in the world.**

"**Instead I just had an epiphany about the awesomeness of my cards. Which are awesome." Jaune said flatly and pointed to his monster. **

"**Look at that! It's a robot dragon tank! That alone proves that humanity is worth saving. Because we made a robot dragon tank!"**

"Yup, he's right." Jaune nodded in agreement

"Yup! One hundred percent correct!" Ruby added.

"Indeed, he has a robot dragon tank. Your argument is invalid." Nora finished.

"**You've learned nothing from my heavy handed hallucination, so I guess I'll just have to beat you in a card game and take your soul! I play sky union!" Hazel declared and pointed one finger at the sky. Space warped and a black portal formed, before white light came shooting out of it. **

"**This allows me to sacrifice three of my monsters to summon my ultimate beast! Come forth! Air Fortress Ziggurat!"**

**Jaune could only stare at the behemoth overhead in shock. The sun itself had been blotted out by a flying fortress that dwarfed the jumbo jet in its entirety. Countless guns and cannons were bolted onto every available surface of the monstrosity. A single robot face crowned the front of it.**

"**My Ziggurat is the ultimate weapon Schnee! And it's aimed squarely at you." The smugness was just dripping from Hazel at this point.**

"**Are you kidding!? There's **_**GUN**_**s all over the **_**DAM**_**n ****t****hing! What isn't it aiming at!?" Jaune said as he took a step back. (Actual YGOTAS reference)**

"So many guns…" Ruby was drooling in glee again at the sight of Ziggurat.

"RUBY! That's a bad guy! You can't root for the bad guys!" Yang shook her sister but Ruby was lost in dreamland, fantasizing about creating something like the Ziggurat in real life.

"**You're just mad because my monster's design is cooler than anything you could come up with." Hazel smirked triumphantly and Jaune just spat to the side.**

"**No, I'm mad because I never wanted to know what one of Hideo Kojima's wet dreams look like. And now I do… so thanks for that." Jaune shrugged.**

"**This monster represents my sister Gretchen's untimely death at the hands of Schnee Corp's military division."**

"**Look, I understand how poetic this must seem, forcing me to suffer the way your sister did, yadda yadda yadda. But listen to me, I am not responsible for your sister's death, Schnee Corp doesn't even have a military division anymore." Jaune argued.**

"**You expect me to believe you didn't keep **_**any**_** of your weapons division tech lying around?" Hazel asked sceptically.**

"**I swear, on my life that we didn't keep a **_**single**_** flying war machine of death." Jaune growled out. It was the honest truth after all, after he disbanded the military division and shifted resources to the children's card game division, he didn't keep a **_**single**_** one of the machines.**

"Well that's good isn't he, he's changing the image of the company?" yang shrugged.

"Yes… but something about the wording bothers me." Jaune narrowed his eyes at his counterpart.

**On cue, the sound of rotors reached them above the howling winds. Several helicopters shot by the falling airplane and under the massive Ziggurat. "This is Schnee Corp war machine one on rescue approach with Death Squadron, how may we assist you Mr Schnee?"**

**Jaune sighed as Oscar popped up behind him. "hey Jaune, I called the war machines of death to come save us!"**

"**You lied to me!" Hazel roared.**

"**Good job Oscar. Real big help." Jaune's tone was flat as the flying war machines of death circled them. So what if the company didn't have a military division anymore, who throws away perfectly fine flying war machines of death?**

"**Yay! Go team Schnee!" Oscar cheered, missing his brother's ire completely.**

"Well it technically wasn't a lie. He didn't keep a single war machine." Roman chuckled as he fingered a fresh cigar.

"No, he just kept all of them." Taiyang face palmed, even if he did appreciate the word play, it really backfired on him this time.

"**AAAAHHHHHHHHRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" Hazel roared and a wave of magic surged through the plane, blowing out the windows and causing the cabins to depressurise. Jaune's paperwork was sucked out the window and into the void while Oscar was sent tumbling back.**

"**No! My paperwork! And also Oscar I guess. But mostly the paperwork!"**

**Ziggurat fired on Jaune and when the smoke cleared, Jaune's life points were down to a measly one hundred. "How does it feel to stare into the face of death Schnee?"**

"**Probably be way more intimidating if its face wasn't so damned adorable." Jaune joked as he stared at the comically out of place robot head on the Air Fortress.**

"**That's the face of my sister's favourite action figure, Dyna Dude!" Hazel corrected.**

"**Oh, you're right. Now I'm **_**really**_ **intimidated." Jaune sneered.**

"**And speaking of your Dyna Dude, I activate soul exchange, this allows me to sacrifice two of your stupid robots to summon Blue Eyes White Dragon!" Jaune pointed at two of the robot soldiers on Hazel's side of the field and watch them fade away as his own trump card appeared.**

**A majestic white dragon appeared in the skies, challenging Ziggurat for dominion over the heavens. "And what do you hope to achieve with this Schnee? The two monsters are equal in strength thanks to the power of the Orichalcos. So if you attack and lose your dragon, it'll be a simple matter of taking your life points and your soul. All thanks to the power of-"**

"**The Orichalcos yeah, yeah." Jaune interrupted Hazel's tirade.**

"**You seem to have forgotten that the power of the Orichalcos is absolutely nothing compared to the power of whatever the hell trading card bullshit I pull out of thin air. And this time, it's my trap card Tyrant Wing." Jaune activated his trap card and the Blue Eye's wings glowed golden.**

"**Who needs military weapons of mass destruction when you can just use a good old fashioned dragon!" Jaune attacked with Blue Eyes, the dragon charged up and fired a beam of laser from its mouth, the beam punching straight through Ziggurat and sending it up in flames.**

"**NO! My Air Fortress!"**

"Well, hard to argue with results. Go dragon! Break their legs!" Nora cheered for the engine of destruction on Jaune's side of the field.

"**This isn't right Schnee, this whole duel was supposed to be a metaphor for the futility of war, and how everybody loses when they choose to destroy!" Hazel sputtered out as his plans fell to pieces.**

"**Well, you got the futility and losing parts down." Jaune snarked. Why every bad guy thought they'd be able to beat him was beyond his comprehension, all of them always acted like it was such a surprise when he inevitably handed their asses to them on a silver platter.**

"**Well, if I can't beat you in a duel, then I'm just going to not end my turn and let you die in a plane crash." Hazel said, as long as the duel didn't end, Jaune would be trapped inside the seal and they'd all die when the plane hit the ground.**

"Oh come on! That's cheating!" Ruby pointed at the screen angrily.

"It is a valid strategy. A disgusting one maybe, but no less valid." Qrow frowned and sipped from his flask.

"**Woah, nonono! Hang on, don't go. You gotta keep playing." Jaune hastily changed his tune to convince Hazel to end his turn.**

"**Why?"**

"**Because, you're doing so well. Look, you got three monsters and I've only got one. You're a shoo in." Jaune said in his best used car salesman tone.**

"**I don't know. Seems kinda like you're goading me." Hazel was unsure of Jaune's sudden shift in tone.**

"**Trust me, out of all the bad guy duellists I've ever faced, you are definitely the most likely to wipe the floor with me."**

"**Alright then, I end my turn." Hazel did as Jaune wanted and the Schnee just smirked.**

"Can't believe that worked. So much bullshit there I'm surprised he can still see the field." Roman clapped in appreciation.

"**FANG OF CRITIAS!" Jaune roared as he played his next trump card the instant the turns switched. **

"**Merge with my Blue Eyes to form Blue Eyes Tyrant Dragon! I should probably mention Hazel, you weren't even close to beating me." Jaune laughed as his ultimate weapon was ready and he could finally end this farce.**

"**WHAT!? But you said-"**

"**That you were the most likely to win? That's right. All my other opponents had a 0% chance of beating me. You had 0.1. But it was a big .1%, huge really. You should be proud of that." Jaune mocked his defeated opponent.**

"Oh perfection indeed, if I ever have a son, I want him to be just like that!" Roman wiped a tear away from his eyes.

On the good guys side of the theatre, Yang was busy jolting down everything Jaune said in her notebook. More material for trash talk was always welcome.

"**Now! Blue Eyes Tyrant Dragon! Destroy all three of his monsters!" The dragon fired on Hazel and the shockwave caused the plane to rumble.**

"**We seem to be experiencing elevated levels of turbulence. In an emergency situation, parachutes are available for five hundred dollars a head. In case of a water landing, Schnee Corp rewards program members may use those passengers not in the rewards program as floatation devices." Came the pre-recorded message as Hazel's life points dropped to zero and the seal of Orichalcos began closing in on him.**

"**Hazel, are you alright?" Oscar said as he went to check on the loser.**

"**Gretchen? Is that you?" Hazel was hallucinating now from the damage inflicted on him by the duel and the fact that his soul was being ripped out.**

"**It is you, we've been reunited at last." Hazel pressed a badly damaged action figure into a confused Oscar's hands.**

"**And it's all thanks to the power of the Oricha-" He didn't get to finish as the seal finished it work and his body fell to the ground face first.**

"**Yeah he's dead. Dibs on his crappy broken stuff!" Oscar shrugged and said nonchalantly and stared at the memento in his hands.**

"That's a little unnerving. After everything that happened to that Hazel, wouldn't a little sympathy be in order?" Jaune asked.

"Normally yes. But this happens often enough that both of you stopped caring a long time ago. Also, joining an organisation whose singular goal is to steal the souls of everyone on the planet and seal them away kinda makes it hard to feel bad for you." Blank said.

"Ah."

"**We're going to be the crappy broken stuff if we don't safely land this plane." Jaune rushed to the cockpit and started fighting with the controls, trying to pull the plane out of its uncontrolled descent. He cursed when the damage caused by the duel was more severe than expected and the controls weren't responding.**

"**Not even Microsoft Flight Simulator prepared me for this! This is just like that one recurring dream I have. Except in the dream I'm always saved at the last minute by magical dragons and it's the best day of my…" Jaune trailed off as his card deck started glowing and a white light shot out of it into the sky.**

"**God yes, it's actually happening!"**

**The scene cut away to Goodwitch and Ruby on the ground, although instead of Goodwitch's voice, it was Salem's for some reason. "Ruby, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" **

"**YYYYYYYEEEEEESSSSSSSS! YYYYYYEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS! YYYYYYYEEEESSSSSSSS!" Jaune's cheering could be heard as three dragons helped slow the plane and bring it down safely.**

**Ruby blinked once before replying. "That depends, do you see three legendary dragons helping a plane land while Jaune Schnee has what sounds like the biggest orgasm of his life?"**

"**YYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"**

"Ruby!" Taiyang glared at his daughter for her counterpart's choice of words.

"It's not me dad! Other me!" Ruby frantically denied.

"You gotta admit, it is a pretty accurate description of what it looks like." Blake played devil's advocate and Weiss just sighed.

"Of course that's where your mind takes you first."

"Oh yeah? And what was your first impression Weiss?" Blake challenged, sending the white haired girl into a mess of stutters while blushing.

"That's! Um… er… nevermind!"

"**Okay good, so I wasn't imagining that." Salem in Goodwitch's body said as the Jaune let out one last scream of ecstasy before the plane touched down with a crash.**

"What's with… you know…" Ozpin trailed off, thoroughly weirded out by his ex-wife's voice coming out of his adjutant.

"Oh right, she's a good guy… girl? Here. She's part of ancient humanity and the one who sealed away the god of darkness. Her soul stuck around inside that pyramid hanging around her neck, and she ends up sharing a body with Glynda here after Glynda rebuilt the shattered pyramid."

"Ah." Ozpin said slowly, somehow Salem's situation was a strange parallel of his own and he wasn't sure what to make of it.

"It's all good though, she's been helping Goodwitch a lot and aside from moments of supreme arrogance and genre blindness, she's nice. At this point in the universe though, Goodwitch's soul was stolen by the Orichalcos and she's on a quest to steal it back." Blank said.

"Well, that's… not something you hear every day." Goodwitch spoke up.

**As the two of them met up with Sun and Neptune, they approached the plane and watched with bated breath as the doors were kicked open. Jaune emerged from the plane carrying the soulless body of Hazel in his arms.**

"**I AM NOW A MEMBER OF THE MILE HIGH CLUB!" Silence dominated the area as the four just stared at Jaune.**

In the audience though, things were different. Taiyang and summer were both blushing hard, Yang was snickering and Qrow had collapsed to the floor choking for breath as he laughed his ass off. Roman and Neo were doing pretty much the same.

"Oh my. Very unfortunate choice of words there." Blake said, wiping away a trace of red from her nose.

"What? What's wrong with the mile high club?" Ruby asked, not getting it.

"Yeah? What's so funny guys? I don't get it either." Jaune was equally clueless, Pyrrha just clapped him on the back and fell apart laughing.

"Well you see Jaune, it's like this…" Ren leaned in close and whispered the true meaning into Jaune's ears. The leader of JNPR paled considerably as he figured out what everyone was laughing at now.

"I guess Ruby was right, you never had any dignity to begin with. How improper." Weiss looked away, although the shaking of her shoulders and faint giggling clued everyone in to her true opinion.

"**Why are you all looking me like that?" Jaune asked when he noticed the four staring at him with shocked looks. **

"**Schnee, what do you think the mile high club is?" Salem asked carefully.**

"**Isn't it where you beat someone in a duel while you're on a plane?" Jaune stated in a matter of fact tone.**

"**Actually-" Salem cut herself off when she looked into Jaune's completely serious visage.**

"**No, yes, you're right. That's exactly what it is." She finished, not wanting to shatter Jaune's delusions. **

"**MILE HIGH CLUB!" Jaune cheered one last time as the screen faded to black.**

The audience erupted into laughter again as Jaune buried his face in his dress from pure unadulterated embarrassment. "Someone kill me now please!"

"I still don't get it!" Ruby growled and her dad just patted her on the head.

"Don't worry, someone will explain it to you when you're older."

"But I wanna know now!" Ruby whined.

"One thing, Jeanne, you've already cleared up your motion sickness on airships haven't you?" Yang shot Jaune a questioning glance.

"Jaune! My name is Jaune! Not Jeanne!" The dress wearing blonde knight groaned.

"Keep telling yourself that Jeanne, but really you've gotten over it haven't you?" Yang snickered.

"Yesssss… so I have. Why? Don't worry I won't be vomit boy anymore." Jaune answered after a second of grumbling.

"Well then… maybe you might just become an actual member of the club in the future eh?" Yang whispered in a soft voice, just loud enough for him and Pyrrha to hear.

"Bwuh!?" Jaune's mind crashed.

"Oh, and cereal girl can join in too of course. Whaddya say lover boy?"

"BWUH!?"

"Not a bad idea actually." Pyrrha said after considering it for a moment.

Jaune's mind couldn't take it anymore and shut down completely. Slumping into the couch, he was out like a light, getting both girls on either side of him to laugh.

"Oh you're just too easy to tease, Jaune." Yang chuckled.

"I wasn't kidding though." Pyrrha said while poking at Jaune's cheek, smiling gently when Jaune started mumbling incoherently.

"What a coincidence, neither was I. You sure you up to it P-money?" Yang shot back with a challenge.

"Questions is, are you?" Sparks flew between the two girls as neither intended to give ground.

"Mile high club eh? Renny! We can't let half of JNPR become members like that." Nora declared and pulled Ren into a hug.

"Huh!? Uh sure, if you dislike the idea so much we can try convincing them not to."

"What? No, of course not. I'm saying we should become members first." Ren stared at Nora, blinked once, twice, and then he took a page out of Jaune's book and promptly fainted. Nora just giggled and hugged him closer.

"You're not getting away from me that easily Renny."

"Well that's it for the viewing, feel free to go refresh yourselves once you're done laughing." Blank said as his audience was still too stuck in their mirth to properly respond.

"Until next time then."

* * *

Author's notes: Nothing to see here, still on vacation. Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as Seto Kaiba

Oscar as Mokuba

Hazel as Alister

Gretchen as Mikey

Salem as Atem

Glynda Goodwitch as Yugi

Ruby as Tea

Sun as Joey

Neptune as Tristain


	14. Christmas Special

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Christmas Special: Christmas for the bad guys**

**Inspiration: NA**

A flash of white light enveloped the theatre and when it faded, the deco had changed to a Christmas theme. The audience's clothes had switched out as well for a more festive theme.

"Hell yes! I'm no longer in a dress! But… oh come on! Why do I have this belly and beard!?" Jaune's cheer faded away as he started scratching at the itchy fake beard and poking at the false belly.

"WHOO! Fearless leader is Santa!" Nora yelled and leaped over to tackle him in a hug, bowling the couch over and sending all occupants to the ground in a heap.

"Where are my presents!? Gimme! Gimmegimmegimme!" Nora shoved her face into Jaune's as she started shaking him down for the goodies.

"AH! Okay! Okay! Gimme a moment!" Jaune managed to pry the overeager elf off him and get back to his feet. Grumbling slightly as he reached into his pockets, his annoyance faded away as Nora's false ears just kept twitching up and down.

"Here you go, all the notes on the bombs the Atlas version of myself made. And some extras on how to create a new Noramobile out of a deathstalker that another you sent to me, something about weaponised caffeine in there too." Jaune chuckled as Nora gripped the papers tightly, mouth wide open and stars in her eyes.

"THANK YOU FEARLESS LEADER!" Giving Jaune one last hug, Nora retreated into a corner to pour over the notes, demented giggles occasionally leaving her and getting Ren to worry about incoming collateral damage.

"Okay… what's with the sudden theme change?" Yang asked as she scratched at the fake antlers on her head.

"It's Christmas." Blank said.

"Already? Doesn't feel like we've been here that long." Qrow shrugged and accepted the news.

"Well not in your home universe, but with the multiverse, it's always Christmas somewhere." Blank amended.

"That's convenient… now get this clown nose off me!" Weiss roared in frustration, the glowing red gag nose on her face refused to budge no matter how hard she pulled at it.

"Come on Weiss, just enjoy yourself!" Ruby gave her partner a bright smile and two thumbs up. Weiss blinked once and slowly let out a long-suffering sigh.

"I am so not having a conversation with a Christmas tree."

"I'm a turkey. Why am I a turkey?" Blake hissed out slowly as she stared at her costume.

"Christmas turkeys are a thing." Blank said helpfully, Blake just hissed at him in anger.

"Again. Why am I a turkey?"

In the villain corner of the theatre, Roman was on his knees sobbing. His beloved Melodic Cudgel had been returned to him, only the thing was now a candy cane.

"No. What have they done to you!?" The man was crying openly now and transitioned to bawling once Neo snuck past his guard, broke off a piece and ate it.

'Minty' was the only word displayed on Neo's scroll as she savoured the treat, the bell at the end of her pointy hat jingling as she nodded.

"I'm feeling sorry for Torchwick now. That's… not something I ever thought I'd say. And what are we watching this time?" Goodwitch adjusted her glasses and looked away from the sorry sight of a grown man crying on the floor while hugging a giant piece of candy.

"An alternate universe this time. Here's one where Jaune isn't a student of Beacon due to a different set of relatives." Blank answered.

"Oh. So… what about the rest of us then?" Pyrrha asked.

"For obvious reasons, JNPR doesn't exist there. Ren and Nora aren't students either, you are though. You're on a team with Weiss, Blake and Yang as their leader instead, as for Ruby, in this world she doesn't go to Beacon early."

"Oh. I see." Pyrrha said before falling quiet. The lights dimmed and the screen came on shortly after.

**Jaune stood behind a bar, humming quietly as he wiped down an empty glass. Junior's bar wasn't due to open for another hour or so and the twins were out on an errand, that meant peace and quiet for the foreseeable future.**

**Returning the glass to the rack, he wiped down his hands and started reaching for the latest issue of X-ray and Vav that he'd been meaning to finish for a while now. His hands froze in place when the doors swung open and a girl in a black and red dress walked in.**

"**You know we're not open yet right? And aren't you a little young to be in here?" Jaune regretfully left the comic where it was and turned to face the newcomer.**

"**Eh, aren't you a little young to be behind the counter?" Ruby shot back without missing a beat.**

"**Touché, but I know the owner of this fine establishment and I'm here today as a favour to him." Jaune shrugged and grabbed a new glass to start wiping down.**

"Ruby! What are you doing in a nightclub!?" Taiyang spoke in a strangled voice as he clutched at his heart, a spike of pain running through it.

"I don't know! It's society's fault! I'm young and impressionable! Videogames made me do it!" Ruby frantically denied, getting Summer to chuckle in response.

"It's fine, just ignore your dad. He's snuck into stranger places when he was younger. And your uncle has definitely woken up in stranger ones yet."

"**Short handed for the holidays huh?" Ruby nodded sagely as she took a seat at the counter.**

"**Like you wouldn't believe. It's almost Christmas, most of the boys have already left for the holidays. Really the only ones left are the owner and his friends… plus me since I did owe him a favour." Jaune shrugged helplessly.**

"**Ah well, never mind that. What can I do ya for? If you want alcohol though, I'm gonna need some ID."**

"**A glass of milk please." Ruby placed a lien card on the table while Jaune just stared at her.**

"**You. Walk into a nightclub. And ask for a glass of milk." Silence hung between them for a few seconds before Jaune shrugged and reached for the fridge.**

"**Yeah sure, whatever. I've had stranger requests." Pouring Ruby a glass, Jaune handed it over as he dialled up the order and sorted out the change.**

"**Really?" Ruby asked curiously.**

"**Oh yeah. Just awhile back, there was this girl with a bad case of the hiccups. She asked for a can of motor oil as a cure. Drank the whole thing straight right in front of me too. Said it was delicious and asked for another, go figure. When you stick around this place long enough, ya get used to seeing weird shit happen."**

"A whole can of motor oil!? Damn, and I thought I had a drinking problem." Qrow shuddered slightly before seeking solace in his flask again.

"Ehehhe…" Ruby's laughter trailed off as she could hazard a guess at the identity of the hiccupping girl.

"**What brings you here anyway. From the thing you're lugging around… you're a huntress in a training?" Jaune pointed at the stored form of Crescent Rose and waited for Ruby to finish her drink.**

"**Hey! My baby isn't a thing!" Slamming the glass down angrily, she glared at Jaune. The blonde bartender just burst out laughing, unable to feel any threat from the excessively adorable pout. The milk moustache on her certainly didn't make her any more threatening.**

"**Are you laughing at me?" Ruby narrowed her eyes angrily at the giggling blonde.**

"**N-no, o-of course not. I j-just remembered a funny joke that's all. S-so what is it anyway?" Jaune managed to get out in between bouts of giggles. Ruby just stared at him suspiciously before unfurling her weapon into scythe mode.**

"**Behold Crescent Rose!" She declared proudly.**

"**Oh, a scythe. Very nice." Jaune clapped politely.**

"**It's also a customizable high impact sniper rifle!"**

"**A what?"**

"**Haaa… it's also a gun." Ruby added on with a sigh.**

"Ah this brings back memories." Jaune smiled fondly as he recalled making his first friend in Beacon so long ago.

"Yeah, you just became vomit boy back then." Ruby giggled as she reminisced

"And you were crater face." Jaune and Ruby shared a laugh before sharing a fist bump.

"I remember you helping me up after I exploded on Weiss."

"And then we both got lost in Beacon." The two friends shared another laugh, finding amusement in their old failings.

"**Oooh… very nice. All I have is a little something my sisters got me, not quite a proper weapon but eh, I'm not trying to be a huntsman so that's fine with me. You look a little young to be a student of Beacon though." Jaune shrugged.**

"**Nah, I'm not in Beacon yet. I'm still studying at Signal, I'm just here visiting my sister who is a student." Ruby stowed Crescent Rose away before turning back to her drink and frowning.**

"**Something the matter? If it's not too personal, feel free to just shoot the breeze ya know. I find speaking problems out loud tend to make me feel better, but uh… just gotta make sure its nothing secret yeah? Walls have ears and all that." Jaune poured her another glass of milk on the house.**

"**It's nothing really, just… not really sure what I should be doing right now. Back in Signal, I could always just tag along with sis whenever but now she has a team of her own. That means team stuff and I can't really butt into that." Ruby sighed and emptied her first glass, before reaching for the second.**

"**Ah I see, you came to visit your sister but she's got other commitments too, doesn't she? And now you don't have anything to do since your plan was mostly 'stick with sister and do cool stuff' right?" Jaune gave an understanding nod. **

"**Yup." Ruby said with a pop and downed the second glass.**

"**Yeah… it's rough. I was like that too when I first came to Vale years ago. I was going to stick with my uncle and learn from him but… man's almost always busy with work. Left me with quite a lot of free time to question my life choices."**

"So, who is my uncle in this universe?" Jaune asked as he received the first clue as to why this version of himself no longer wanted to be a huntsman.

"You'll just have to wait and see. Keep an open mind." Blank answered with a small laugh.

"**But just so you know, nightclubs really aren't the place you should be looking for fun in. Most places would just kick you out and the ones that don't might just try to overcharge you and rob you blind. After all, who's going to believe you when you snuck in underage? It ain't that difficult to paint you as a thief and get the heat on you and away from them." Jaune said.**

"**Speaking from experience?" Ruby asked with a raised eyebrow, receiving mirthless chuckles from Jaune in response.**

"**Oh yeah. I learned the hard way. I got em back for it eventually though… hehhehehe…"**

"**Well… thanks for not cheating me or kicking me out I guess." Ruby offered her thanks and Jaune just waved it off.**

"**Ah it's fine, I have standards ya know. If you're still bored, you can just stick around. I can't serve you once the club is open because of legal reasons, but I can slip you a few glasses of milk or water or whatever soft drink you want every now and then. I guarantee you, you're not going to be bored with all the crazy stuff that happens in here."**

"**Umhmm, I think I'll do that. You got any other suggestions on what to do? I'm stuck in Vale until the new year before I go home to Patch."**

"**You ever consider charity work?" Jaune asked, getting a curious look in response.**

"**Charity work?"**

"**Oh yeah. Not as fun as hitting up the arcades or going to the movies with a friend but its for a good cause and far more rewarding I think. It's Christmas! But not everyone's gonna get a happy one. Plenty of unfortunates who could use a little helping hand." Jaune started to explain.**

"Hmm… not a huntsman but still helping to make the world a better place, the world could use more people like that." Goodwitch gave her honest praise.

"Uh. That's debatable." Blank responded.

"Oh come on! How is doing charity a bad thing?" Yang complained.

"If the ends justify the means then yeah it's good. But… just keep watching."

"**Vale's a big city with a lot of systems to keep it running. Problem with such a big system is that there are so many gaps where things just fall through. The funds for things like orphanage repairs or public works just… doesn't arrive some times. Hard to see until you actually experience it in person."**

"**So… what do you do then?" Ruby asked, hooked onto Jaune's words.**

"**We cut out the middleman so to speak. It's more efficient if we do things ourselves you know, instead of waiting for the council's many committees and sub-committees to pass the paperwork. We just get it done ourselves. Might not be completely legal in that regard, but what's the council going to do, tear down a hospital because someone fixed their wall? That would sink their re-election chances faster than you can say 'oh no'."**

"He's not entirely wrong on that regard. Red tape is… frustrating." Ozpin lowered his mug and glowered.

"Tell me about it, at some point the bureaucracy becomes nothing more than a hindrance." Taiyang commiserated.

"**I have time, I could help a little before I have to go home." Ruby offered and Jaune gave her a smile in return.**

"**Sure. There's nothing on today or tomorrow but a bunch of our guys are going to be fixing up some of the buildings in the slums the day after. Place is ancient and practically falling to pieces so it's in need of a touch up. Here, directions to the place, not really sure what you can do to help but every little bit counts."**

"**Okay. I'll be there!" Ruby jotted down the directions on her scroll before putting it away, from there the two just had small talk until it was time for the club to open.**

**And true to Jaune's words, Ruby was definitely entertained. Three barfights, an impromptu concert and a sudden chicken invasion. Where the chickens came from no one knew but they just added to the chaos in the club and the red reaper laughed herself sick.**

"Man, Junior's bar wasn't anywhere near this chaotic the last time I was there. This happen often?" Yang asked.

"Indeed. It's a quirk of that universe, there's no such thing as a quiet night in that bar." Blank answered.

**Waving goodbye as a drowsy Ruby was the last one to exit the club, Jaune turned to survey the wreckage and just chuckled. The place was a right mess with broken furniture lying everywhere, at least all the patrons were gone, even the blackout drunks had been carted off by their friends.**

**Closing the doors and locking them for the night, Jaune walked over to the kitchen and retrieved a tub of ice cream. Placing it on the bar top, he gave a small push and the tub sailed to the very end.**

"**Help yourself, I don't think Junior will mind." Jaune spoke to thin air as he retrieved his scroll and started scrolling through the messages.**

"Who's he speaking to? There's no one there." Weiss stared at the screen blankly.

'No one you can see princess.' Neo held up a sign and stuck out her tongue.

**There was the sound of shattering glass and Neo materialised on the counter. Picking up the tub, she started digging in eagerly.**

"**That much ice cream can't be good for you, better watch out or you're going to be a ball soon." Jaune chuckled and ducked under the knife that came flying his way.**

"**For the last time idiot, you don't talk about weight or age around the ladies, how many times do I have to teach you that lesson?" Roman sighed heavily before he materialised as well, Neo's semblance no longer cloaking him.**

"**What lady? I wasn't aware we were in the presence of one." Jaune replied seriously, grinning as he took cover from the barrage of knives a very ticked off Neo sent his way.**

"**Quit messing with Neo, I know what you're trying to do, you're trying to keep her distracted long enough for all the ice cream to melt." Roman deadpanned.**

"**That obvious huh? Fine, fine, I'll leave her in peace… for now. Anyways, you got something for me uncle?" Jaune chuckled before wiping away his smile and putting on his game face.**

"Hold up! What!?" Jaune shot out of his seat, eyes wide with shock.

"Jaune is related to Torchwick here!? Ah… that would explain why he doesn't want to be a huntsman anymore." Blake's ears twitched as she analysed the situation.

"Hmm related to what?" Roman perked up at the mention of his name, pulling out of his funk temporarily.

"Who's related to… NEO! STOP EATING MY WEAPON!"

"**Oh yeah, Junior's info was on the money. There's a new shipment coming in tomorrow night. You get one guess as to where the money for that came from." Roman handed over a shipping manifest to Jaune.**

"**You're kidding me, they can't seriously be that corrupt." Jaune's eyes narrowed as he read through the papers.**

"**Amazing isn't it, every time you think they can't possibly sink any lower, they go out of their way to prove you wrong." Torchwick smiled bitterly.**

"**They…" Jaune's mouth hung open as the words failed him.**

"**People will die." He bit out finally.**

"**You already know the response to that. People die every day, it's just an unavoidable tragedy. Besides, they're just animals, who cares what happens to them. Less of them is always a good thing." Roman put on his snootiest voice as he delivered the lines.**

"**Cinder will-" Jaune began, only to be cut off by Neo's headshake and Roman's sigh.**

"**Elections are after the new year, it'll be too late by then. Councilwoman Fall won't exist in time to make a difference."**

"What. The. Hell." Jaune looked towards Blank for an explanation, much of the audience echoed his action.

"Well, you're Roman's nephew here. You meet Cinder some time in the past and had an interesting conversation with her, got her to shift her plans so the fall won't happen in this universe." Blank replied.

"I'm almost scared to ask, what exactly did she change them to?" Pyrrha asked with trepidation.

"Due to a slight bit of miscommunication, that Cinder became convinced that instead of simply taking power, it's so much better to have her enemies hand the power to her on a silver platter and then rub the fact of it in their faces afterwards. Hence, councilwoman Fall."

"Who'd ever vote for that monster?" Weiss huffed and folded her arms.

"You'd be surprised. The Vale council of that universe is hideously corrupt, even more so than your own. Even counting in the working for Salem bit, she's still the lesser of two evils. She's campaigning on a promise to weed out corruption and the fact that she's a huntress, meaning she's done more to benefit the general populace than the existing council ever did just by existing." Blank said.

"You gotta be joking." Qrow stated in a flat tone.

"Sadly, I'm not. And that Cinder isn't exactly lying either, by being a huntress and showing herself in public, it does give people hope that someone actually gives a damn about them unlike the council."

"W-well, she loses right?" Ruby muttered.

"She wins, fair and square too, go figure. But that's a can of worms for another day, her story isn't in focus at the moment." Blank flickered in place of a shrug.

"**Bloody hell, what are they going to do next? Steal candy from babies?" Jaune growled, his gaze was drawn to his uncle when the man coughed sheepishly.**

"**Uh, about that." Drawing another file from his coat, Roman handed it to Jaune and stepped back, wanting nothing to do with the inevitable explosion. Neo simply opened up her parasol and used it as a barrier between them.**

**The temporary bartender took several minutes to read through the documents and process his thoughts. Slowly, Jaune's shocked expression morphed into one of pure rage, white light burst forth as his aura ran riot. Slamming a fist down on the table, he shattered the entire bar top with one hit, sending a shower of splinters flying in every direction.**

"**Okay… got it out of your system yet?" Roman asked, dusting several stray splinters off him.**

"…**Yeah. Fucking hell, it wasn't bad enough the council is busy embezzling the funds meant for the medical facilities in the faunus districts, they're going to defraud the Grimm orphan fund as well. Uncle, remind me again why we don't just walk into to one of their meetings and shoot everyone we see?" Jaune glared angrily at the wall, just barely keeping his rage in check.**

"Guess I'm a bad guy in this one then… but is it wrong that I kinda want the other me to stick it to the council?" Jaune queried.

"Not really. If it were me…" Ren trailed off as several dark thoughts popped into his mind.

"I'd do a lot more than break their legs for that." Nora said, an uncharacteristically serious look on her face.

"Criminal yes, bad guy no. And besides, sometimes, bad guys make the best good guys." Blank spoke up to break the dark mood enshrouding the theatre.

"**Because, killing the council puts us on every most wanted list in existence and I don't need that kinda rep." Roman shrugged and poured himself a drink.**

"**Junior's gonna make you pay for the damage, you know that right?"**

"**He'll get the money when he gets the money. Fine, if the council wants to steal from the needy so badly, let em. I'll just steal the money back myself, public funding or anonymous donations, it doesn't really matter how the money gets to the people does it?" Jaune said and the gears in his mind started to turn.**

"**I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with that statement somewhere but screw it! Thieving is what I live for, you got any masterplans cooking?" Roman grinned widely and waited for his beloved nephew to crank out another big score.**

"**Hmmm… I'm thinking that shipment of vintage wines coming in tomorrow for their little Christmas party was sold to the council a little too cheaply. Falls to us to make sure they pay a fair price for it. It'd be criminal to do otherwise no?"**

"**Hahahahah! Steal their wine and sell it back to them for double the price? I like it." Roman clapped and Neo gave a thumbs up with her free hand.**

"**I'm thinking triple, Junior can fence. And since it **_**is**_** Christmas, we might as well give them a little present, out of the goodness of our heart." Jaune's smile was cold enough to freeze the desert.**

"**Ha! I knew you were my favourite nephew for a reason." Roman rubbed his hands together gleefully, ready for more payback.**

"**Uncle, I'm your only nephew."**

"Okay? Seems kinda tame really. Just triple the price?" Qrow said, unimpressed. Blank coughed and a copy of the receipt appeared in Qrow's hands.

"Hmm? Whaziz… HOLY SHIT! THAT'S MORE THAN I MAKE IN A YEAR! A-and that's just one bottle!?" Qrow stared wide eyed at the floating ball of light.

"Vintage stuff."

"No shit! Say… you wouldn't happen to-" Qrow shut up when a bottle manifested itself in hands.

"Sweet mother of… come to papa!" Cradling it like a baby, the veteran huntsman took the time to just appreciate the bottle's existence before uncorking it and chugging it straight from the source, drawing twin sighs of condemnation from Taiyang and Summer.

"Stupid, stingy uncles…" Yang glared at Qrow with red eyes from where she was seated.

"**Remind me again why I have to do this?" Mercury complained as he shook the snow out of his hair for the thousandth time that evening.**

"**It's a freaking blizzard out here, how much more of a distraction could you possibly need!?"**

"**Shut up Mercury, Cinder's orders." Emerald slapped her partner on the back of his head, drawing out an angry growl. Her mood was sour enough as it is, stuck outside in the middle of the snowstorm of the century when she could be literally anywhere but here. Putting up with Mercury was really trying her thinning patience. **

"**This had better be fucking worth it." Mercury spat out and turned to Jaune, the now suited up criminal staring out into the white expanse.**

"**You're getting paid and a complimentary bottle straight from the stash. What else do you want?" Jaune deadpanned and continued his vigil, keeping watch for any nosy trouble makers.**

"**Oh I don't know… how about not freezing my ass off in the snow? So far this is a complete waste of time!" Mercury flailed his arms about in frustration.**

"**That's good isn't it? Easy pay check for the both of you."**

"Something about an easy pay check? What are we watching?" Roman asked once he finally wrestled the remnants of Melodic Cudgel away from Neo.

"A universe where Jaune is your nephew and taking after you. Currently he's giving grief to Mercury and Emerald." Blank replied.

"Hehehe… about time something went my wa-NEO, CUT IT OUT!"

"**Disregarding the pay, the information you're promising had better be worth it." Emerald growled out.**

"**Oh yes, don't you worry about that. It's damning enough on its own, but put together with everything else Cinder has, and I'll eat my uncle's hat if the incumbent council doesn't get lynched when it goes public. Using public funds to hire 'guards' for a shipment of 'medical supplies'… heheheheh…" Jaune trailed off into dark laughter as his gaze swept the snow-covered streets once more.**

"**I'm sure the people will be happy to know the good council is bankrolling the white fang as a quasi private army, and I'm sure there can be some twisted logic somewhere to explain why crates of alcohol that cost more than most civilians would make in their lifetimes constitute vital medical supplies."**

"The Vale council is funding the fang? That's… the fang would never work with the council, not if they're as racist as they're appearing to be." Blake denied.

"Funding is funding kitty cat, I'm guessing your friends in the fang are more than happy to take the council's money and then stab them in the back later once they've outlived their usefulness." Roman replied, one hand held overhead, keeping the half-eaten candy cane away from the pint-sized Neo.

"Correct, the fang aren't exactly pleased with having to do the council's bidding, but they can't turn down an easy source of funds since their Vale operations aren't solid and Cinder isn't working with them in that universe. It helps that the council have given them carte blanche to do whatever they want as long as they take out the council's enemies along the way and avoid drawing too much attention to their dealings. Both parties know betrayal is inevitable but until that time, they'll milk the partnership for all it's worth." Blank added on.

"**Tch, none of that explains why we're stuck up here." Mercury complained.**

"**Well, if you're volunteering to down and do the heavy lifting by all means. You should know that Nora is down there and… well, since breaking your legs does nothing to you, I did hear her saying she'd aim a little higher next time." Jaune's words caused Mercury to pale considerably and squeeze his legs together.**

"**On second thought, freezing up here is a much healthier option, I hear the cold does wonders for your skin."**

"I'm a baddie too? AWESOME!" Nora cheered and Ren just sighed.

"No. Not awesome."

"How did that happen exactly?" Jaune looked to Blank for an explanation.

"You uh, for lack of a better term picked them up on one of your business trips with Roman a couple of years back. Jokes about adopting strays aside, you just had them tag along with you as future 'business' partners. Neither Ren nor Nora had a place to go so they were more than happy to join up if it meant a warm meal and a roof to sleep under." Blank replied.

"Business partners? I'm not sure I like the sound of that." Pyrrha chuckled nervously.

"It wasn't supposed to be anything criminal originally, since Torchwick does have a portfolio of legit companies under one of his many pseudonyms. But then Nora found out about the criminal element and slotted herself in immediately because it would be 'fun'. That Jaune was committing crimes to help the less fortunate only cemented her resolve."

"And where she goes, I go huh?" Ren sighed and shook his head.

"Pretty much. You can relax though, you're mostly focused on the actual legitimate businesses and between Jaune and yourself, you mostly keep Nora under control. Although, by control I mean point Nora in the direction of other criminals who won't toe the line." Blank said.

"Oh. So basically what we do normally then, except with criminals instead of Grimm." Jaune easily accepted the answer.

**Any further banter was cut off when a ball of flames shot up into the sky at the docks. Jaune's scroll beeped several seconds later and he just cursed in frustration. Reading it brought no good news, the white fang grunts guarding the shipment were packing heat and one of the faunus had detected Ren's approach before he could drop the sleeping gas.**

"**See that Mercury? That's why we're up here, I give it a few minutes before huntsmen and the cops come running. We're gonna have to stall them." Jaune said, already moving to a better spot.**

"**Sure we don't need to help out at the docks?" Emerald asked as the sound of gunfire was increasingly audible over the howling winds.**

"**It'll be fine. Ren and Nora are down there plus Neo." Jaune shrugged, unconcerned about the situation unfolding at the docks.**

"**That's… kind of what I'm afraid of. You sure the shipment is going to survive the three of them?" Emerald folded her arms and waited.**

"**Uh. Actually, lemme get back to you on that." Jaune paused mid step and hastily sent a message to Ren, instructing him to keep the collateral damage down at all costs. It wouldn't do for Nora to accidentally blow up the shipment.**

"Some things never change." Ren sighed again and buried his face in his hands, getting chuckles from the rest.

**True to Jaune's predictions, the cops came running instantly. The council probably having put them on high alert just in case someone tried stealing their precious cargo.**

**Jaune left Emerald to deal with them, her illusory semblance causing their cars to miss their turns when they saw the road ahead completely clogged up with snow. "Better hurry Jaune, I can't stall all of them forever, my semblance can't deal with large groups."**

"**Fine I'll-group of white fang approaching from the warehouses, Mercury, deal with them." Jaune instructed once his scroll pinged, hacked cameras indicating reinforcements were on the move.**

"**Heheheh… about time I got to stretch my legs. Rules of engagement?" Mercury grinned at the prospect of imminent violence perpetuated by his glorious self.**

"**No killing, you don't need the extra heat, not unless you want Cinder's first job as councilwoman to be placing a bounty on your head." Jaune dashed his hopes slightly.**

"**Ugh! Fine. I'll just beat them unconscious, happy mom?"**

"**Not really, but that's the best I'm going to get from you isn't it?" Jaune rolled his eyes. Once Mercury took off, Jaune's scroll beeped again, indicating more fang reinforcements and a group of huntresses closing in, the meeting point at an intersection nearby.**

"**Why can't things ever be easy? Ugh, this is why I'd rather be an information broker rather than a thief. So much less troublesome that way." Jaune complained before heading off to cut the white fang off, slipping on a full face mask to hide his identity in the process. His uncle might love the infamy but he'd much rather remain hidden in the shadows.**

"Nothing wrong with being infamous you know?" Roman said once he was done duct taping his weapon to the ceiling.

"Oh really? And when was the last time you could drink at a coffeeshop in the middle of the day?" Qrow fired back and smiled when Roman's mouth clicked shut.

**Leaping from the rooftops, Jaune landed directly on the lead faunus, crushing the man into the dirt. "No entry beyond this point I'm afraid, I'm gonna have to ask ya all to turn back now."**

**Jaune smirked behind the mask as he pulled out a yoyo and started playing with it. The white fang took several seconds to process the weirdo in front of them before drawing their weapons and attacking.**

"**Suit yourself." Jaune flicked the yoyo out at the nearest attacker, the disks slammed into his mask and fire dust within activated, blasting the white fang agent backwards.**

**Reeling it back in, Jaune executed a series of yoyo tricks, tripping up the faunus with the string or knocking them back with mini dust explosions.**

"**Damnit! Quit fooling around and fight us seriously!" One of the terrorists roared at Jaune in frustration as he continued wiping the floor with them with a toy.**

"**I'm as serious as I need to be, for you lot five percent seriousness is enough." Jaune mocked them as he started playing with the yoyo again. He grinned when those still on their feet started to lose their cool and their attacks became more haphazard.**

**He was lying of course, one of the first things Roman had beaten into his skull when he started out was to never ever enter a fight with anything less than a hundred percent, no matter how little of a challenge it would be. Accidents and surprise upsets happened all the time, no sense in letting it happen to you out of carelessness.**

"A yoyo? Seriously? Now I've seen everything." Yang stared blankly at the screen.

"Interesting choice of weapons aside, it's not as unorthodox as some weapons I've seen." Ozpin commented.

"For instance, Dr Oobleck's weapon is his thermos as strange as that sounds."

"Okay. Now I've heard everything." Yang amended.

"Oh believe me, there are stranger weapons still. As to hearing everything… you haven't faced Flynt Coal yet." Blank said with a small chuckle.

**Shaking his head as he used the yoyo to trip up a white fang grunt, Jaune winced when the faunus went down with a loud thud.**

"**Night, night." Lifting his foot up, Jaune stomped downwards, sending the man off to dreamland.**

"**Damnit all! Is this some kind of joke to you!?" One of the three remaining faunus yelled at him.**

"**Noooooo… yeah pretty much. You're getting your asses kicked by a man in a suit with a yoyo, dishonour! Dishonour on your whole family, dishonour on you, dishonour on your cow-" Jaune almost bit his tongue when one of them rushed him screaming bloody murder.**

**Backstepping and using his yoyo to trip up the assailant again, Jaune wrapped the yoyo around the faunus and pulled her in close. Once she was in striking range, he delivered a solid roundhouse kick to the face that shattered her mask and sent her flying back.**

"**Huh, cow faunus. Whaddaya know? Just so we clear, that insult was unintentional and I am in no way a racist." Jaune felt the need to clarify, even if it was a bunch of terrorists he was explaining himself to.**

"At least he's nice enough to do that." Blake grumbled.

"Yeah but what are the odds of that happening? Seriously, a cow faunus just happens to be there and not one of the already knocked out jokers?" Yang asked.

"The multiverse works in mysterious ways." Blank replied noncommittally.

**Jaune had knocked out another member of the fang as was busy garrotting the last one with his yoyo's string. Jaune cooed quietly as the man continued choking in his grip. "Shh… it'll be fine soon. Just pleasant dreams now, just slip away…"**

"**HEY! YOU THERE! LET HIM GO!" Jaune's face twitched once he heard the shout and the sound of stomping feet.**

'**Oh for fuck's sake. Really?' He sighed and released the terrorist, letting the gasping man flop to the floor. Turning to face the incoming huntresses, Jaune just sighed when he found himself staring down a team of four, red, white, black and yellow greeted him.**

"There's us! Kinda convenient we're there though." Weiss stared suspiciously at the screen.

"It's not a coincidence this time like you're thinking. It has to do with the other issue." Blank corrected.

"Oh. Blake ran off to find the white fang again, didn't she?" Ruby facepalmed as she figured it out.

"That she did. Even without Torchwick and Cinder's involvement, the fang here are still working with the council and thus in Vale, so naturally…"

"Blakey had to investigate." Yang finished with a sigh.

"Come on guys, I'm not that bad!" Blake protested, her team just stared at her with unblinking eyes until she wilted inwards.

"Sorry your other self got dragged into the mess Pyrrha." Weiss apologised for the actions of other Blake.

"It's… okay? I think?" Pyrrha replied.

"**This is awkward, would you believe me if I said this wasn't what it looks like?" Jaune's dry tone had the huntresses reaching for their weapons immediately.**

"**Come quietly or we'll have to take you in by force." Yang grinned and slammed her fists together, deploying Ember Celica and readying for battle.**

"**On what charges?" Jaune asked, making no sudden moves as they made to surround him.**

"**You were choking a man with… a yoyo? Ahem, and I think you're responsible for this mess as well." Weiss said, waving an arm at the scattered bodies Jaune left lying around.**

"**They're not dead just so you know." Jaune argued back.**

"**That's not the point. You're coming with us for questioning." Blake hissed and gripped her weapons tighter, the white fang masks and uniforms setting her on edge.**

"**You've got the wrong guy really, I'm just a friendly neighbourhood huntsman." Jaune placated.**

"**Really?" Pyrrha asked.**

"**He's lying P-money, no way any self-respecting huntsman would wear a suit that tacky. Or that mask." Yang shot back.**

"**Hey! The mask is there since getting shot in the face hurts and there's nothing wrong with the suit damnit! You don't just insult someone's fashion choices, how would you feel if I insulted yours!" Jaune spat out.**

"Yeah! You tell em kiddo!" Roman cheered before reaching out and plucking Neo from the wall where she was trying to climb up.

"**Hah! Like there's anything wrong with my fashion choices." Yang preened and puffed out her chest proudly.**

"**Hehehheh… I am not even going to dignify that with a response." Jaune chuckled and pointed to the downed terrorists.**

"**Besides, are you seriously trying to arrest me? For taking out a bunch of terrorists? What court do you think exists that's going to convict me of anything? Instead of picking on the guy who just took out a terrorist cell, maybe you should… oh I don't know, maybe, just maybe focus on interrogating them instead?"**

"**Well… he has a point." Pyrrha conceded.**

"**Maybe, but we still have to take him in for questioning. Like how did he know the fang were going to be here in the first place." Blake said, never taking her eyes of Jaune once.**

"**Are you for real? Did anybody miss that giant fireball in the sky? Did it ever cross your mind that maybe other huntsman might have been alerted the same way you were and came running first?" Jaune's tone was completely flat.**

**When Blake continued staring at him suspiciously, he just sighed. "Oh I get it, you're one of those conspiracy theory nuts, **_**everyone's**_** guilty until proven innocent."**

"Maybe not the guilty until proven innocent part, but you have to admit, you do jump at shadows a lot." Yang poked Blake in the side and the cat faunus just sunk into herself even further.

"She's getting better at least?" Ruby offered.

"Anything's an improvement over how she was back then." Weiss argued back.

"Oh sure, gang up on me why don't you. I was proven right!" Blake declared.

"And as I recall Ms Belladonna, your actions led to millions in property damage. A portion of which the school had to reimburse." Goodwitch's glare sent Blake back into her corner.

"**What my teammate is saying is that despite your… good deed, we still need to question you. About this whole mess and that explosion." Weiss spoke up before Blake could dig herself any deeper and start an unnecessary fight.**

"**Hmm… then I'm going to need some id. You all look a little too young to be professional huntresses, so I'm guessing students of Beacon then. And students don't have any authority in this situation, no Grimm about and I don't exactly fit the definition of a civilian now do I?" Jaune issued his challenge.**

**The girls exchanged unsure glances before Pyrrha stepped forwards as leader. "It's true we're just students. But we're all here trying to help, I'm sorry my team came of a little strong, but we just want to get to the bottom of things. Please, could you cooperate?"**

**Anything Jaune would have said was cut off by another blast at the docks. Shaking his head at Nora's handiwork, Jaune turned back to Pyrrha. "As you can see, the situation has not been resolved. I took out one group and there's probably more at the docks."**

"**What!? I gotta go now!" Blake was about to run off again and Jaune stepped in her path.**

"**You're going nowhere, you're just a student and you're not supposed to be involved with this mess. Stay here and leave it to the professionals."**

"**You don't understand, if the white fang are there, I have to-" Blake argued but Jaune just cut her off.**

"**I don't give a damn what you **_**think**_** you have to do. You're a student, not a full-fledged huntsman or a cop. Stay. Out. Of. It." The forcefulness of Jaune's tone got Blake to take a step back.**

"**Oi! You can't talk to my partner like that!" Yang roared and her eyes flared red.**

"**Or what? You're going to attack me? While a terrorist attack is going on? I have no quarrel with you but if you all insist on stopping me from doing **_**my**_** job, then I will have you arrested." Jaune's words kicked in and Weiss and Pyrrha immediately made to hold their teammates back before they could get themselves in trouble.**

"**If you want to help so much, fine. See these jokers? I've already dealt with them but I don't have the time to interrogate them. You want answers? Get it from them, someone has to make sure they don't escape before they can be taken in as well." Jaune didn't wait for a reply before sprinting off in the direction of the docks, leaving the unconscious white fang behind to be dealt with by the students.**

**He smiled when his gamble paid off and the four of them didn't give chase. With him offering the defeated white fang as an olive branch, the thought of checking for **_**his**_** license had slipped their minds completely.**

'**Am I good or am I good?'**

"He played us all." Weiss whispered in a shocked tone.

"He's good. Real good. Haven't seen that kind of mind gaming in a long time. Gonna be real with you all, that act would probably have gotten me as well… maybe I'd have made it past him but I don't think it would have crossed my mind to check him so he'd have gotten away." Qrow gave his honest opinion.

"The confidence that he's exactly where he's meant to be plus getting you all to question yourselves and then offering an alternative as a distraction so they won't look too closely… terrifying. That explosion might have helped with the timing but he had them on the back foot from the beginning." Taiyang analysed.

"All you need is confidence huh…" Jaune trailed off and start taking notes on how to improve himself.

"Uh Jaune, I really don't think your father was referring to how to sell a lie when he gave you that advice." Pyrrha flicked her team leader in the forehead once she saw where his mumbles were going.

"It might come in handy one day, if I were more confident… I don't know, I feel like a lot of problems could have been avoided." Jaune shrugged in response.

"Haa… fine. As long as the confidence isn't faked, it should bring you far. But don't overdo it okay?" Pyrrha gave in and Jaune smiled brightly.

"Thanks Pyr!" Laughing as he hugged his partner, Pyrrha's face turned an interesting shade of red as he did so.

**Entering the docks proper, Jaune found a warzone waiting for him. Countless blast craters littered the area and several ships were in flames, the giant fireballs coming from them when they blew. Nora was cackling maniacally as she rained grenades down on the white fang taking cover. Ren was busy securing the crates, awaiting Roman's bullhead to arrive for pickup. Neo… Neo was being Neo and messing with the white fang.**

"**Damnit Ren, this was supposed to be a quiet op, what the hell happened?" Jaune asked once he made it to his friend's side, Nora's barrage providing all the cover he needed.**

"**They had lookouts in the waters." Ren's reply was curt as he fired Stormflower at a white fang grunt that peeked out from cover, scoring a hit and getting a scream of pain in response.**

"**Bloody hell, how paranoid do you have to be to post lookouts in the water itself?" Jaune cursed, underwater infiltration seemed like a good idea at the time.**

"**Considering we're here trying to steal the package, their paranoia was warranted." Ren spoke once he needed to reload and Jaune picked up the slack, firing with a captured white fang rifle.**

"**And the massive explosions?"**

"**All white fang vessels, they were waiting out the blizzard inside them and then shooting at us from there. Nora dealt with it." Ren answered.**

"**Damn, council really went all out on this one." Jaune chuckled before ducking when several bullets zinged past overhead.**

"**Understandable, there's more to the shipment than we expected. The wine was just a coverup." Ren explained, getting Jaune to blink in confusion.**

"**What else could there be? This whole shtick was already hush hush, what more could they be hiding?"**

"**No clue. A lot of machine parts in there and a few robots of some sort. Didn't have time to dig into them but they look more like suits of armour than your standard AKs. Whatever it is, we scored big given how hard they're trying to stop us."**

"**Is that so? We'll get a better look at the goods back at base, Roman should be here soon, just have to hold them off a little longer.**

"Suits of armour? What does the council want with suits of armour?" Roman asked.

"Corrupt as the council is, they aren't completely incompetent. This just happens to be one of their black projects, it's a story for another time." Blank replied.

**The four of them held off the white fang for several more minutes before the sound of a bullhead's engines could be heard. Spotlights illuminated the area and blinded the faunus, Roman hummed a tune as he directed the guns to fire on the white fang as the airship got into position.**

"**Hook em up! We're on a tight schedule here, damn coppers gonna be on top of us soon." Jaune and Ren needed no further encouragement, grabbing the cables from the bullhead and securing them to the many crates, readying for transport.**

"**We're all good down here uncle!" Jaune yelled up and the winches aboard the bullhead activated, hauling the secured crates into the sky.**

"**Nora! I need more explosions! Don't let them shoot the crates!"**

"**More explosions? Ahahahhaah! You only need to ask Jaune-Jaune!" Nora laughed as she switched out Magnhild's loadout for high explosives.**

"**You get a bomb, and you get a bomb, everybody get's a bomb! Hahahahahah!" Crazed laughter rang out in the howling winds as Nora's custom super high yield grenades detonated in brilliant pink flashes, thoroughly wrecking the docks and sending the white fang into a panic.**

"Why can't you be more like your other self and ask me for more explosions fearless leader?" Nora pouted and glared at Jaune.

"Because more explosions won't solve our problems?" Jaune said.

"Nonsense, if explosions don't solve your problems, then clearly you aren't using enough of them." The absolute surety in her voice got Jaune to groan.

"She has a point, bad guys and Grimm can't cause problems if they're too busy exploding." Yang shrugged and offered her two cents.

"Please don't encourage her." Pyrrha just sighed in exasperation.

"**Bullhead's away, it's time to split!" Jaune declared and his three companions just stopped harassing the white fang for a moment to stare at him.**

**"Jaune…" Ren began. **

"**Never, ever say that again." Nora finished.**

**Neo nodded emphatically, throwing her support behind them.**

"**Fine damnit! Ugh, why does no one get my references?" Jaune's shoulders slumped in disappointment.**

"**Maybe because most of them are ancient? You need better material Jaune-Jaune." Nora leapt down from her perch and gave him several pats on the back.**

"**Welp! We're done here! Great job team JNNR!" Nora pumped her fist in the air before firing several flash bang grenades at the white fang to stun them.**

"**Nora, we are not calling ourselves that." Ren sighed before diving into the waters, vanishing beneath the waves.**

"**Fine Renny." Switching Magnhild into a jetpack, she laughed again as she shot off into the clouds, heading for the rendezvous point.**

"**Neo, if you would?" Jaune asked and Neo just sighed exaggeratedly before activating her semblance and the both of them vanished into thin air.**

"White fang crushed, goods successfully stolen, everyone escapes to steal another day. I'm so proud of him!" Roman sniffed and wiped away a tear.

"Say… you wouldn't happen to-"

"Torchwick, I believe I made it clear I don't want you corrupting my students already." Ozpin directed a searing glare towards Roman and the master thief reluctantly backed off.

"Fine, fine, you saw it yourself though, kid makes an excellent criminal!" Jaune just chuckled nervously, for someone who wanted to become a hero that saved others, that really wasn't the kind of praise he was looking for.

**Later in the early morning, the entire gang was gathered inside Junior's club, the man having generously allowed them the premises for their early Christmas celebrations. Jaune, Ren, Nora, Neo, Roman, Cinder, Emerald and Mercury were all sharing a toast to another year of criminal misdeeds, Salem's henchwoman allowing herself to relax just this once. Having even more damning proof of the council's misdeeds just added to her great mood. **

"**By now those worthless tubs of fat on the council would have heard about the little theft. Get this, the good council's little party is going to be a little larger than we first thought. They've invited a lot of important foreign dignitaries too, promising the event of a lifetime. Hell, even Ozpin's leaving his tower for once." Roman informed the assembled criminals.**

"**Hehehe… it's definitely going to be one for the record books alright." Mercury chuckled, having gotten the full plan from Jaune earlier.**

"**And I wasn't invited to it. Rude." Cinder smirked as she sipped from her glass, relishing in the fine wine they liberated earlier. Such a shame they had to give it back to the council but, victory demands sacrifice. Her only regret was that she wouldn't be able to watch the catastrophe unfold in person.**

"**Oh yeah, while you were busy with the shipment, I introduced a little rat problem to the council's kitchens… after taking the good stuff out of course. Fortunately for the council, Junior's going to be able to source replacements for them on short notice… for a premium of course." Roman chuckled as he adjusted his hat.**

"**You sure it won't be traced back to him?" Emerald asked, unsure of the plan.**

"**Please missy, we're professionals. Like we'd do something stupid enough to tie ourselves to it, nah, plenty of proxies who will mysteriously vanish once the transaction is done. Oh, and Neo here is going to rig the place with hidden cameras so we get to watch everything go down on a live stream." Roman smiled evilly.**

"**You've certainly gone above and beyond what the job called for." Cinder commented.**

"**Let's just say I have a bone to pick with those assholes. Your contract with us just gave me the excuse I needed to go after them."**

"**I still think it'd be nicer if we just blew them all up, or break their legs at least." Nora whined, unhappy about such a roundabout method of taking down the council.**

"**Patience Nora, once the Council is ousted and we can charge them for all their crimes. You'll get first crack at their legs." Jaune promised.**

"**Uncle, is the surprise ready for the council?"**

"**Who do you take me for Jaune? Of course it's ready, everything has already been dosed. And yes, some of the chefs have already been paid off to deal with whatever I missed. Everyone attending will be hit unless they have the foresight to not eat or drink anything." Roman rolled his eyes at his nephew's question.**

"They poisoned the food and drinks? What happened to not killing the council!? And they're going to involve innocents as well?" Blake asked with wide eyes.

"Everyone attending is unfortunately going to be collateral damage. Although, given their worldview, they already see everyone there as guilty of the same sins the Vale council embody, just to a lesser extent. It isn't meant to kill though, just utterly humiliate everyone at the party and shatter the council's image." Blank answered.

"What kind of poison would do that? Last I checked, poisons kill or incapacitate." Qrow asked.

"Oh nothing much… just weapon's grade laxatives. Curious note about the venue the council chose to host their party, there are only twenty toilets for over a hundred guests, and it does have a backflow problem." Blank's answer sent a shiver through the audience.

"Dear god. That's cruel and unusual punishment." Taiyang squeaked out.

"A practical joke on a grand scale… I assume the videos are going to be all over the net once everything goes to hell?" Roman rubbed his hands together deviously.

"Oh yes. Of course, maximum humiliation as payback for corruption was the plan from the start. You get one guess as to who all the victims are going to blame for the fiasco and PR nightmare."

"Haah… I pity my other self then." Ozpin sighed and uttered a small prayer for alternate Ozpin.

"**Excellent. What say we all meet back here and watch the live stream eh?" Jaune asked and received a bunch of nods and agreements.**

"**Alright cheers everyone! Here's to another year of profitable criminality! Merry Christmas!" **

And with that, the viewing came to an end, the screen going dark and the lights coming back on.

"That's all folks. Christmas treats and deserts from different universes in the back, help yourselves to it. The next viewing will begin shortly." Blank said as his audience made for the tables set up in the back of the theatre.

He had a small laugh when he noticed several approaching with trepidation. "Relax, none of it is poisoned. Just enjoy yourselves."

* * *

Author's notes: Merry Christmas to everyone. Writing by the seat of your pants is fun, the only plot point I had when I started writing this was Jaune as Roman's nephew, the rest got improvised. This Jaune is partially inspired by Watchdogs 2, as for the yoyo, no one ever expects a yoyo to be weapon. It's the perfect weapon for a criminal Jaune trying to keep to the shadows, it's not a gun and looks absolutely nothing like a weapon, doesn't mechashift into anything either, just a yoyo that happens to contain weaponised dust, something that people can't tell until it's exploding in their face.

Anyhow, reactions to the crossdressing gag in the last chapter is mixed to say the least, it's meant to be played for laughs but I might have come off a little mean spirited. It's just a joke people, if you're offended by it, there's not much I can do at this point, I'll try to avoid stuff like that in the future.


	15. Chapter 14: Immersive storytelling

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 14: Immersive storytelling**

**Inspiration: Dark Souls**

"Welcome back, I trust you all enjoyed that Christmas feast?" Blank asked once his audience had seated themselves. A flash of light later and they were back in their usual outfits, Roman sobbed a little when his candified weapon disappeared but at least he didn't have to look at its pitiful remains anymore.

"Oh yeah." Nora burped loudly and patted her stomach in a satisfied manner.

"We should do that again sometime."

"Things in moderation Nora." Ren chided while rolling his eyes.

"So what's up this time?" Ruby asked, eager to start watching the next universe.

"Something different from the previous ones. Different universes in the multiverse are usually separated, different realms may exist within each one but the full universes themselves generally don't interact with one another. For instance, Jedi and Spartans may both hail from a galactic spanning universe but they will normally never meet." Blank said.

"I take it that isn't the case for this one then." Goodwitch commented.

"Indeed. Sometimes, different universes mesh together and the impossible becomes possible. It normally takes one of two forms, several individuals from one universe finding themselves in another or more rarely, a complete and total meshing of both universes to create a new hybrid one with elements of both."

"Cool. And which one is this?" Jaune asked.

"The first. It involves an alternate crossing over with a completely different universe. Staring the fantastic four of Jaune, Ren, Sun and Neptune, I'll just start the viewing now." Blank flickered once and the lights dimmed, the screen coming on to display the Vale national library.

"**Jaune, it's seven in the morning, why the hell did you drag me all the way here?" Ren blearily rubbed the sleep from his eyes.**

"**I'm here because Neptune begged, you're here because I need sane company." Jaune replied, a hint of frustration in his tone. Ren blinked once before scowling at his team leader.**

"**It's seven in the morning… a Saturday morning. I could and should be sleeping right now, again why did you drag me out here!?"**

**Jaune rolled his eyes and checked the time on his scroll, before displaying it to Ren with a cheeky smile. "It's seven oh one my dear boy."**

**Ren's growl could have given a beowolf a heart attack, Jaune just chuckled before elaborating further. "Oh cheer up, it's not like you'd be getting much sleep even if I didn't drag you here."**

"**My bed and I would like to disagree with that statement."**

"Yeah Jaune, what's the big idea?" Ren looked to his leader, no one messed with his sleep damnit.

"I don't know, the only thing I can think off is all you can eat pancake Saturdays on the first weekend of the month. Nora never lets any of us sleep in when that happens." Jaune just shrugged.

"Damn right! How can you sleep when the pancakes are there waiting for us!" Nora proudly gave a thumbs up, missing Ren's tired sigh, Jaune's slumped shoulders and Pyrrha's headshake.

"**Your bed is fine, you'd just get a close encounter of the Nora kind. You forgot this is the first Saturday of the month didn't you?" Jaune snickered as Ren paled considerably.**

"**Oh no. And we left Nora behind, we need to go back!" Ren was on the verge of hyperventilating as countless worse case scenarios flashed through his head, all of them ending with Vale in flames and a cackling Nora standing atop the wreckage with Magnhild held high.**

"Nora. No." JPR said in unison, shooting down her idea before she even uttered it.

"Aww…" Nora whined dejectedly.

"**Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there. I ain't letting you go back to deal with Mount Valkyrie on your own. I have to help Sun and Pyrrha is off dealing with her sponsors. If you go alone… the ghosts of slaughtered pancakes will eat you alive!" Jaune grabbed Ren by the shoulders and shook him to stop him from running off.**

"**We can't just leave Nora unattended! Think of the damage she'll cause!" Ren pleaded desperately, moments away from a total nervous breakdown.**

"**I have. I'm JNPR's leader remember? Of course I already thought about it before this, it's why I dropped her off with team RWBY." Jaune's words got Ren to freeze and stop struggling.**

"**Why?" He asked in a small voice.**

"**How could you do that to them?"**

"**Heh, I have to beat Ruby in the prank war somehow. That stunt with Zwei was devious, underhanded and downright cruel. That was the last straw and now anything goes."**

"**And the rest of her team!?" Ren was starting to hyperventilate again.**

"**Unfortunate collateral damage. Things haven't escalated far enough that I'm willing to sic a Nora pancake rampage on Ruby alone. Weiss, Blake and Yang will be there to help mitigate the damage." Jaune replied easily.**

"…**You're evil you know that?" Ren took a small step back from his grinning leader.**

"**Hey, Ruby's the one that escalated it to this level. She should never have had Zwei sneak into our room and chew up my homework. The night before it was due. Do you have **_**any**_** idea what it's like being stuck in detention alone with professor Port!?" Jaune grabbed Ren's collar, a manic look on his face, equal parts fear and horror.**

"**Dear god, he won't shut up. He just won't shut up! For four hours! FOUR HOURS!" Jaune sobbed before releasing Ren and taking a step back, trying to get his breathing under control.**

"**She went too far with that prank. I heard things that I can never forget, things that still haunt my worst nightmares. That hell she subjected me to… a part of me died that day."**

"**Don't you think you're exaggerating it a little?" Ren asked and backed off when Jaune shot a look of ire his way.**

"**Oh yea? Why don't you try getting detention with him? See how you like it."**

"**Uh, no thanks. I'm good." Ren laughed nervously.**

"At first I was mad you threw under the bus for a prank, but now I can kinda see where other you is coming from." Yang said, before glaring at her fidgeting sister.

"And Ruby, we need to have a little chat about the proper code of a prankster. There are just some lines you don't cross. Subjecting friends to cold blooded torture is one of them."

"It wasn't me! It was other me!" Ruby frantically denied.

"Maybe, but it is the kind of prank you'd come up with." Blake treacherously slipped in that comment.

While team RWBY bickered among themselves, Ozpin sighed and slowly shook his head. "Should I be worried my students are equating spending time with Peter to cold blooded torture?"

"His… stories do drag on a little, but I'm sure they're exaggerating." Goodwitch reassured.

Ozpin just glanced to where Jaune was huddling in a corner being comforted by his team. Clearly the boy had been a victim to one of said detentions in their universe as well. "Somehow, I'm not quite sure of that."

"**Sup losers!" Sun's voice distracted Jaune and Ren from their thoughts of Nora fuelled revenge. The Monkey faunus plus Neptune were approaching them, Sun whistling as he dangled a keychain full of old keys.**

"**Damnit Sun, we're here burning our Saturday morning to help you and you're actually late!?" Jaune glowered at the unrepentant faunus.**

"**Many thanks for that by the way. Although I'm pretty sure my own awesomeness is enough for it, having more minions is always a good thing." Sun's bright smile brought out two ugly frowns from Jaune and Ren.**

"**And suddenly, I feel the need to be anywhere but a library on a weekend." Jaune stated flatly.**

"**My bed calls to me. Nora should have dragged RWBY off by now, so the dorm room is safe for napping." Ren followed up in an equally flat tone.**

"**Whoah! Relax, relax, I was just kidding! I could really use your help." Sun changed his tune immediately to try and convince them to stay.**

"**So. what are we doing here again?" Ren asked, just wanting to get things over with, if they finished fast, he might be able to return and get some shuteye before Nora intervened.**

"**Oh nothing much, just some uh… community service. Have to sort out the library's backrooms since it's messy or some such." Sun said.**

"**And how did you get stuck with community service anyway?" Jaune was the next to question.**

"**It's a long story. Really boring anywa-"**

"**He stole a- excuse me, his tail **_**accidentally **_**knocked over and picked up a banana. Then he got caught." Neptune explained, getting the two members of JNPR to facepalm.**

"Damnit Sun." Blake hissed and echoed Jaune and Ren's facepalm.

"Busted for stealing fruit… wow, bravo, bravo indeed." Roman clapped sarcastically and Neo had a small fit of silent laughter.

"**Let's just get this over with." Sun said as he fitted the rusty key into the library's door and unlocked it, not wanting to deal with the snickering coming from his friends.**

**Pushing the double doors open, he led the way into the darkened and empty interior. The Vale national library was built more than a century ago and the building reflected the style of that time. With the lights off, the only illumination came from small horizontal slits near the high ceiling that passed for windows.**

**Shadows enshrouded the place and despite the fact that it was usually teeming with life during opening hours, the entire place felt haunted instead. "Spooky. You think anyone ever died in here?" Sun joked as he made his way deeper into the library.**

"**Shut up Sun, that's not funny." Jaune hissed out.**

"**What, you scared of ghosts or something?" Sun ribbed.**

"**No, yes, maybe! Look, I can cut Grimm with my sword, but what the hell am I supposed to do against a ghost!?" Jaune spat out while nervously looking around.**

"You're scared of ghosts Jaune?" Pyrrha asked as she looked at her partner.

"No! Yes. Maybe? G-ghosts aren't real right?" Jaune looked towards Blank for an answer.

"Hmm, I could give you a definitive answer on that, but nah, not gonna."

"Oh come on!"

"**I hear running away in terror and screaming like a girl works." Neptune piped up.**

"**Are you serious man!?" Jaune looked at the blue haired boy incredulously.**

"**Well yeah, what else you gonna do? I'm pretty sure the trick is never to be alone when entering a haunted place though, when things inevitably go wrong everybody just panic and start running. All you have to do to survive is to present the least interesting target and outrun the rest." Neptune shrugged and replied.**

"Hmm, logical answer, if it works on Grimm, it'll probably work on ghosts, unless they can haunt multiple people at a time." Roman commented.

"So you advocate abandoning others in times of crisis?" Qrow asked drily.

"Ah I never said that. To the average untrained civilian though, this is how they deal with Grimm attacks when there's no shelter to be had. Without aura or training, they aren't outrunning the Grimm, best they can hope for is that the Grimm are stalled long enough by whoever's slower than them that they buy enough time to reach safety. If they want to stay behind and help, sure, they'll be Grimm chow and buy time for someone else." Roman elaborated.

"That. Is a very cynical way of looking at things." Taiyang shook his head in disappointment.

"Calling it as I see it. It's a Grimm eat dog world out there, so try not to be the dog."

"**Ah here we go, this should be the door to the backroom." Sun fiddled with the keychain as he searched for the correct key.**

"**There! No all we have to do is tidy up the place and we're… good… to… go." Sun trailed off as he stared and mountains of books haphazardly piled up in the room. Several ancient shelves creaked ominously as they strained under the weight of the books jammed into them.**

"**This could take a while." Ren stared at the mess with wide eyes.**

"**Hoo boy, why are we helping again? We're not the ones who got busted for being a criminal." Jaune said once his mouth started working again.**

"**Allegedly! And you're helping cause we're bros?" Sun chuckled sheepishly.**

"**I'm sure you called us losers earlier you know." Ren raised an eyebrow and Sun's nervous chuckling intensified.**

"**Just an expression right? You wouldn't leave us here by ourselves would you?" **

"**Us? Ourselves? I'm considering leaving for breakfast too." Neptune said and Sun shot him a betrayed look.**

"**Come on! Help a bro out would you? Please? Don't make me beg." Sun pleaded and finally Jaune sighed.**

"**Fine, let's just get this over with. Sooner we finish the sooner we can leave. You owe us for this Wukong."**

"**Aw thanks guys, what would I do without you all?" Sun cheered.**

"**Get stuck in a possibly haunted library sorting books out for a crime you **_**allegedly**_** committed, what else." Ren snuck in a parting shot, getting Sun to grumble. Chuckling, he went to help Jaune start sorting out the closest pile of books.**

"At least they're surrounded by books. Some of them look ancient, I wonder what wonders lie just waiting to be discovered." Blake salivated slightly at the thought of discovering literary gold just lying there in the dust, forgotten, waiting to be rediscovered and brought into the light.

"Boring! The only good use for a book is in a book fight!" Yang rolled her eyes and smirked when her partner started glaring at her.

"How uncivilised can you get Yang? Books are treasures! Not… not toys to be used in a… book… fight." The cat faunus looked ill as she finished her sentence.

"Books are evil, and textbooks are the evilest of them all, right Jaune?" Yang looked to Jaune for support. The knight just laughed and scratched the back of his head.

"I don't know, I'm more of a comic book person. But textbooks are definitely evil."

"See? He agrees." Yang crowed victoriously and Blake just scowled.

"Uncultured savages the lot of you. Even barbarians have more class than you."

"**Heeey, look at this." Sun spoke up, drawing the attention of the other three to him. In his hands was a massive leather-bound book, gold lettering that glimmered in the faint light could be seen on it.**

"**The big book of fairy tales huh?" He blew on it and a cloud of dust caused him to start sneezing.**

"**Damn, what could anyone want with such a book?" He chuckled as he flipped it open to a random story and started reading through it.**

"**Story of the four seasons. Huh blah blah blah, depressed wizard gave power to four maidens, blah blah blah, all power corrupts, maidens hunted for power? Hidden away and protected by a secret society? The hell? That isn't how the story goes." Sun's eyes narrowed as he read over the words again.**

"No. it is not." Ozpin muttered under his breath. Creating the maidens had been one of his greatest ideas, the power transfer system on the other hand was one of his worst.

Over time, the legend had faded away to nothing more than a bedtime story as he and his worked to keep the maidens safe from those who desired their power. From what Sun was saying, that book held an accurate account of the events that transpired… something that shouldn't be possible.

He was the only one who lived long enough to witness the whole chain of events, the only one who knew the full truth, the only one who could have made that book. But he would never do something like that, some secrets were best buried for all time.

'Must be a result of that universe meshing Blank was talking about.' Ozpin mused to himself.

"**What are you doing Sun? You're supposed to be cleaning up, not making a bigger mess… or reading a book for kids." Neptune scolded as Sun started flipping through the book.**

"**What do you mean it's meant for kids? There's some really messed up stuff in here. Good lord, who the hell wrote this? Damn, it's like someone decided to take all the fairy tales we know of and make them dark and edgy." Sun chuckled and continued flipping through.**

"**You can read it later, help with the sorting damn it. This is supposed to be your punishment, so why the hell are we doing most of the work?" Jaune complained, getting nods of agreement from Neptune and Ren.**

"**Just a minute! Some of this stuff is actually good reading… oh legend of the abyss walker. Man how edgy do you have to be to write something like that? This oughta be good." Sun laughed and flipped the page, his cheer died away to be replaced with confusion.**

"**Hey what gives? Why are the pages blank?" Flipping through them all, Sun found all the pages in the chapter dedicated to the abyss walker blank. The next fairy tale covering silver eyed maidens was there without problem but not the abyss walker story.**

"**What did you do Sun? We really don't need you getting into anymore trouble." Neptune sighed and put down the books in hand, picking his way past the many piles to his teammate.**

"**I didn't do anything! The pages in the book are just blank! And I wanted to see what the story was about too." Flipping back to the first page of the chapter, Sun held it up to the light trying to see if there was some kind of hidden message on it.**

"**Nothing. What a bust, must be the author's idea of a practical joke. Leaving a blank chapter inside the book." Flipping the page to the first blank one in the series, Sun's laughter was cut off when it happened.**

**A massive deformed arm made out of shadows shot out of the pages and wrapped around his skull. Before anyone could scream, the arm pulled back into the book's pages, and Sun was pulled along with it.**

**Into the book.**

"**OH MY GOD!" Jaune shot to his feet in panic, backing away from the book that was left to clatter to the floor.**

"**Wukong!" Ren's eyes widened to the size of saucers as he blinked rapidly, trying to convince himself his eyes were playing tricks on him.**

"**WHAT THE HELL! SUNNN! OI OI OI OI! IF THIS IS SOME KIND OF JOKE IT ISN'T FUNNY! SUN? SUN! SUNNNNNNNNNN!" When Sun didn't reappear, Neptune laughed nervously before his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the ground in a dead faint.**

"Eep!" Ruby pulled her hood over her face and buried herself in her mother's arms, unable to look at the screen.

"SEE! BOOKS ARE EVIL! ONE JUST ATE SUN!" Yang leapt to her feet and jabbed a finger at the screen. Blake didn't respond, completely unconscious with her eyes wide open.

"There must be a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. There's no such thing as ghosts. There's no such thing as ghosts." Jaune repeated the words to himself as a mantra, trying to keep from freaking out and only partially succeeding.

"What was that!? Some kind of new Grimm!?" Qrow asked in between massive gulps of whiskey.

"That, was the meshing happening." Blank answered.

"So… that kind of thing can't happen in our world… right?" Weiss asked cautiously.

"Thus far no it can't happen. But there's always the possibility a Grimm with such capabilities might come into existence one day."

Roman turned to his assistant and started whispering. "Neo, remind me to burn every scrap of paper we have back home. It's the modern era, time to go full digital."

Neo nodded furiously in agreement.

"**Is this the part where we run away screaming?" Ren asked as he shook Neptune awake.**

"**I vote no sudden movements. We're surrounded and deep behind enemy lines. Who knows which book is going to try and eat us next?" Jaune whispered as he eyes darted around the room, searching for any sign the books were about to come to life.**

"**Oh my head." Neptune came to with a small groan.**

"**I just had the weirdest dream where Sun was pulled into a story book by a giant monster arm. Funny huh?"**

"**Eh, hehhehe… it wasn't a dream Nep." Jaune's nervous chuckles nearly made Neptune faint again. Only Ren furiously slapping his cheeks kept him awake.**

"**Damnit, stay with us. If you faint again, you might not wake up ever."**

"**OW! Okay, okay! Stop hitting me!" Neptune pulled himself together and took in a shaky breath. Rising to his feet, he approached the discarded book of fairy tales on the floor slowly, Jaune and Ren exchanged a nervous look before watching with bated breath.**

"**W-what are doing Nep? Y-you sure you s-should be going near that… that thing?" Jaune took cover behind Ren, carefully peeking around his shoulders.**

"Real courageous there, fearless leader." Ren shot Jaune a questioning gaze.

"You're just mad the other me got the idea first. Admit it, you'd have done the same." Jaune fired back.

"…Actually, I'd probably have pulled a Nora and tried exploding everything." Ren admitted after a few seconds of thought.

"**Sun's still missing and we need to find him. That… book did that to him, it must have a way to bring him back. Might be some kind of unknown Grimm, as huntsmen in training, it's our duty to deal with it." Neptune pushed down his fear and slowly approached the book, wary of any sudden paranormal activity.**

"**Y-you sure it's not a ghost? Maybe we should call for help." Jaune suggested.**

"**You call for help, I'm just going to check-" Neptune cut himself off when his fingers brushed the books cover, runic circles spawned into existence below the three of them, spinning and covering them with a white glow.**

"**AHHHHH! I CAN'T MOVE MY LEGS! NEPTUNE! IF YOU GET US ALL KILLED, I'M COMING BACK AS A GHOST TO HAUNT YOU!" Jaune yells echoed around the room as the three of them struggled to exit their circle, but their legs were magically glued to the floor.**

**The white glow intensified and the three students had to close their eyes or risk being blinded by the radiance. There was a brief feeling of nothingness and then the light started to fade.**

**Once the intensity had dropped to a manageable level, Ren was the first to open his eyes. "What the hell happened to us!?"**

"**We're dead! We're all dead and ghosts now!" Jaune pointed and Ren and then at Neptune before finally poking himself. All three of them were now glowing softly and gold in colour. Every other colour on their clothes, skin and hair had disappeared.**

"**Noooo… this cannot be happening!" Neptune backed up and bumped his head against a wall.**

"**Ow! Wait a minute, if we're dead why do I feel pain?"**

**Neptune's words got Jaune and Ren to stop panicking momentarily and they started inspecting themselves.**

"**I don't feel very different actually. No sudden pain or emptiness or anything out of the normal." Ren analysed before slugging the wall with a fist.**

"**Sense of touch is still fine too, so's aura." He said while wringing his wrist.**

"So we're not ghosts?" Ren asked.

"No, you're all gold phantoms instead." Blank answered.

"How is that any different!? We are ghosts!" Jaune yelled in exasperation.

"Not that kind of phantom. Phantoms here refer to beings who don't belong in that world but have temporarily entered it due to the convoluted nature of space time in that universe." Blank clarified.

"So that's the other world then? Why are they in a cave though?" Ruby asked, her face still half hidden by her hood.

"It's just where they happened to spawn in."

"**Hello? Is someone there?" Sun's voice called out and the three phantoms turned to stare at the cave entrance where a familiar monkey faunus stepped through.**

"**SUN! You're alive!" Jaune shouted before dashing over and grabbing the monkey in a bear hug.**

"**GAH! Need. To. Breathe!" Sun struggled free before catching his breath from the sudden assault.**

"**Yeah I'm alive, not for this world's lack of trying to kill me. How'd you guys get here?"**

"**Neptune decided to touch the book that pulled you in. What the hell was that and where are we anyway?" Jaune looked around the cave they were in but the place was just a simple dead-end cave without any establishing markings.**

"**We're in Lordran, on the outskirts of Oolacile. No idea about the… arm thing that grabbed me, haven't seen it since but I've been here for about two weeks now… I think. The sun doesn't set in this place and there are no clocks so it's hard to tell the time." Sun explained. **

"**Two weeks!? What? How? You got pulled in less than five minutes ago! And what do you mean the sun doesn't set?" Neptune interjected, unable to make sense of Sun's words.**

"**I… don't know. This… isn't Remnant, or at least not the one we know. You remember the story I pointed out before I got dragged in?" Sun asked.**

"**Legend of the abyss walker, right?" Ren recalled.**

"**Yeah, that one. I think we're inside that story." Sun took a seat on a rock and exhaled a tired sigh.**

"**Oh don't give me that look, I know how ridiculous it sounds but what other explanation do we have? I got pulled into a book, this world is all kinds of messed up and there's a giant knight who has the title abyss walker running around."**

"Looks like Sun's safe at least. You don't have to worry anymore eh Blakey? Blake?" Yang looked over to her partner and found her staring into space with a tiny bit of drool leaking out.

"Blake, this really isn't the time to be fantasizing about being able to enter your books and live them out in real life." Yang deadpanned and prodded her to bring her back to reality.

"W-wha? I was doing nothing of the sort!" Blake denied furiously.

"Yeah, pull the other one. You'd be a lot more convincing if you weren't drooling like that." Yang's eyeroll was audible.

"**Okay, so say we're inside the story. How do we get out? Follow the story to its conclusion?" Ren frowned and leaned against a wall, checking his weapons just in case they would be needed later.**

"**That's the best guess. But the pages were blank, so I have no idea how the story is going to end. I've been sticking with Artorias, that's the abyss walker, for most of the time I've been stuck here. Pretty chill dude if a little quiet. He's here dealing with an outbreak of something called the abyss and I assume that's what his legend revolves around." Sun filled them in on his findings.**

"**Alright, so… you got any idea as to why we're all glowy and stuff?" Jaune asked the million dollar question that neither Ren nor Neptune could bring themselves to breach.**

"**You're all here as phantoms… at least I think so. Usually phantoms are white but you're all gold now. I don't really get the mechanics behind it but I've heard that you're not actually here right now, just some strange copy version or something." Sun shrugged his shoulders in helplessness.**

"**Good thing is you can't die like that, you just wake up… wherever you were before so back in the real world maybe? I don't know, oh and you can re-enter this world as a phantom again, how you do that…"**

"**You don't know. In any case, I would suggest we avoid dying to test the limits of this… phantom system." Ren said and received two nods in response.**

"Do they really have to agree to not kill themselves trying to test out their new abilities? That's common sense isn't it." Weiss snarked and rolled her eyes.

"Common sense isn't as common as you think it is princess. Many, many people have maimed or killed themselves trying to find the limits of their semblances. Having a get out of jail free card like immunity to death might inspire reckless behaviour, which is fine, until the immunity stops working." Qrow said drily.

"**So how's the story going anyways?" Neptune asked.**

"**I think I got the feel of it, so far it's shaping up to be a standard fairy tale. Princess of the kingdom kidnapped by some monster that's ruining the place, knight in shining armour rides off to the rescue. Monster slain, princess rescued and they all live happily ever after." Sun said with a mirthless chuckle.**

"**At least that's how it would be normally, but every single tale in that book is messed up. I really, really hope there's a happy ending to this one but from what I've seen already, that's… highly unlikely." Sun shook his head, recalling the numerous inhuman horrors he had to put down.**

"**So where do we stand?" Jaune fired off the next question.**

"**Right now, Artorias is already inside the city proper trying to rescue Princess Dusk. I'm here on the outskirts keeping the monsters from breaching containment. More silver knights from Anor Londo just arrived to set up a proper perimeter though, so I was just about to enter the city as well to try and find our abyss walker." Sun rose to his feet and prepared to move out.**

"**Anor Londo?" Ren raised an eyebrow.**

"**Yep, so called city of the gods, though just between us that's a load of crap. They be giants with honest to god magic and shit but if they were actual gods, the situation wouldn't have gone to hell like this. You guys coming?"**

"**Of course, what else are going to do? Wait in a cave until the story ends?" Jaune's laughter died when Sun's serious visage didn't change.**

"**Word of warning, we aren't facing Grimm, and there's some seriously fucked up shit out there. Ninety nine percent of everything will try to kill you."**

"He makes it sound that there's something worse than the Grimm. Is there?" Summer asked quietly.

"Unfortunately for that world yes, the abyssal corruption is total in places. The city itself is already completely lost, they just haven't realised it yet." Blank said.

"What is this abyss?" Ozpin queried.

"A mistake. It's what happens when the power of darkness got twisted into a horrible caricature of itself by morons with suicidal overconfidence. Now it's just a corruptive force that warps everything it touches into madness." Blank explained.

"And when has darkness ever been good really? Isn't it always evil?" Roman rolled his eyes at Blank's words.

"Not always. It should have been a neutral force, one of the core concepts that made up that world, along with light, life and death. But all of that is shot to hell now because of a long line of mistakes that just compound on one another."

**Once the four of them exited the Oolacile Sanctuary and entered the Royal Woods, there were almost instantly beset by enemies. Jaune grunted as he slashed at an animated scarecrow, sending it stumbling back. "Everything trying to kill you huh? No kidding, but why are we fighting scarecrows!?" **

"**They used to be gardeners for the woods, the magic powering them is going haywire thanks to abyss though. At least they go down easily, the stone guardians on the other hand…" Sun trailed off as he slammed his staff into a scarecrow, sending it tumbling over the edge of the cliff and into the waters far below.**

"**I assume those would be the stone guardians?" Ren pointed out the two giant humanoid figures stomping towards them, their thunderous footfalls growing louder as they got closer.**

"**Yeah, that'd be them. Save your ammo, bullets just bounce of them and they hit like a truck." Sun warned as the golems came within striking distance. The four of them scattered when one brought its massive weapon down and shattered the ground.**

**Jaune was about to dash back in for a quick counterattack while the stone great axe was buried in the ground when Sun hastily pulled him back. The stone guardian gave out a low groan before wrenching the weapon free in an explosion of dirt and rock.**

"**Holy crap!" Jaune backpedalled and used the shield on Crocea Mors to ward off falling rubble. Putting some distance between them.**

"**Yeah, getting hit by that is no joke. These bastards are the reason I had to stay behind instead of following Artorias into Oolacile. Son of a bitch broke through my aura and four ribs with one swing, good thing I heal fast once my aura came back." Sun said as he used the greater range of his staff to land several good hits on the golem.**

"**At least they're slow and their range is limited… okay, Neptune, Ren, you guys work together to take the guardian on the right, Sun and I will get the one on the left. They can't turn that fast so we'll use that to our advantage. Sun, Nep, you guys have the range, keep their attention on you while Ren and I stab em in the back." Jaune issued his orders after taking several moments to pick apart the holes in the stone guardians attack patterns.**

"**That's as good a plan as any I guess." Neptune shrugged and started jabbing at his assigned target, drawing its attention away from Ren who was sneaking behind it.**

"So far so good? I've seen tougher Grimm than that to be honest." Roman commented.

"True, in terms of physical appearance, these golems and scarecrows don't appear to be much compared to some of the more nightmarish Grimm in existence. But those Grimm aren't powered by magic that does bonus damage against aura either." Blank replied.

"Say what now?" Qrow sat up, paying more attention at that tidbit.

"Much of the magic in there has been touched by the abyss, it now has a certain weight to it, and it is very, very effective at attacking the soul directly. Remind me again what aura is?"

"Oh. That's not going to end well is it?" Qrow muttered and chugged from his flask.

**Working together to bring the monstrosities down, all four of them were breathing hard by the time the last stone guardian fell to pieces at their feet. Neptune was the first to break the silence. "What the hell are these things, even solid granite shouldn't be that resistant to damage."**

"**Magic, just fucking magic." Sun wiped away the sweat from his brow as he surveyed the wreckage around them.**

"**Aside from these monsters, does anyone else feel… weird? I thought it was from them at first but bad feeling is still there." Jaune said as a shiver ran down his spine, his instincts screaming at him that everything was wrong in this place.**

"**That's the abyssal taint infecting the area, the people in this world can't feel it but we evidently can for some reason. I'm guessing it's due to our aura, as the people of Lordran don't have it." Sun explained.**

"**No aura? How is that possible? Every living thing aside from Grimm has aura, it's part of our soul." Ren argued back.**

"**Different world different rules maybe. The sun doesn't set here and people have access to honest to god magic. Damnit, what I wouldn't give to be able to coat my weapons in freaking lightning like the silver knights." Sun complained.**

**Once the four had recovered from the battle, they pushed deeper into the woods, making for the city just visible in the distance. Fighting through several more pockets of enemies including three more of those infernal stone guardians, they came across the first tangible sign of the abyss.**

"**Fuck. Is that the abyss?" Jaune whispered as they came across a patch of ground where no grass existed, only bare ground. Blueish black patches covered the surface and they pulsed intermittently, veins extended outwards from the main body and they seemed to be slowly growing, increasing the reach of the corruption.**

"**Gotta be. Come on, I don't like it here, it's… disturbing." Sun repressed a shiver and led the way forwards, towards a small building situated on the cliff edge overlooking the vast city. Entering it, once all four were on the platform, it started glowing before descending.**

"**How does this even-ah magic right, silly me." Jaune's nervous laughter did nothing to lift the mood. The oppressive feeling weighing on them only worsened as they descended. Once the elevator came to a stop and they were free to exit, the woods outside seemed even more twisted than the ones above.**

**There weren't any monster trees attacking them or anything but the place just felt darker, heavier, muted. "I just realised how quiet it is. What happened to all the animals in this place?" Ren whispered as he gripped Stormflower tighter.**

"**Not sure we want an answer to that Ren." Jaune replied as his eyes scanned the areas for hostiles. Despite finding nothing, he didn't relax in the slightest.**

"It's quiet. Too quiet." Yang stage whispered with a grin, getting a chorus of groans in response.

"So much for avoiding that cliché." Roman shook his head and sighed.

"Eh, that's a big coliseum." Pyrrha said once the Oolacile coliseum came into view.

"I sense boss battle!" Nora put aside her popcorn and starting humming boss music themes immediately.

"**The entrance to the city should be here. According to Artorias, this is one of the only ones yet uncorrupted by the abyss." Sun forged ahead before freezing in his tracks. A heavily deformed human stood in the centre of the arena.**

**Clothed in rags that didn't survive its transformation, greyish skin with a tint of purple could be seen. Elongated arms hung at an angle and ended in vicious claws. And the head, a misshapen mess of twisted brown flesh with countless glowing red eyes embedded in them.**

"EW! That is disgusting!" Yang shrieked and recoiled in horror.

"What the hell is that thing!?"

"That is one of the residents of Oolacile post abyssal treatment." Blank answered.

"You're kidding, that used to be human!?" Weiss said in shock.

"Yes."

"S-so, is that the uh… boss we're fighting?" Jaune asked.

"No."

**Before any of them could say or do anything, the creature let out a screech as it looked into the sky and backed away slowly. Seconds later, an armoured figure came crashing down on top of it, a massive great sword spearing it through the head and nailing it to the ground.**

"**No." Sun whispered in horror.**

"**GrhahrGGahrrgah!" The heavily armoured knight roared as wisps of darkness swirled around him, getting drawn into his being before violently bursting out in a blast of shadows. Ripping the sword free from the ground with the corpse still attached to it, he spun round and turned to face the four friends, broken left arm hanging limply at his side.**

**With a mighty swing, the corrupted knight sent the body flying towards them. Roaring again, the knight took two steps forwards before leaping into the air and started falling towards them blade first.**

"**RUN!" Jaune yelled and the huntsmen in training kicked into gear, scattering before their enemy could visit upon them the same fate the first monster suffered.**

**When his strike found empty ground, the knight didn't hesitate, ripping the blade free and holding it like a lance, he shot forwards in a devastating charge straight for Jaune. The blonde grunted and did his best to ride out the blow while blocking with his shield.**

**Once the charge slowed to a halt, Jaune raised his sword in preparation for a counterattack, he never got the chance, the enemy knight flawlessly transitioned into a spin attack, striking his shield twice and sending him flying.**

"**Jaune! Hold on!" Ren fired his guns to draw attention away from his downed leader. He growled in frustration when the bullets either just pinged off the armour harmlessly or evaporated upon contact with the shadow vapours occasionally emerging from the knight. His distraction succeeded though and bought time for Neptune to help Jaune to his feet.**

"**What the hell is this gu-SUN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Jaune's eyes widened in shock when he saw his fellow team leader getting in between Ren and the abyssified knight.**

"**It's me Sun! Don't you recognise me!?" Sun pleaded, trying to get the knight to stop attacking to no avail.**

"**Artorias! Stop!"**

"T-that's Artorias? W-what happened to him?" Jaune asked.

"He fought, he lost. And then the abyss consumed him." Blank answered.

"Can he be saved?" Ruby asked next, she gulped when Blank chose to remain silent.

"**Damnit Sun!" Neptune yelled as he tackled his teammate out of the way of Artorias's charge, the blade narrowly missing the two of them.**

"**This is **_**not**_** the time to be talking to the enemy!"**

"**No, you don't get it, that's Artorias! He's the abyss walker, we can't be fighting him!" Sun protested.**

"**Is that so? I don't think he got the memo." Ren said and fired on Artorias again, baiting the knight into another charge that opened him up for a follow up attack from jaune.**

"**B-but he's the abyss walker! If he's already corrupted by the abyss, what happens to the story!?" Sun yelled again, trying to push forwards despite Neptune holding him back.**

"**I'm not sure that matters so much right now Wukong, because he's doing his utmost best to kill us at the moment. And his strength is no joke, I'm not sure how many more hits my aura can take even through the shield." Jaune spat to the side and continued trying to find a weak point in Artorias's defences.**

"**If we k-kill him, we might be trapped here forever. There must be another way!" Sun continued to resist, trying to find a way out that didn't involve killing a friend.**

"**That's a risk we'll have to take. There could be another way out for all we know. But right now, if we don't stop him, we won't live long enough to even try and find it." Ren grunted as he parried a blow with Stormflower's blades, the heavy impact jarring him and numbing his arms.**

"**I… I can't kill a friend!" Sun screamed out, angry tears welling in his eyes.**

"**Look at him Sun! He's in pain, and we can't help him!" Jaune grunted in pain when Artorias nailed him in the sternum with a brutal kick.**

"**What would he want?" Getting back to his feet, Jaune dived out of the way when Artorias came smashing down where he was lying. He was sent staggering back again when the corrupted knight swung his broken arm, tossing a handful of sludge at him. The liquid hit him with the force of a cannonball and the sludge immediately began eating at his aura, getting the knight to gasp in a mix of pain and surprise.**

**Ren tackled Jaune out of the way when Artorias started spinning again, the blade sailed over head and Ren jammed Stormflower into Artorias's arm, wrenching it back and destabilizing him. Neptune didn't waste the opportunity to rush in and start stabbing with his trident.**

"**Help us damnit, we can't beat him like this!" Neptune cried out when he was forced to back off.**

**Sun struggled with himself for several moments, his need to save his friends warring with his desire to not kill another. "GRAHH! FINE!"**

**Switching his weapons into their nunchaku form, Sun closed the distance and started hammering away at Artorias, relieving some of the pressure from the other three.**

"Poor Sun, having to fight his friend like that." Blake fidgeted uncomfortably. Two friends fighting one another to the death for some reason was a trope that popped up from time to time in her books, usually played for drama, an enjoyable thing when done right. A hell of a lot more disturbing having to watch it happen to someone she knew.

**The four of them surrounded and continued to chip away at Artorias, none of them daring to overextend in fear of a fatal counterblow. Even crippled, Artorias was still a formidable foe who wouldn't go down easily. The only real strategy Jaune could come up with was to take advantage of his madness and constantly swap his focus between the four of them with alternating attacks, never allowing Artorias the chance to overwhelm any one of them.**

**Unable to make headway, Artorias started absorbing darkness into himself again, standing still despite their probing attacks, the purple wisps growing into a solid mass. Jaune's eyes widened as he saw this. "Oh hell that's not good, hit him hard now before he finishes charging, we need to stun him!"**

**Jaune didn't wait for the others, rushing in with Crocea Mors, he started stabbing and slashing with abaddon, trying to knock Artorias loose. Fortunately, Sun, Neptune and Ren caught on fast and started whaling on the knight as well, and between the four of them, they managed to stagger Artorias just before the energy charge reached critical mass.**

**Artorias stumbled back as the mass of darkness dissipated harmlessly. Taking advantage of the opening, Neptune jabbed his trident into the back of Artorias's knee, the attack breaking through the corroded armour and finding flesh beneath.**

"**aaRHAgghah!" Artorias roared in pain as he fell to one knee, the damaged leg no longer able to hold up his weight.**

"**Now! Hit him with everything you got!" Jaune delivered rapid fire overhead hammer blows with his sword while Ren and Neptune continued stabbing everywhere they could. Sun hesitated for a brief moment before steeling himself and committing, striking with his staff and bringing the knight down for the last time.**

**Artorias collapsed on the ground and the four of them backed off. A small wheeze came from the fatally wounded titan and he turned to face Sun. The pain and shock of defeat restoring his old self just before the end.**

"**Sun…" A weak voice emanated from the fallen knight and Sun dashed over to his side before his friends could warn him off.**

"**I'm here." Sun clasped Artorias's larger hand with both of his own.**

"**I couldn't… couldn't him. Manus was too powerful, th-the abyss. It's ahrgh!" Artorias struggled to continue speaking as his wounds took their toll, the corruption of the abyss burning through his system only worsened his condition.**

"**D-don't speak, conserve your strength." Sun whispered even though he knew it was already too late.**

"**Manus… is… wounded. But Princess Dusk… remains his prisoner." Artorias coughed in pain as he forced the words out.**

"**She must be saved."**

"**Of course, we'll do it." Sun promised, tears stinging his eyes again.**

"**M-my pendant, it can keep the darkness at bay… take it." Artorias reached up and removed a silver pendant from his neck and handed it to Sun. The faunus accepted it with trembling hands.**

"**I'm sorry… and… thank you. My friend." Artorias whispered before his hand went limp in Sun's. The blonde gently rested Artorias's arm on the ground and hugged the pendant close to his chest, bending over, he pressed his forehead against Artorias's battered armour and screamed to the heavens. Jaune, Ren and Neptune stood by, remaining silent as they allowed their friend to grieve.**

"Damn. That stinks." Ren folded his arms and frowned, his words summing up the thoughts of everyone in the theatre at that moment.

"At least he died as himself. Might be cold comfort but it is something." Ozpin said with a grimace.

"Damnit it all, it wasn't even his choice to become a monster. It reminds me too much of the first universe." Yang spat out as unpleasant memories reared their head again. Shaking her head, she left Ruby's side and plopped herself down next to Jaune.

"Just lemme have this." Snuggling in close and basking in Jaune's warmth, she made herself comfortable. Jaune said nothing, just allowing Yang to get comfortable if it would help her mood. Recalling that particular universe, Pyrrha said nothing, although she did take position at Jaune's other side.

Taiyang just glared and grumbled before turning to Qrow. "What happened in that first universe anyway?"

"Don't know, I was here for the second. Whatever the first one was, it was bad, real bad." Qrow replied before offering Taiyang a drink.

"**This is goodbye then." Sun said after a while, rubbing his eyes to wipe away the remaining tears, he hefted Artorias's damaged sword and laid it on the knight before bowing one last time.**

"**You feeling better?" Jaune asked awkwardly, unsure of what to do in such a situation.**

"**No. But that doesn't matter right now, Artorias's mission is now mine. We're still stuck here and we probably will until the princess is saved. But, there's a whole world to explore, you don't have to come with me since I'm probably walking into hell anyway." Sun said as he wore the pendant around his neck.**

"**Like hell we're leaving you. You ain't getting rid of us that easily." Neptune shook his head and shot down the suggestion immediately. Jaune and Ren nodded their agreement, none of them were going to abandon their friend to leave on a suicide mission alone.**

"**I see… then thanks." Sun closed his eyes and took a moment to compose himself before taking a shuddering breath.**

"**Manus would probably be at the heart of the outbreak. Artorias said it started beneath ground when the people of Oolacile dug up something. If I recall correctly, there is a keep all the way at the bottom of the city, that should be our entry point if it isn't the target." Sun soldiered on and led the way into the city itself. **

"**A question, how long ago did this outbreak happen?" Jaune asked as he stared at the city in confusion.**

"**A couple weeks why? Artorias was sent here around the time I arrived after the city went silent and scouts started reporting monsters emerging from the city itself." Sun answered.**

"**Because the city looks like it's been abandoned for years. There's ivy and moss growing everywhere and the buildings themselves are starting to crumble… also what the hell is wrong with the architecture here? I'm getting a headache just looking at it." Jaune pointed at the twisted city and seriously wondered how anyone could live in such a place.**

"**Yeah, some of the buildings are even slanted at a forty-five-degree angle. The roads are messed up and everything is falling apart. There's no way anyone can live in such a city." Ren added on once he noticed what Jaune was referring to.**

"**Artorias did say the abyss could warp time and space itself if left unchecked. The last time it happened was with a city called New Londo where the corruption effectively erased the entire underground sections of the city, leaving only a bottomless, endless expanse of darkness that swallows up everything. It might have worsened if the hadn't halted the spread. If the all of Oolacile itself is starting to warp… then the problem is more serious than we expected." Sun said.**

"**New Londo, what happened to it, how'd they stop the spread of the abyss?" Neptune asked, and Sun was silent for a bit before replying.**

"**They couldn't, New Londo is gone. The entire city and everyone in it was lost."**

"Ah hell, so its Mount Glenn all over again. Lemme guess, the powers that be decided to seal it off and leave everyone inside to die, including their own." Roman glared at the screen.

"Accurate comparison, although unlike with your own experience, there really was no choice with New Londo." Blank replied.

"Bullshit, there is always a choice." Roman argued back.

"Not at that time no. In the future I might show the events that transpired but all you need to know is that the abyssal outbreak in New Londo effectively caused a zombie apocalypse. With zombies that grow stronger, faster and more intelligent with every kill, zombies who are also functionally immortal and have magic. Sealing away the city was the only way they could keep the world from being overrun." Blank said.

"So it was a no win situation, and what about Oolacile?" Goodwitch queried.

"Manus is the lynchpin to the abyssal outbreak, but it's already too late for the inhabitants."

**Fighting across the city rooftops, the four of them cut down the numerous mutated residents that rushed out en masse to kill them. Working in concert to cover one another, they slowly made their way from building to building, searching for a way down that didn't involve jumping into the unknown.**

"**They're not hard to take down, but there's just so many of them!" Jaune grunted in frustration as he ripped Crocea Mors free from the dying body of one of the monsters. Wincing slightly, he did his best to not look at the disgusting visage that was the creature's head.**

**Blinking in surprise, he found one of the creatures hanging back watching them. Unlike its brethren, this one appeared to be female and its head was even more grotesque than the rest, no small feat in that regard. A ball of darkness was forming in its hands and it was aimed straight at them.**

"**Oh shit." When it fired, Jaune immediately noted its trajectory heading for Ren. Stepping forwards, he raised his shield to block the strike. That turned out to be a mistake.**

**The orb hit his shield dead on, striking with the force of a hit from Nora's hammer. That Jaune could deal with, the magic aspect of it tearing at his aura? Not so much.**

**The knight went down with a silent scream as the magic invaded his system, liquid fire burned in his veins as the darkness ripped at his soul. He felt the touch of the abyss and every fragment of his soul recoiled from it, wanting nothing to do with the madness within.**

"**JAUNE! What the hell!? Die you son of a bitch!" Neptune switched his trident to rifle mode and fired on the caster that took down his friend, the shot blowing its head to pieces and caused the corpse to tumble backwards and over the edge into the chasm below.**

**Together with Ren, the two of them dragged Jaune away from the fighting and back up some stairs while Sun served as a rear guard, protecting their retreat by knocking away all comers with his staff.**

"**What happened!? Jaune! Look at me!" Ren gripped Jaunes armour and shook him lightly, trying to shake him out of whatever affliction was plaguing him. He couldn't tell what was wrong, as far as he could see, Jaune's aura was still intact, lower than preferable but unbroken.**

**Slowly, Jaune's blank eyes came back into focus and he locked onto Ren's worried ones. "I-I'm up. Oh… god… it… I'm never going to feel clean again."**

**The knight sat up with a small groan and his friends just looked on worriedly. Sun finished off the last of the mutated residents and had joined them, handing a small bottle of water to Jaune that he eagerly drank from.**

"**What happened to you? You blocked the hit and then you just went down instantly." Neptune asked.**

"**T-that was the power of the abyss I think. Ugh, it feels so… foul. Like I just got dunked in a tank full of negativity. I think I'm gonna be sick." Jaune shivered as he struggled to put the experience into words.**

"I don't understand, how did that happen? He blocked the hit, and I've never heard of anything that would react that negatively with aura. Not even semblances can do that." Qrow commented, frowning at the puzzle before him.

"Not quite. Aura is the light of the soul, the abyss? That's the darkness inside it." Blank answered.

"The abyss… came from humanity?" Weiss asked in a shocked tone.

"Indeed, it's a quirk of that world. Souls didn't exist in Lordran at the beginning, just a world of grey where the only 'living' things were immortal, soulless, unchanging dragons. Then the first flame came into existence and brought with it souls, including four great ones, one of which happened to be the dark soul."

"So they fucked around with it and created the abyss." Roman shook his head and started muttering about idiots who just couldn't leave well enough alone.

"Effectively so. Main problem with the abyss is that the dark soul has shards of it splintered off into countless smaller fragments that became the essence of humanity. While lacking in potency compared to the original, each is still capable of being twisted should a sufficient catalyst appear. And with humanity being the dominant race in that world…" Blank trailed off.

"Dominos, all it takes is one to knock over the rest." Taiyang surmised.

"Indeed, and now the darkness becomes a twisted reflection of humanities own inner evil, their potential for cruelty to both others and themselves. When your aura is the light of your soul, it really isn't a good idea to have it come into contact with literal concentrated evil."

**Once Jaune had recovered from his ordeal, the four of them headed deeper into the city of madness. Taking great care to avoid getting hit by dark magic and fighting off multiple ambushes, progress was slow.**

**By the time they made it across a rickety bridge with no cover, all of them were on edge, expecting a new enemy to leap out of them from the shadows at any instant. "I don't get it, how the hell are they able to literally jump out at us from the walls, those things are fucking solid." Jaune raised his shield as yet another monster leapt out of him from solid rock.**

**Holding the monster at bay by balancing it on his shield, Jaune allowed Ren to pull the beast off him with his own weapons. Sun finished it off with a well placed strike to the head.**

"**Magic? Oolacile is supposed to be a kingdom with high levels of mastery in sorcery, especially those relating to illusions and the like." Sun gave his opinion.**

"**These walls don't feel like illusions to me." Neptune rapped his trident against the wall the monster leapt out of, the metal bounced off the rock with a clang.**

"**Guys, we have lots of company." Ren called out and Sun cursed when he saw what Ren was staring at. On the landing below them, a veritable troop of those monsters were milling about aimlessly. Several casters were mixed in among them, and it just complicated problems.**

"**Can you guys shoot the casters?" Jaune asked.**

"**We can down a few, but there are too of them to get before they notice us. If they start casting their poison fog here, we're dead." Neptune replied.**

"**Hooo boy, we're gonna have to do this the hard way then. On three." Once Sun gave the signal, the four of them leapt over the bannister and into the throng of enemies, hacking and slashing at everything as they went. Using their own enemies as cover, the casters' spells ended up taking out their own and clearing a path to them. The sole caster that tried using poison gas found itself with a few new holey additions to its head when Ren caught sight of it.**

**The wet thud of the last body hitting the floor signified the end of the melee and the huntsmen were all breathing hard. "That the last of them?" Jaune asked while scanning the room.**

**A single gunshot rang out when Sun put a bullet into the head of one of the still twitching bodies. "That should be, yeah. Hey, we're here! The keeps just over there."**

**Sun pointed to the fortress entrance just visible in the distance. Smoke and shadow obscured it but they could just make it out. A bridge led to it and the glowing red eyes of its guardians were popped out from the shadows.**

"**I have a bad feeling about this." Jaune gripped his weapon tighter as the abyssal taint was even more potent down in the depths. They were getting closer to the source, he could feel it in his bones.**

"**You'll always have a bad feeling down here. Look at the floor and walls, the abyssal corruption is almost total here." Sun pointed to the blue and black veins growing across just about everything. In the dim light, they looked liquid, almost organic. **

"**Then we must be on the right track. Watch your steps gentlemen, I don't like the looks of the floor." Ren said and led the way out of the building.**

"Wait a minute, is that… a window on the floor?" Ruby squinted at the screen to try and make out more details in the darkness.

"What? Don't be silly, why would there be a… it is a window. But how? Why?" Weiss's brain short circuited as she stared at the out of place object.

"That's because they're walking on the side of a building, a section of it anyway." Blank replied.

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Weiss cried.

"And it's not going to. Reality itself is warping thanks to the abyss. And this is just another example of it."

**Jaune heaved a sigh of relief as he stepped over the corpses of the fallen mutants, giving thanks that if he had to be here, he at least had company. Giving the three fallen casters a second glance to make sure they were absolutely dead, he chuckled morbidly as he beheld Neptune's handiwork.**

**Trying to fight across the bridge to the keep would have been suicide if he was alone, those casters would have shredded him while their more mundane brethren kept him locked down. But with Neptune providing sniper support and eliminating them with quick clean shots to the head, mowing down the remaining enemies with his sword was a lot easier.**

**Pushing forwards into the keep, they found an even more heavily deformed creature waiting for them. Shuffling slowly towards them from the inner chambers, the thing could scarcely be called human anymore. Just a misshapen mass of flesh and steel chains forming around a wooden pole with some human features just barely visible on it.**

"**That is disgusting. What the hell is that thing!?" Jaune said and retched, dry heaving from the sight.**

"Good question. And you know, I really don't need to sleep anymore after seeing all this. Hah, who needs sleep anyways?" Roman chuckled with a twitching eye. It was like the world had to constantly one up itself on creating disturbing nightmarish abominations.

"That used to be a prisoner in Oolacile's dungeons, and one of the early experimental test subjects." Blank explained.

"Experiment? Human experimentation?" Goodwitch raised an eyebrow.

"Indeed. The abyss is a corruptive force, but its also a source of power as all the turned residents can attest to. Before everything went to hell, they tried harnessing the power by experimenting on the captured criminals. It didn't end well and just hastened the spread, due to their longer and more direct exposure to the abyss, they are more heavily mutated than the rest, a lot stronger too."

"And people call me a monster." Roman muttered under his breath.

**Surrounding it and whacking it to death was the strategy they chose to employ. Taking care to avoid the flailing ball and chains, the students took turns in striking it until it finally went down. Sun rubbed blood away from a nasty gash on his forehead where the wooden spar had struck him and broke through his aura. "That must have been one of the prisoners from the dungeons."**

"**You don't think we'll have to fight more of them, do you? I'm starting to run low on ammunition." Neptune checked his loadout and shook his head in frustration.**

"**Likewise." Ren's own submachine guns were almost empty, three more magazines between the two of them and that was it.**

"**A man can hope. They aren't that fast though, so if we run into any more, we should just go around it unless they're blocking the way forwards." Jaune said.**

**Falling silent, the four of them proceeded deeper into the keep. As the elevator took them down to the lowest levels, the oppressive feeling magnified several times. Jaune lost the battle against his stomach and started retching again as the abyss surrounded them. The rest managed to hold it together but weren't in much better shape.**

**Upon entering the dungeon, it wasn't a pretty sight. Abyssal veins coated almost every exposed surface and all the cells were empty. Neptune gulped at the sight of the cell bars completely bent out of shape, several of them heavily corroded. "Do we want to know what did that?"**

"**Not really no, I don't care as long as we don't meet it." Jaune said as he squinted into the all-consuming darkness, bitterly regretting his decision to not grab a lit torch from the walls earlier.**

"**Took the words right out of my mouth." Sun knelt done to inspect a hole at the back of the dungeon. A cave system lay on the other side, whatever it used to be he didn't know, all he could tell was that the it reeked of the abyss.**

"**Whatever busted down the walls knocked them in from outside. Hopefully, that means it's somewhere above us and we won't run into it in here."**

**If progress was painfully slow above ground, it was now excruciating. The darkness was almost total, and not even a faunus's night vision could pierce the veil of pitch black when there was no light source. The golden glow from the phantoms provided some relief but not much, it was just barely enough for them to see their own feet and avoid running into one another.**

"**There's a path here I thin-woah!" Jaune yelled out when Sun abruptly yanked him back by his hoodie.**

"**You might want to check again." Sun said before kicking a loose pebble onto the 'path'. The small rock flew forwards, vanished into the shadows and none of them heard it land. Jaune gulped and backed away from the edge of the bottomless chasm he nearly walked over.**

"That was too close. How are you supposed to fight in such an environment?" Jaune said, wiping away a bead of sweat at his counterpart's close shave.

"Very, very carefully." Qrow answered.

"Hmm, this could be a nice addition to Beacon's curriculum. Aside from field trips, students don't really have the opportunity to practice in situations with poor visibility." Ozpin mused to himself.

"Of course, already taking notes. Some of the faunus students are also too reliant on their senses, enhanced as they are, there are still limits to them." Goodwitch adjusted her glasses and started penning down her thoughts on a small notebook.

"Meh, it'd be easier if Yang were there, her hair could light up the place." Ruby shrugged and tossed the suggestion out, getting an irritated glare from her sister.

"Rubes, we are not using my hair as a light source."

"But you could be." Nora chimed in with a cackle.

"**Hehehhe… amazing how I hated their glowing red eyes upstairs, but now it's a blessing." Jaune said as he worked with Ren to bring down the monsters lurking in the shadows with them. What should have been a fool proof ambush with the silent monsters were spoiled by the glowing red orbs that stood out in the darkness like a sore thumb.**

"**If it's all the same to you Jaune, I'd rather not have to see them at all." Ren fired back as he used his blades to decapitate a target. Kicking it, he sent the corpse tumbling into another mutant sneaking up on Sun, bowling it over and allowing the faunus to bring his nunchakus to bear.**

"**Maybe, but look at it like this, with them there you at least know there's ground beneath their feet." Jaune swapped Crocea Mors into a backhand grip and rammed the point through a caster trying to blast him from behind. Once the last enemy fell, the four of them could breathe easier. **

"**That's that. See, glowing red eyes of doom equal solid grouahhhhhhhhh!" Jaune took a step forwards and the floor just disappeared under his feet, sending him tumbling into the darkness below.**

"Rookie mistake. You don't tempt fate, not when everything is out to get you." Qrow shook his head and sighed.

"**Jaune! What the hell!?" Sun cried out and dashed to edge of the sudden hole, looking for any sign of his friend. To his relief, he could still see Jaune's glowing form down below.**

"**Ow… what happened to the floor?" Jaune rubbed his behind and rose to his feet, grateful that his aura bore the brunt of the impact. Looking up at the hole he fell through, he surmised he must have fallen at least one storey, maybe two.**

"**I'm fine! There's a path here I think. Floor isn't disappearing on me anymore. An… oh god what the hell are these things!?" Scrambling backwards, he held Crocea Mors at the ready as the humanity phantoms approached. **

**Giant black sprites surrounded by white outlines were surrounding him and slowly making their way to him. Two white beads resembling eyes on each of them were locked onto him.**

"G-ghosts!?" Jaune stuttered out.

"Those are humanity sprites, they aren't traditional ghosts but I suppose the difference is just splitting hairs at this point. That is one of the end stages of abyssal corruption." Blank explained.

"End stages? So you mean those monsters they've been fighting can get worse?" Pyrrha asked.

"Things can always get worse. Those mutants are born when the average human had their fragment of the dark soul go out of control and warp their bodies. The sprites are the final stage of that loss of control, when the dark soul is agitated to the point their bodies themselves are consumed and only the soul fragment is left."

"So that's where the rest of the population winded up, those that didn't get killed anyway. And those small ones… are they?" Summer asked.

"Yes."

"Oh that's dark." Qrow was about to drain his flask again when Summer grabbed it from him and started chugging.

"**What's wrong?" Ren called down, the three of them unable to see the humanity sprites from where they were.**

"**There are fucking ghosts down here! Get away from me damn it!" Jaune yelled and lashed out with his sword once they came within striking range. He shivered lightly when his sword passed through them, some kind of feedback from where his aura coated the blade. Cutting through them was weird, it was like striking water, easy enough to go through but with some resistance.**

**White sparks flared from the hit and the sprite was pushed back, only for it to start approaching again. Jaune grit his teeth and just continued slashing. Forcing them back one at a time but slowly being forced to back away.**

'**At least they can die.' He thought when several of the sprites faded away into nothing after taking a few good hits from him.**

"**Hang on, we're on the way down!" Neptune called out as he steeled himself and leapt down the hole. Sun and Ren right behind him. Landing on their feet more gracefully than Jaune did, they immediately drew the attention of the spectres closest to them.**

"**Okay… this is new." Ren muttered and started attacking with Stormflower.**

"**They go down if you hit them enough but there's just so many of them!" Jaune informed them while doing his best to keep the phantoms at bay.**

**As the four of them fought, Sun was the first to slip up, tripping over an unseen rock in the darkness, he came into contact with one of the sprites, the thing passing straight through him. Letting his weapons fall to the ground, he keeled over and hugged himself tight as the essence of the being washed over him.**

**Memories not his own invaded his mind. The warmth of the sun on his back, the joy of casting his first spell. The fear when the abyss erupted. The desire and madness lurking inside the darkness. Then mind numbing pain when his body started to change. Finally, just a very muted sense of curiosity and almost complete apathy towards the world.**

"Okay, that is creepy, having a ghost just invade your head like that. Brrr…" Nora shivered and Ren gave her a few calming pats on the back to calm her down.

Ozpin just coughed discreetly in his seat.

**He came to shortly after once Jaune started shaking him. "Huh? What? W-where am I?"**

"**You're under Oolacile, we're here to stop Manus and save the princess, you back with us Wukong?" Jaune asked as Sun's dilated pupils started to focus again.**

"**Y-yeah, I think I am. What happened to me?"**

"**One of those ghosts passed through you then you just fell over and stopped moving. You were shivering like crazy too, Ren pulled you out of there once Nep and I pushed the ghosts back. But you've been out of it for almost half an hour according to Ren's count." Jaune explained.**

"**I see… these ghosts… they used to be the residents of Oolacile." Sun whispered and Jaune grimaced.**

"**Yeah, we kinda figured that. Got some memories that aren't my own floating around inside our heads now, must be our aura reacting to them in some way. You probably got a full dunk when that thing passed through you."**

"**Any good news?" Sun asked as he rose to his feet unsteadily.**

"**Some, one of the memories Neptune got from the ghosts confirms Manus is here. So we know we're definitely on the right track. Ren scouted ahead and found a trail of glowing stones leading off deeper into this place." Jaune paused for a moment before pointing off to the side.**

"**Also, there's that giant cat trying to get us to follow it. it's vanished again but it'll be back if we stick around some more. We thought about sending one of us to check it out, but with you out of commission and who knows what else in the darkness with us, splitting the party is a really bad idea." **

"**Prism stones might have been used by Artorias to mark his path, if we follow it, it could lead us to Manus. And is it wise to follow the cat?" Sun asked.**

"**Maybe, maybe not. It hasn't tried to kill us yet so that's a major plus in my books. It's the closest thing to a friendly we've seen since entering this twisted world. You're the expert us though, so your call." Jaune shrugged. **

"**Then I say we check it out, but remain on alert. We could always use more allies." Sun decided after some deliberation. Jaune nodded and called Ren and Neptune over to inform them of their new course of action.**

**Following the cat's path led them into a side passage with even more humanity sprites milling around. Taking things at their own pace, they carefully dispelled the phantoms without allowing any of them to come into contact with anyone to avoid a repeat incident.**

**Coming to the end of the path, the found an injured wolf lying on the ground, a pale golden glow surrounded it and was warding the remaining humanity phantoms off.**

"**That's Sif! Artorias's companion!" Sun said once he recognised the canine.**

"**He friendly?" Ren asked as he surveyed the area warily.**

"**He should recognize me. Come on, we need to get those ghosts away from it." Sun declared and the four of them kicked into action, beating back the remnants of Oolacile's people to save the wolf.**

**Once the last of the sprites had been vanquished, Sun knelt next to Sif and the wolf's eyes opened. Recognition flashed through them as it let out a mournful howl at the loss of its master.**

"**Yeah, I'm sorry he's gone too. He's at peace now at least." Sun rested his palm on Sif's fur, the two of them sharing a moment of silence for the fallen hero. Pushing itself up, Sif nudged the damaged great shield it was lying on towards Sun.**

**Once the faunus accepted the shield, the wolf let out one last howl before a magic circle opened up under it and it was whisked away by magic.**

"**Okay, where'd it go?" Neptune asked.**

"**Away, to recover." Sun grunted and hefted the great shield up, slinging it over his back.**

"**This shield used to be Artorias's it's enchanted to provide defence against magic. Damaged as it is, the enchantments should still retain some of its potency. Let's go."**

"Oooh… final boss incoming." Nora whispered as she could feel the final showdown approaching.

"Good, I hope they kick Manus's ass." Ruby said and punched her fists.

"Ruby!?" Taiyang stared at his daughter in a mix of surprise and disbelief.

"Sorry dad, that wolf just reminds me too much of Zwei, that's all. And no one hurts our dog." Ruby explained.

**Forging ahead, following the soft glow of the prism stones used to mark out a safe path to Manus like a trail of bread crumbs, the four of them reached the heart of the abyss. Even the glow of the phantoms seemed muted as the darkness tried to consume the light.**

**Suppressing the revulsion flooding them and steeling themselves for the fight, the stepped through. A low roar that seemed to shake the very cavern itself reached them and the massive arm that pulled Sun into the book shot up at them from the darkness.**

**Despite trying to jump back, Sun was still grabbed and dragged off into the darkness. "Fucking hell! Sun! God damnit, that must be Manus." Jaune cursed and leapt after the arm, sword at the ready. Ren and Neptune followed suit.**

**Sun's impromptu journey came to an end when he managed to get over the shock and start firing his weapons at the hand, forcing it to let go. Crashing to the ground and rolling to a stop, Sun shot back to his feet, weapons at the ready. Jaune, Ren and Neptune dropped in seconds later and together, the four of them beheld a demon straight from the fiery pits of hell emerging from a pit.**

**The glowing red eyes they'd come to recognise and hate glared at them as the giant behemoth lumbered out of the shadows. Bone spurs erupted from its body at various points, forming a set of horns and armour. The massive oversized arm hung at its side while its other more 'normal' looking limb wielded a staff that seemed to be hewn from bedrock itself. Black flames appeared to dance around it as the abyssal taint was concentrated enough to be visible in the air itself.**

"**Manus eh, You're one ugly sonofabitch." Sun said and a feral grin spread across his features. Launching at the beast that damned one of his friends with a soundless yell, the fight was on.**

"So… still think you've seen Grimm more terrifying than that?" Blank asked Roman.

"Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope to the hell no. All aboard the train to fuck that ville." The master thief spat out and the audience agreed with him.

"I'm surprised they can fight it that well at all. Even veteran huntsmen would be more than a little freaked out by seeing something like that." Qrow pointed out.

"Side effect of having to fight through so many monstrosities already. I'm sure you know, watching it and experiencing it first hand is remarkably different. They're already numb, and the abyss is helping to keep them numb by forcing them to focus on everything except their fear. The one plus point of the abyss I guess." Blank said.

**Manus roared in anger and pain as the students launched salvo after salvo of attacks at it. Jaune slashing at whatever flesh he could, Neptune stabbing with his trident, Sun blasting with his shotguns and Ren going for the eyes with his submachine guns.**

"**Shit, that arm of his is lethal." Jaune said as he blocked a wide swipe from the giant arm, the strike powerful enough to send him flying backwards. Bleeding off the momentum with a summersault, he landed back on his feet and shook his arm to get rid of the numbness.**

**Manus started leaping around the place and smashing the ground repeatedly like an overgrown ape, causing the arena to rumble. Ren cursed when the shaking threw off his aim and his last shots went wide.**

"**I'm out of ammo." He called out and Sun just cursed in response. A ren with no ammo meant no more covering fire putting out eyes as a distraction.**

"**We'll just have to make do, surround it and hit it until it's dead." Sliding under a wide swing, Sun shot up again and emptied the last of his shotgun shells into a gash in the bone armour that appeared to have been left by a great sword.**

**The answering roar of pain was music to his ears. Even gone, Artorias continued to aid them in their quest to put an end to the abyss.**

**Seeing that its attacks weren't having the desired effect, Manus roared and raised its staff, dark magic swirling around to answer his call. Countless orbs of darkness massed around them, forming an enclosure that trapped the four huntsmen, waiting to be fired.**

"**Oh fuck us, how are we supposed to avoid that!?" Jaune paled as he stared at the wall of death surrounding them in all directions. The orbs fired and before any of them could think to dodge, the pendant entrusted to Sun by Artorias started to glow.**

**A barrier of silver light sprung into existence around them, the paper-thin shield holding and keeping the darkness at bay. After several seconds of clashing against the light, the dark orbs faded into thin wisps, the magic powering them overcome by the pendants own.**

"**Yup, definitely still helping us." Sun grinned at the pendants magic before resuming his attack.**

"If he had something that could repel the dark magic like that, how'd Artorias lose in the first place?" Blake asked, unable to conceive a reason why he could have lost with such a hard counter to Manus's magic.

"The pendant has its limits, it's not a silver bullet. Just keep watching and you'll see what I mean." Blank answered.

**Despite their good showing against Manus, the father of the abyss was simply too strong to go down easily. And their own limits were starting to show, exhaustion from all the battles and constant vigilance had taken their toll and Manus's repertoire of tricks were beginning to catch them off guard.**

**Ren was the first to fall. Dashing in once and opening presented itself to stab at Manus's exposed underbelly, he failed to notice it was a trap and the monster had deliberately opened itself up to attack.**

**Without warning, Manus slammed its staff to the floor with a bang, a tidal wave of darkness shot out in a shotgun like burst that Ren had no chance of avoiding. He took the blast head on and was sent tumbling back.**

**As the overwhelming darkness tore through his system, Ren convulsed on the ground several times before going still. His phantom body faded away into non-existence and left the remaining three staring in shock.**

"Renny no!" Nora gasped before scooting over and grabbing Ren in a death hug, ensuring he was still with her.

"It's fine Nora, I'm still here. I'm not going anywhere." Ren comforted the frightened girl.

"Kill that bastard." Jaune said in a dark tone, glaring at the screen with eyes full of hate.

"Jaune, relax. It's… not happening to the Ren you know." Yang tried to calm him down, not liking where the darkness would take him.

"How… how am I supposed to relax after seeing that!?" Jaune clenched his fists tightly.

"It's difficult I know, but you just have to relax. Because it's not 'real' in a sense."

"But… but… that's Ren! He's the closest thing I have to a brother, how can I relax!?"

"Take a deep breath and slowly let it out. Trust me, it'll help. I mean, in the first universe I watched, I had to see you kill my dad and Ruby got eaten alive. So trust me when I say I know how you feel." Yang gave a brittle smile to Jaune, it widened slightly when she saw Jaune take a shuddering breath and make an effort to calm down.

"We're here for you Jaune." Pyrrha added in as she squeezed his hand to comfort him.

"**Ren! No… nononono. NOOOOOOOO! AHHHHHHHHRRRRGGHHHH!" Jaune lost it instantly, seeing his friend just die in front of him stripped away and shred of sanity he had left and he went berserk.**

**Rushing in uncaring of the danger, Jaune started furiously hacking away at Manus. His dormant semblance activated and his attacks became empowered. Striking again and again, forcing Manus back, he fought until Crocea Mors shattered in his hands.**

**Tossing the destroyed weapon away, he started wailing on the demon with his bare hands, screaming incoherently all the while.**

"**He's going to get himself killed!" Neptune swore and sniped one of Manus's eyes, causing it to flinch in pain and the hammer like portion of its staff to miss Jaune by an inch.**

"**But he has the right of it, we don't attack we're not killing Manus." Sun grunted and surged forwards to resume his own attacks.**

"**Damnit all, attack, attack, attack is not a plan!" Neptune complained but followed in his leaders footsteps all the same.**

**Things were going well until Manus released a power scream that knocked them back. While they were stunned, Manus reached out with its giant arm and grabbed hold of Neptune. With him in hand, the beast began to squeeze, drawing out a scream of pain from its captive.**

**Howling in rage, Manus started smashing Neptune against the floor repeatedly hard enough to crack the stone. Unable to take the damage being dished out, Neptune's phantom shimmered and shattered into motes of light as well.**

**While Sun and Jaune were still stunned and unable to react, Manus dredged up its abyssal magic again. A cloud of darkness manifested directly overhead and dropped straight down onto the duo that were only just climbing back to their feet.**

**The pendant activated again, the silver barrier holding the mass of darkness at bay. But unlike with the earlier magic attack, the mass was to dense for the barrier to dispel, simply collecting at a point directly over Sun.**

**As the barrier started to fade, the mass was diminished but still more than enough for a fatal blow. With Sun still dazed and unable to dodge, Jaune made his decision.**

**As much as he wanted to continue attacking Manus for what it had done. He'd already lost two friends, he wasn't going to lose another. Pouring aura into his legs to enhance his strength, he shot across the clearing in a superhuman jump.**

**Slamming into Sun and pushing him away right before the barrier failed. The last sight of Jaune Sun had was the knight giving a small smile… just in time for the mass of darkness to land right on top of him. When it dissipated, there was no longer any sign of Jaune's gold phantom.**

Jaune let out a shuddering breath at the sight. "Well, guess I'm dead too. So much for avenging Ren… at least Sun's okay."

Yang and Pyrrha said nothing, just pulling him into a hug and not letting go.

"**Jaune… Nep… Ren… you bastard. Just taking Artorias wasn't enough huh!?" Sun glared hatefully towards Manus. The creature's howls and screams seeming like mocking laughter to his ears.**

"**I couldn't save any of them thanks to you, but I'll sure as hell avenge them." Leaping into battle again without any care for self-preservation. Sun committed to the assault fully, no longer holding anything back.**

**As the battle dragged on, he received reinforcement from an unexpected source. A patched up Sif landed on top of Manus and started attacking as well, Artorias's damaged sword gripped firmly in its jaws.**

**As the two companions of the abyss walker double teamed Manus, the giant was starting to falter, all the wounds inflicted on it by everyone starting to add up.**

"**Kuh!" Sun grunted out as a lucky hit sent him tumbling back. As he struggled to rise from the shallow grave he found himself in, he found that he wasn't as alone as he initially thought. A young woman in a torn ornate dress was lying there, curled up into a ball.**

"**Princess Dusk?" He asked, a small whimper was the only response he got as the woman was effectively catatonic from whatever ordeal she'd been through.**

**Sun shook his head, there would be time to save the princess later, Manus had to be dealt with first. Pushing himself up, he charged back into the fray just as Sif was tossed away.**

**Slipping Artorias's shield onto his forearm when one of his nunchakus were ripped away and crushed, Sun used the shield to deflect the next staff strike. It created an opening for Sif to leap up and slash with the great sword.**

**Manus howled in agony as its horn was severed, the bony extension falling to the ground with a crash. Retaliating with a brutal swing, Sif yelped as the arm caught it mid fall and sent the wolf crashing to the ground painfully. The great sword slipped free from its jaws and clattered to the floor.**

**Manus started charging a darkness attack again, this one aimed at Sun. The monkey faunus was about to jump away when he recalled Princess Dusk lying behind him. If he dodged, the princess would definitely die.**

**The wave of darkness rushed towards him and the pendant activated again. Silver barrier holding up against the assault momentarily before failing. Sun slammed the great shield in front of him, acting as a barrier between them.**

**The tidal wave crashed against the shield and broke around it, bypassing the princess and leaving her unharmed. The damaged shield broke apart once the attack was done, a badly wounded Sun stood knelt on the other end of it.**

**Blood trickled down his face and his skin was charred in places as though burnt. Coughing in pain, his vision wavered as he noticed his hands coming away bloody when he wiped his mouth.**

**His aura was past the red zone, just a small silver left, even a single punch from a civilian would be enough to break it… just enough to put into one last attack. Unaware of Dusk's eyes on him, Sun staggered over to the fallen great sword and raised it.**

**Putting everything into his final move, he charged and Manus responded. Orbs of darkness shot towards him in an effort to put him down for the last time. Sun dodged it all, using his tail as balance for several of his riskier moves.**

**Once he was in range, Sun screamed out as he jumped up onto Manus's oversized arm and used it as a springboard to reach its head.**

**With a mighty thrust, Sun speared Manus straight through the skull with Artorias's sword. The last of his strength spent, the monkey fell back to earth, he would have crashed hard if it wasn't for Sif leaping in to cushion his fall and get him to safety.**

**Manus thrashed around as it tried and failed to get the weapon out of its face with its death throes. Finally falling over with a deafening bang, it twitched several times before stilling. **

"**Heh… so that's it than. The abyss will be halted with this." Sun whispered as Sif gently lowered him to the floor.**

**Sun coughed again, numbness spreading through his body as it started to fail without the aura keeping it alive. "The princess is over there, get her to safety."**

**Sun pointed in the direction of Dusk's shallow grave and Sif nodded its assent. The monkey faunus smiled, knowing that the princess was in good hands. The abyss had been stopped and his friends had been avenged, that was all he could ask for at this point.**

"**I killed a literal demon… Sage and Scarlet are never going to believe this…" He trailed off and closed his eyes. Sif howled mournfully as the screen turned black.**

"That's it!? That can't be it!" Weiss was on the verge of tearing her hair out in frustration.

"Hold on Weiss, the lights haven't come on yet, maybe there's more to it than that." Blake said.

"There better be, what kind of ending is that? Where everyone dies in the end?"

"That's just how the legend goes, I've said it before but happy endings aren't guaranteed. But this time though…" Blank chuckled and allowed the movie to continue to play.

**The screen slowly came back on, a blank ceiling came into view. "Oh my head, why do I feel hungover? I haven't been drinking." Sun cradled his aching head as he sat up and blinked away the cobwebs in his head.**

**Around him, his friends were pulling themselves together as well, all groaning in pain. Ren was the first up, he tried to stand only to fall back down. "Gah, what happened to us. I… wait… I'm alive!?"**

"**Shut up Ren, oh my aching head… Ren!?" Jaune's headache was momentarily forgotten as Ren's voice cut through the fog in his mind.**

"**You're alive! I… we're all alive! But… how!? I… I remember dying." Jaune clutched at himself to check that he was in one piece. He distinctly remembered being consumed by the darkness and then nothingness.**

"**Okay… so that wasn't just a dream right? Lordran… the abyss… all that was real?" Neptune asked once he got his bearings. They were all back in the library backroom, a quick check of his discarded scroll indicated it was just half past seven in the morning.**

"**Some kind of illusion? Hallucination? It felt real to me." Ren said with a small shrug.**

"**Maybe… I!" Sun clutched at his chest suddenly and started fumbling with something around his neck. Jaune, Ren and Neptune just watched on in confusion until Sun pulled the object out. **

**A silver pendant.**

"**Okay… not a dream." Sun exhaled as he stared at Artorias's gift to him.**

"**How?" Jaune asked, unable to make sense of it all.**

"**We… we were really pulled into another world? Into a story?"**

**Jaune's words triggered something in Sun and he made a grab for the big book of fairy tales before the rest could stop him. "Come on, come on, come on… there!"**

**Flipping the book to the first page of the legend of the abyss walker. He gulped and slowly flipped over the page, to his surprise, words and pictures now filled the blank chapter.**

"**What the hell are you thinking man!? You trying to get us all sucked in again!?" Neptune resisted the urge to jump over and start strangling his team leader.**

"**No, that won't be happening again I think. Look, the story's been filled in." Sun held the book out for them to see, and despite their wariness, the three of them crowded in for a better look.**

"**Artorias fell in battle against the abyss, unable to overcome the darkness, he was consumed and corrupted. A nameless hero and his companions arrived and freed the fallen knight from his burdens before taking up his sword and struck deep into the heart of the abyss. One by one, they fell to primeval man, but through their sacrifice, they brought down Manus, father of the abyss, saved Princess Dusk and freed the kingdom of Oolacile from the grip of the abyss. The princess, afflicted by her ordeal, only saw a figure wielding Sir Artorias's sword and shield in battle and reported as such. Thus the legend of the abyss walker was cemented." Jaune read out.**

"**That's… our story." Ren surmised after the four of them were silent for a moment.**

"**But how?" Neptune asked.**

"**No idea, I guess the chapter was blank because we were supposed to be in it. It's as much our legend as it is Artorias, until we lived it, the story wasn't written." Sun gave his own theory.**

"**If the story in the book is true… what about all the others in it?" Ren asked.**

"**That's a good question. But I'm not sure I want to dig into it anymore, I've had enough excitement for a long time. Back to nice sorting out old books without having to fight living nightmares thank you very much." Sun chuckled, getting his friends to laugh along with him.**

**Closing the book, he placed it aside from all the rest, they could decide what to do with it later. For now, there were books to sort out. Clutching the pendant tight, he slipped it back around his neck and smiled, just happy to be alive.**

As the screen went dark again, the lights came on this time. Seeing this, the audience sighed in relief, no more curve balls to be thrown their way.

"That's all folks, go refresh yourselves, the next viewing will start shortly." Blank said.

"Oh yeah, maybe the next one will be less taxing on my nightmares." Roman grumbled.

"Hahahah… about that…"

* * *

Author's notes: A little late depending on timezone, but here's something to ring in the new year. No character replacement this time, just a straight up crossover with characters as themselves. Some modifications to the dark souls universe to make it flow a little better. If you play dark souls or know about the community, you'll get exactly why Jaune, Ren and Neptune are gold phantoms instead of white ones.


	16. Chapter 15: Hunter of Hunters

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 15: Hunter of Hunters**

**Inspiration: Bloodborne**

As the audience started filing back into their seats, there was a flash of light and three new individuals were added to their numbers.

"Gah, my head!" Mercury groaned and clutched his head as he got off the ground.

"A cinema? Emerald, why the hell are you using your semblance on me?"

"What are you talking about-we're in a cinema? When did that happen and why do I feel like there are ursas dancing inside my skull?" Emerald sat up groggily and looked around the room. A brief 'oh shit' left her mouth when she found herself under assault from several very, very angry glares.

"This is odd, Mercury, Emerald, where are we?" Cinder was the last to rise, once she caught sight of the angry huntsmen and huntresses trying to set her on fire with their glares, she did her best to put on her best innocent façade.

"Don't bother bitch, they know. They know everything." Roman snickered and give the three of them the finger when they turned to notice him. Neo stuck out her tongue and promptly used her semblance to create an illusion of the three of them hanging from a noose.

"Roman Torchwick? What is-oh, so that's how it is. I hope you're prepared for the consequences of betraying me." Cinder glared at her ex-henchmen once she caught on to the fact that the jig was up.

"You can't betray someone you're enslaved to. And I'd worry about yourself first bitch, because those guys really want you dead now." Roman pointed to Qrow who was busy cracking his knuckles. The veteran huntsmen grinned sinisterly and dragged a thumb across his throat.

"Can we please kill them now?" Ren asked in a quiet tone, a slight tremble in it betrayed the burning rage beneath. These three were trying to turn Vale into a warzone, force him to go through a repeat of Kuroyuri and kill his friends. The sooner they were dead and he could piss on their corpses the better.

"What the kid said, can we just finish them here and be done with it, because I need a new drinking mug, one of their skulls should do fine." Qrow said.

"So long as you gimme one of them, I need a new ash tray." Roman chimed in.

The only reason why Cinder's group hadn't already been violently butchered by pissed off huntsmen and or ex-criminals was that Blank had the foresight to wall off another section of the theatre, separating them.

"Ahem, no killing in this theatre. I've already said I'm offering the chance to change your fates to everyone, that includes them as well. Even if they choose not to take their opportunity, they'll just be sent back and you can terminate them when you return. Now an explanation for the uninitiated." Blank said.

(One explanation later)

"Heh, so you're just wasting our time here then. It's good to know that I win and Vale burns all the same. None of this will change anything, I already knew it was my destiny to win, but thanks for confirming it anyways." Cinder smirked and revelled in the glares shot her way, her victory was preordained, knowledge of her plans at this point wouldn't change anything.

"Hardly, and you really shouldn't be that happy about winning by the way. Even in the original scenario where your plans go off as you expected, you still lose half your body in the process. And as to the various futures where you succeed at Beacon? You tend to end up living up to your name, courtesy of your enemies." Blank said, taking some of the wind out of her sails.

"Well, I am the fall maiden, isn't it only natura-" Cinder began, only to be interrupted.

"The problem with picking 'fall' over 'autumn' is that fall has more than one meaning attached to it. When you don't get ripped apart or petrified by Ruby Rose, you end up crushed to death when she drops a building on top of you. Assuming it isn't a world where she just breaks your aura and tosses you to your death. And the name Cinder? Futures where Jaune Arc goes all out to hunt you down usually has him executing you by burning you alive at the stake. And then there're the times where you get taken down by Ironwood, you don't die there, you just get sent to a lab for human experimentation." Blank added on and Cinder's expression wavered momentarily.

"Human experimentation? The tinman? I always figured he'd just put a bullet in her skull. Human experimentation isn't really his thing." Qrow stopped glaring for a moment to glance at the floating ball of light.

"If Cinder were fully human then yes, a bullet to the head, but when she's part Grimm thanks to Salem's machinations, he's more partial to cutting her open and digging around inside to find out what makes her tick. All for the greater good of course." Blank explained.

"Keh, and we're the bad guys? You take a look in the mirror lately? Ah hell, I'll kick your asses any day of the week." Mercury rolled his eyes and put on a show of bravado, no need to show any weakness to them, not with the barrier between them. When they got back to their world… they'd deal with it then.

"We're not at that stage yet, but you lot are really capable of creating mortal enemies. Perhaps in the future I'll show you all a universe where you succeed in driving one of them into becoming a bigger monster than Salem ever was, and one that's hell bent on killing you." Blank chuckled.

"But that day is not today. This will be a familiar universe to some of you here, but I believe this one has something more for Cinder Fall. Power at any cost, right? You might want to rethink that statement a little."

The lights dimmed and the screen came to life, the audience grumbling as they returned to their seats. "Ladies and gentlemen, I understand that their presence here is aggravating, but try to play nice. For all you know, they might change their ways, and if they don't, I believe you'll make good on delivering justice once you're all home."

"They're all monsters already, should have been smothered at birth. Worthless sacks of shit." Qrow muttered, getting Cinder's group to glare at him.

"The same way you should have been murdered at birth along with your sister for being bandits? Well, at this point, more your sister than you but the point stands. And please, don't try to argue with me about degrees of evil." Blank said and Qrow's mouth clicked shut, unable to retort to that. By his side, Summer and Taiyang sighed and shook their heads, remembering their wayward teammate.

**Snow crunched underfoot as an armoured boot left a trail of footprints across the snow-covered roof. Jaune exhaled slowly, his breath fogging up in the freezing cold as he made his way towards his destination. Leaping down onto a walkway below, Jaune stared out at the castle grounds below him for a moment before continuing on his way.**

**Soon, he was out on the roof tops again climbing up an incline. Eventually it levelled out into a flatter section that still bore signs of heavy battle damage. Jaune removed his steel helmet and mismatched eyes stared at the blank wall at the end of the roof. His left eye was still the blue he had been born with, but his right now burned a fiery crimson.**

**Pulling out an ornate crown from his pack, Jaune slipped it on and waited for the magic to happen. Once the crown touched his brow, a howling wind picked up and a snow and dust were blown into the air, surrounding him in a maelstrom of blinding grey.**

**Once it faded, the blank wall was gone, instead a new section of the castle had appeared, the open doorway beckoning to him. Without any hesitation, Jaune strode forwards and began climbing the steps within.**

"Okay… what the hell was that?" Roman sat straighter in his seat, seeing a building just appear out of thin air distracted him from his glaring contest with Cinder temporarily.

"Magic. It's a different universe entirely." Blank answered.

"That pistol at Jaune's side… I don't like it. It reminds me too much of…" Ruby trailed off with a frown.

"Is something wrong with that gun?" Jaune asked, taking the opportunity to distract himself from plotting Cinder's death with one of the various weapons his alternate selves had created. While they were stuck here, pre-emptive vengeance wouldn't be possible.

"Nothing, it's just… I've seen a gun like that before in a different viewing. It… didn't end well." Ruby stated, trying to push away the gruesome images that surged to the front of her mind.

"It can't be _that _universe can it? It doesn't fit with any of the others we've seen. And what's with the red eye?" Yang asked, her eyes flickering between lilac and red momentarily as she clued into what Ruby was referring to.

**At the top of the stairs was a throne and in it sat a woman with white hair, red and black eyes and veins framing her face. She waited with a bored expression on her face as the knight ascended the last few steps.**

**Once he was before her, Jaune knelt and bowed his head in respect. "Lady Salem, I have returned."**

"**So you have closest of our kin, what is thy wish?"**

A round of coughing took hold of the adults as Jaune uttered those words, Qrow was the first to find his voice. "You have got to fucking kidding me."

"Now isn't that something? Perhaps you might want to look at your own before pointing fingers hmm? Looks like at least one version of him is smart enough to join the winning side." Cinder smirked and waved away the questioning looks from her underlings. There'd be time enough to tell them about Salem later if she decided they needed to know.

"Different universe, Salem is still immortal and unkillable here, but _not_ a bad guy." Blank spoke up before the audience could descend into a shouting match.

"**Answers. About the curse of beasthood. Ozpin insists the curse is tied to the old blood, the more I use it the faster the corruption takes." Jaune said.**

"**And so it is, that isn't a lie if that's what you're curious about." Salem replied in a placid tone.**

"**No, I'm asking about the one that plagues the hunters. It doesn't add up, I've seen both the scourge infected Yharnamites and the beast turned hunters, killed more than my fair share. The hunters… their mutation is always worse, more horrific than any others. I… that leads me to think that there's more to it than just the old blood." Jaune explained, one hand reaching up to touch his transformed eye.**

"Oh god no, it is that universe." Yang paled considerably before scooting closer to Jaune. Several seats away, Ruby embraced both her parents in a hug for comfort.

"What… what happened in this universe?" Jaune asked, very unused to seeing Yang act in such a way.

"In that universe, you were ill, the treatment used to cure you also damned you at the same time." Pyrrha explained, her face a shade paler than normal.

"The illness was cured by injecting cursed blood into yourself, but in time you would have turned into a monster. To avoid that fate, you became a hunter of those transformed beasts yourselves, to end the curse."

"A-and did it work?"

"It kept the curse at bay for a while, then you met a child version of Ruby." Ren said.

"It didn't end well, not for anyone." A taciturn Nora followed up.

"Was that the universe before we showed up? What happened to my niece?" Qrow asked, seeing that Taiyang and Summer had their hands full with Ruby.

"Ruby's dad was a hunter as well… one in the end stages of the curse." Blake spoke up, her ears flat against her head as she recalled the brutal fight between the two hunters.

"I… I killed Ruby?" Taiyang paled considerably at that possibility.

"No. You um… killed your wife instead, Jaune found you when Ruby asked him to search for her parents. Then you transformed and Jaune put you down." Weiss corrected and Taiyang was left at a loss for words, only able to hug his family tighter.

"T-then what happened to Ruby?" Qrow asked, dreading the answer but needing to know anyway.

"I got eaten alive when I tried to make it to a safe zone on my own. Jaune found my body and broke down afterwards." Ruby spoke up in a small tone, leaving the rest of the audience at a loss for words, save one.

"Too bad, I would have liked to see it in person." Cinder spoke up, getting the full fury of the audience turned on her again.

"There is something seriously wrong with you isn't there?" Roman spat out and Cinder just rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, according to that ball of light, more than a few of my possible futures involve me being either tortured to death or experimented on, excuse me if I don't feel any sympathy for you lot. Still… feeding you all to a Grimm… now there's an idea."

"**So you noticed, hunters and members of the clergy tend to become the most horrific of beasts when they turn. Ozpin won't say anything so you've come to us to find out why." Jaune nodded and Salem just sighed.**

"**Yes, there is a second curse. But trying to break it is a fool's errand. Just ignore it and do as Ozpin bids, free yourself from your own shackles and forget it all when the dawn arrives."**

'This is… odd. Salem agreeing with me? When was the last time that happened?" Ozpin grimaced and sipped from his coffee mug.

"**I can't do that. I'll turn long before I reach the end of this night." Jaune shot down the suggestion instantly, already one eye burned crimson, should the other change as well, he had the feeling he'd be lost forever.**

"**Yes, we see that the change is already starting. We are the only Vilebloods left, as queen it does fall to us to look out for our subjects. But know this, your task is suicidal. There are more than beasts to worry about." Salem cautioned.**

"**Death is an old friend and I fear it not. What must I do to break the curse?" Jaune said resolutely.**

**Salem did not immediately respond, the queen of the Vilebloods knit her fingers together as though lost in thought. Finally, she made up her mind and spoke. "Before you, we had another knight. An excellent soldier and loyal to the end, we sent him to uncover the truth of the curse. And he found it before he was lost himself."**

**The queen picked up a black knight chess piece from a nearby chess set and held it up to the light. "They brought it on themselves you know, the old hunters. They damned themselves and all who would follow in their footsteps. They did it all with a smile on their faces. And they have the audacity to call our blood tainted."**

"**I don't understand, what did they do? Ozpin won't say anything about it." Jaune said, a look of confusion on his face. Salem just chuckled lightly before returning the knight piece to its spot.**

"**Of course he wouldn't say anything about his sins. An easier question to answer would be what didn't they do. Two things define the healing church, their fanatical devotion to safeguarding their secrets and the willingness to do anything to achieve godhood. The blood of innocents stains the souls of the hunters, and a Great One is more than willing to answer the prayers of the slain that cry out for vengeance." **

"A Great One? What… did my counterpart do?" Ozpin asked.

"A Great One is a god in that world, or close enough that any distinction is meaningless. The healing church was founded by yourself and several of your colleagues, an institution dedicated to bringing humanity to the next evolutionary step." Blank answered.

"That's not too bad, right?" Qrow asked.

"Valiant goal, execution needs work." Blank replied drily.

"The healing church is murderously protective of its secrets, and when its secrets aren't exclusive to themselves because someone else got there first, actions will be taken to rectify that issue in a very definitive manner."

"So they killed everyone who knew too much. Like we _totally _didn't see that one coming." Mercury said with a small laugh.

"**So how do I break the curse." Jaune asked.**

"**You kill the Great One at the heart of the nightmare to end the curse. Do you understand the magnitude of your undertaking now? It's easier to just end this hunt then try to break the curse, just free yourself and let it be." Salem advised but Jaune just shook his head, the image of the first fallen hunter he had to put down still fresh in his mind.**

"**I can't do that. I… made a mistake awhile back. Disregarding myself, I have to make sure such a tragedy doesn't come to pass ever again."**

"**It's happened before you know, Yharnam isn't the first time the scourge of the beast has plagued the lands. Just as that scourge has resurfaced here, so too might the curse on the hunters. Everything you do might be for nothing in the end."**

"**Even so, I have to try. Thank you for your concern Lady Salem." Jaune rose with a bow and stared at the queen resolutely, not one iota of hesitation in his eyes.**

"**So you've made your choice, go then with our blessing. For the honour of Cainhurst." Salem nodded her head, making no more suggestions that Jaune abandon his insane task. **

"**One last thing, the last knight we sent, he still lives. If you desire to enter the nightmare, find him. He holds the key. This should help you locate him." Salem flicked a small glass vial containing some blood to Jaune and the hunter caught it easily.**

"**Thank you again Lady Salem." Jaune bowed once more before turning and leaving.**

"This is… unbelievably strange to watch." Ozpin muttered and started rubbing his temples to ease the building migraine.

"No kidding." Qrow agreed and took a long swig from his flask.

**Upon returning to the dream, Jaune bid the Weiss doll hello before entering the workshop to switch up his weapons. Leaving his cane and axe behind, Jaune strapped a silver great sword to his back and the Chikage to his side.**

**As he worked on upgrading the Evelyn, Ozpin wheeled himself into the room to watch him work. "How fares the hunt young hunter?"**

"…**As well as it can with the scourge spreading inside me. I have a lead now, a way to end the curse on the hunters." Jaune replied after a moment of silence.**

"**What did you do Oz, what the hell did you and the church do to invite this nightmare on us?"**

"**I could say I was just following orders, but those words have lost their merit a long time ago. It doesn't matter anymore, everyone involved already paid for it, some things are best left buried." Ozpin said in a tired voice.**

"**But you're not the only ones paying for it are you? I'm already halfway to beasthood, how many hunters have already been lost thanks to the curse the church invited on us? Punished for a crime committed by their predecessors. How many more will be just as damned if nothing is done to stop the curse?"**

"**Too many." Ozpin sighed out, his eyes closed in sorrow.**

Ozpin matched his counterpart's sigh as he recalled his own mistakes. Idly he wondered which of them had made more mistakes in their life.

"So, alternative Ozpin is just as much of a failure as our own. How quaint." Cinder smirked when the glares came flying her way again.

"Er, Cinder? Is… is it wise to antagonise them like that? He's still the headmaster of Beacon." Emerald shifted uncomfortably, for all her skills, open combat without the element of surprise wasn't where she shined in. And there was no way in hell she'd be able to lock all of them down with her semblance.

"It's already too late for them Emerald. So they know about our plans, that just means we have to move up the timetable. Vale falls either way." Cinder stated with confidence.

"Keep talking bitch, your mouth is writing a check your body can't cash." Qrow growled out.

"**If you won't tell me what you did, can you at least tell me why?" Jaune put down his tools and turned to look Ozpin in the eye.**

"**Why huh? I don't even remember anymore. In the beginning, all we wanted was knowledge, to learn more about the cosmos and how to pave the way for humanity's ascension. Somewhere along the line things changed. Less and less were inducted into our fold, and we ran into more 'opposition', others refused to share their knowledge and when negotiations broke down, the hunters were called in to deal with the unrest. I don't know how the situation devolved in such a manner, you saw the workshop in the waking world did you not?"**

"**I did." Jaune replied, remembering the abandoned workshop tucked away in a forgotten corner of Yharnam. When he found it, he was thoroughly freaked out at seeing a near perfect copy of the hunter's workshop complete with a Weiss doll just lying abandoned there.**

"**Before… this dream… that was where the hunters were headquartered. But the church's leadership lies far above, perhaps my old colleagues simply wanted to keep me out of the way. Whatever the case, by the time we noticed the mistakes, it was already too late." Ozpin sighed and screwed his eyes shut again, the pain of the ancient betrayal still fresh even in the present.**

"**I see, in any case, with the curse overhead, I won't last till dawn. If I'm going down, I'll go down trying." Jaune said as he picked up his finished weapons and left the old man behind.**

**Exiting the workshop, Jaune nodded to the doll before pulling out the vial of blood Salem handed to him. Kneeling before one of the tombstones, he focused on the vial and closed his eyes, trusting in the dream to guide him to his destination. The world rippled and fell away, darkness rushing in to claim him.**

"Okay, what the hell was that?" Qrow asked.

"Reality doesn't work the same where there as it does in your world. There are multiple layers of it, all bleeding over into one another. The hunter's dream, that little workshop and garden functions as a nexus of sorts, allowing individuals to use it to connect themselves to different places. A shortcut through time and space itself." Blank answered.

"And… my head hurts trying to make sense of it. I'm just going to ignore it all." Qrow shrugged and leaned back in his chair.

"If it helps. Some things mortal minds were never meant to comprehend, the people of that world tried and it is one of the root causes of why every thing is so screwed up there."

**When Jaune came to again, he found himself standing at the foot of the steps leading to the grand cathedral. Several sleeping church giants lined the steps and he had to blink twice when he noticed the fallen corpses of the church doctors. **

**He could hear the ringing of blades coming from within the cathedral itself. Guessing that was where the missing Cainhurst knight was, Jaune's eyes narrowed in preparation for a fight and dashed up the steps.**

**Bursting through the doors, he found the interior wrecked to an even greater extent than after his fight with the transformed vicar. Two individuals were duelling in the centre, Goodwitch was fighting another hunter, one clad in the same robes as herself but wearing the unmistakable helmet of a Cainhurst knight.**

**Their fight had already reached their conclusion. Jaune was too far away to react in time, and he didn't have a clear shot on the other hunter with Goodwitch in the way. The knight parried Goodwitch's blades of mercy with his own Chikage to create an opening. Drawing his repeating pistol, he shot Goodwitch in the chest, compromising her defences and sending her staggering backwards.**

**There was a wet 'schlick' as the Cainhurst knight rammed his katana all the way through her chest and extracted it in one smooth motion. Goodwitch gasped out and clutched her chest before falling over with a thud, a pool of scarlet rapidly growing around her.**

"Oh." Goodwitch blanched as she saw her counterpart get cut down ruthlessly.

"Wait, why are they fighting? Aren't they on the same side? They even have the same uniform." Roman asked.

"Former colleagues, they're both hunter of hunters. Hunters dedicated to bringing down their own when they stray, to allow them the mercy of dying human. Sadly, they aren't immune either, some have the sense to off themselves or find a way to leave the hunt, the others require more of their kind to end them." Blank answered.

"So who is that supposed to be then? I can't tell with the helmet." Qrow asked.

"He's called the Bloody Crow of Cainhurst, so take a guess." Blank replied

"Oh."

"**NO!" Jaune cursed and surged forward, silver straight sword in hand and crying for blood. Qrow glanced his way and started shooting immediately, the double barrelled pistol sending multiple quicksilver rounds towards him.**

**Dodging as best he could, Jaune closed the gap and started stabbing at his fellow Vileblood, driving him back and keeping him from dealing the coup de grace to Goodwitch. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed the downed hunter injecting a blood vial into herself and Jaune just hoped it would be enough to keep her alive.**

**Returning fire with the Evelyn, Jaune's eyes widened when Qrow dodged away, vanished from sight momentarily before reappearing further away. 'He knows the art of quickening? This is going to suck.'**

**Qrow's arm flicked outwards and his pistol fired, the two bullets slamming into Jaune and sending him staggering back. The younger hunter swore as he backpedalled, the pain already fading as he jammed a blood vial into his side.**

**Jaune's eyes widened when Qrow started tossing vials of numbing mist at him, looking to cut off his source of healing. Focusing inwards, he drew on the old knowledge imparted to him and activated his own art of quickening, dodging frantically to avoid the incoming vials and bullets.**

**Seeing that Jaune was simply dodging everything he threw, Qrow switched back to melee combat. Sheathing the Chikage and charging in for a quickdraw strike, Jaune ducked under the blood-soaked blade as it carved a bloody arc over his head.**

**Taking advantage of the opening, Jaune slashed upwards with his sword, drawing a line across Qrow and getting drenched in a spray of blood. Slamming the sword into its scabbard on his back, Jaune pulled the great sword downwards and tried crushing Qrow with it. But the elder Vileblood simply danced away, vanishing and reappearing to the side, an empty vial of blood clattered to the floor as Qrow started regenerating.**

"The scabbard combines with the sword to make a bigger sword? Interesting…" Jaune trailed off as he started thinking about modifying Crocea Mors. There was a version of his sword similar to that in the testing range but he didn't have the time to try it out, being too focused on the flashier weapons.

"Someone's overcompensating." Mercury jested and Jaune just gave him the finger in response.

**After several more fruitless attacks with the greatsword, Jaune ditched it entirely, the weapon was just too slow to be effective against a speedy opponent. When the blade missed for the last time, Jaune used the momentum to sling it onto his back and left it there.**

**Hands reaching for the katana at his waist, Jaune repaid Qrow in full for all his quickdraw strikes. Slashing with his own Chikage, a wave of poisoned blood helped extend his range and put Qrow on the backfoot for the first time since their melee began.**

**When the Vileblood dodged away and tried to heal, Jaune tossed a vial of numbing mist and grinned when it connected. An inhuman growl of frustration came from the afflicted hunter as his blood vial had no effect.**

**Cutting the flow of blood to his weapon, Jaune reverted it back to a normal katana as the two combatants started circling one another. By some unspoken signal, both drew their firearms and fired at the same time.**

**Jaune's shot missed while Qrow's connected, the younger hunter was sent stumbling backwards and Qrow didn't waste the opportunity. A straight stab punched through Jaune's unprotected throat and the blade was removed with a violent twist, painting the area red with blood.**

**A wet gurgle left Jaune as he fired Evelyn again and drove Qrow away. Backing off, the wind made a whistling noise as it blew through the bloody hole in his body, Jaune just snarled and injected more blood into himself to deal with the damage.**

"Bullshit, how is he not dead after that!?" Mercury stared at the screen in disbelief. Aura or not, a wound like that was fatal, and aura didn't seem to exist in that world.

"I-I would like to know that too." A green faced Jaune managed to get out as he fought down the urge to hurl.

"This version of you doesn't die until you take too much damage. And you can regenerate by injecting blood into yourself or dealing damage to your enemies." A similarly green faced Pyrrha answered.

'My, what power. If I could have that in addition to the maiden's magic, I'd be practically invincible.' Cinder thought to herself as she pondered the possibility of replicating the effect, somewhat reminded of her mistress's own regenerative powers.

**Their dance of death continued but slowly Jaune began to get the edge over his opponent. Mind afflicted by the curse, Qrow's self-preservation instincts were severely impaired. The older hunter kept feeding his blood to his weapon even when it wasn't able to reach Jaune, slowly chipping away at his health and remaining supply of blood vials.**

**Even though Jaune was taking more hits, careful rationing of his blood vials and blood enhancement meant he still came out ahead. As Qrow started to slow down from blood loss, Jaune surged in for the finish.**

**Dodging a near point blank blast from the repeating pistol, Jaune sliced upwards with the Chikage, cleanly removing Qrow's gun arm at the elbow. Slipping the katana past Qrow's own, Jaune severed the other arm as well, leaving the armless hunter to fall in a spray of blood.**

"Uncle Qrow, looks like you got dis-armed eh?" Yang joked, getting a chorus of groans in response.

"Really not the time for that Yang." Qrow shot his niece a small glare and she just shrugged.

"Black humour helps me cope with what I'm watching." She freely admitted.

**Jaune knelt and injected one of his last blood vials into Qrow, stabilizing the man temporarily. He couldn't have him die before he got the secret to the curse from him. Reaching down, he quickly removed Qrow's battered helm to see if there was any shred of humanity left in him.**

**Pale grey skin and a head full of white hair greeted him. Unfocused eyes swivelled in their sockets before some sanity came back to them as he turned to look at Jaune.**

"**The key to the curse on the hunters, where is it? I need it to end this madness." Jaune asked before Qrow's renewed sense of self could slip away into beasthood again.**

"**You… Queen Salem… she sent… you?" Qrow bit out with great effort. A small smile graced his face as Jaune nodded.**

"**I… did not… fail. The key… the key is in… the eye. L-lost original… take mine instead. Amygdala… outside… chapel. F-finish me… don't let… it… take me… again." Qrow's breathing grew more erratic as the curse began to reassert itself and his eyes grew hazy.**

**Jaune said nothing as he raised his katana and stabbed downwards, piercing Qrow's heart and allowing the fallen hunter to die with his humanity regained. Once Qrow had passed, Jaune grit his teeth and formed his fingers into a wedge, after a short moment of silence, he rammed it into the corpse's eye sockets and extracted the eyeball within. Placing the intact eyeball into his pocket, Jaune repeated the action with the remaining eye.**

Jaune leaned over and voided his stomach contents into a bucket that magically appeared. The other students weren't in any better shape save Ruby who had the sense to pull down her hood before the gruesome sight could get to her.

Even the older huntsmen and hardened criminals were affected by the grisly sight.

"Okay… that is all kinds of messed up." Emerald whispered out as her face paled.

"…Disgusting as this is… I fail to see how this is supposed to convince me to change anything." Cinder said, staring at Blank and trying to keep the screen out of her view.

"Just keep watching, it get's worse." Was the only reply that came from their host.

"You're joking… oh god you're not joking." Weiss said when she was finally able to look up from her bucket.

**Leaving Qrow's body behind, Jaune rushed over to check on Goodwitch's condition. The woman groaned when Jaune eased her into a seating position to better check on her wounds.**

"**Oh, is that you again? I'm afraid I've made a bit of a blunder. I'm just going to have a short rest." The aged hunter said woozily as Jaune grabbed his last blood vial and injected it into her.**

"**You're not dying here."**

"**Heh you just can't leave well enough alone, can you? Ah… I don't seem to be apt for this life anymore. My glory days were long ago now." Goodwitch coughed out as the blood took effect and her numerous wounds started knitting together. Reaching into her tattered robes, she withdrew the crow hunter's badge and pressed it into Jaune's hands.**

"**For you. This too is hunter's work, but bears no honour. A burden you may choose to carry. The decision is yours alone." **

"**There might not be a need soon, I've found a way to end this curse of bloodlust on the hunters." Jaune said as he accepted the badge and the duty that came with it.**

"**Is that so? That's good then." Goodwitch said with a tired smile.**

"**But there will always be a need for us. The madness of the dream isn't the only curse on us. All power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely. There will always be rogues." **

"**And someone will be there to stop them." Jaune said.**

"**Good… good… ahh… my eyes grow heavy. Let me rest awhile… I'll be fine… just wait…" Goodwitch trailed off as her eyes closed. Jaune's initial burst of panic faded when he noticed she was still breathing and in a more stable rhythm.**

**Picking up the exhausted hunter, Jaune laid her to rest against the far wall of the cathedral. She could get all the rest she needed there since no beast would enter the building with all the incense burning. The roaming church doctors were more of a pressing threat but as far as he noticed, they avoided entering as well, she should be safe there until she recovered enough to leave on her own.**

**For now, he had a nightmare to invade and a great one to slay.**

"So, what happens to the other me now?" Goodwitch asked.

"You leave the city and the hunter profession behind as you should have done a long time ago. At this point in your story, you've already been cut off from the hunter's dream so your next death is permanent. Only duty kept you coming back." Blank answered.

"Hang on, you say that like they can die multiple times." Taiyang frowned in confusion.

"They can dad, Jaune hasn't died here yet but the last time we saw him, he went down more than a few times. Kept coming back though." Yang said, grimacing as some of the gorier deaths came back to haunt her.

"How does that even work?" Roman asked.

"As I said, realities are bleeding over into one another, hunters attached to the dream are unstuck for lack of a better word. They can die over and over and over again because the 'real' world is essentially nothing more than a dream to them. They die and reawaken to fight again." Blank explained.

**Jaune trudged down the steps back to Oedon Chapel. Stopping at the entrance, he stared up at the upper levels of the building and could just barely make out the presence of something invisible hanging there.**

**Steeling himself for the incoming agony, Jaune stood still as a glowing vortex appeared and sucked him in. An invisible force wrapped around him and raised him into the air, bringing him up to the 'face' of the amygdala that held him.**

**Incomprehensible alien knowledge was forced into his mind and Jaune started screaming as it felt like his brain was turning to mush inside his skull. He blacked out when the pain got too intense and the last thing he felt was the 'fingers' squeezing tighter.**

"**Curse the fiends, their children too. And their children, forever, true." The words of a prayer crying out for justice burned in his mind just before everything faded.**

"Was that the curse?" Blake asked.

"It is part of the prayer that led to it, uttered by the victims of the healing church many transgressions." Blank answered.

**A cold cobblestone floor greeted him as he finally came to. A small groan forced its way out as the pounding headache threatened to undo his efforts to stand. 'Fucking hell, it's just like getting drawn into the lecture hall again, and I still have to kill that bloody spider.'**

**Shaking away the cobwebs, Jaune looked around and was surprised to find himself in a slightly altered version of the chapel. When he exited the building, his headache spiked again as he tried to make sense of the world around him.**

**It was still clearly Yharnam but twisted completely, as though someone had tried recreating the city from memory and filled in the gaps by folding the landscape in on itself. The sky itself was a riot of colours and the 'sun' if that was what it was, was just plain awry.**

**His ears picked up the distant sounds of battle and the thick stench of blood was omnipresent. Jaune's face morphed into a frown as he slugged himself in the cheek to push aside the overpowering bloodlust this place was bringing out.**

**As he picked his way across the treacherous terrain, Jaune could make out hunters fighting beasts in the distance. There was a certain beastly fervour to their movements that made him shoot down the idea that they might be friendly.**

**The sound of frenzied barking tipped him off to the ambush of several hunting dogs. Jaune quickstepped backwards as the bloody mongrels landed in front of him, fangs bared and drool leaking in copious amounts. Blank white eyes signified that they were already tainted by the scourge of the beast as well.**

**Shooting the closest dog in the head with his pistol, Jaune drew the great sword on his back and used its overwhelming mass to crush the other dogs in a single swing. As the corpses fell back, an angry cry went up and the dogs' owner leapt down to face Jaune as well.**

**A quick glance at the twin glowing red orbs behind his veil told Jaune everything he needed to know. Attacking with a saif that functioned in a similar manner to the saw cleaver, Jaune parried the man with a well-placed Evelyn shot and staggered him. **

**Jabbing his hand into the corrupted hunter's stomach, Jaune fired off a burst of blood magic and ripped his arm free, causing the body to explode in a shower of blood and gore. As the pitiful remains of the corpse fell, they shimmered and disappeared, an itch at the back of Jaune's mind told him the hunter was already reforming elsewhere.**

"Is everything I do going to be that disgusting?" Jaune asked once he was able to look up from his bucket again.

"Don't worry, there are others with far more devastating moves, just wait." Blank answered, getting Jaune to stare at him.

"Not remotely what I wanted to hear."

"What is this place anyway? Yharnam was twisted, but this version is even more so." Ren asked.

"It's essentially hell. A never-ending nightmare that all hunters who lose themselves to the bloodlust find themselves trapped in after death. While there are several in this place who intruded without 'dying' such as your friend, nearly everyone here is lost. They fight, they die, they rise again to continue the cycle without end or satisfaction. A simple curse really, if killing is all you want to do, then it's all you will do, forever." Blank answered.

"Well, that's not so bad, kill whoever, whatever you want and you can't even be killed permanently in exchange, a guy could get used to that kind of life." Mercury chuckled.

"Did I mention that you can't ever rest with the curse driving you forwards? If the curse has taken hold completely, you can't stop either, and you most definitely feel the pain of being killed. Some of these hunters have been trapped for decades, imagine that, dying _just_ once every day by being eaten alive for the rest of eternity." Blank's words got Mercury to shut up instantly.

"That's an ironic hell if I ever heard of one, talk about be careful what you wish for huh." Roman muttered under his breath.

**Fighting through the narrow streets of the nightmare, Jaune found himself inspecting the weapons and armour of the insane hunters he had to kill. They were old, nothing like the arms and armour he got from the workshop, even Cainhurst's lost weapons were newer. **

**Ducking under a massive whip cleaver, bludgeon, thing, Jaune could easily see the similarities between the weapon and his own threaded cane. The mechanism in it was cruder, less refined but easily recognizable as a predecessor to his own weapons.**

**Not exactly liking the implications of that, Jaune shot the hunter in the head, the bullet glancing off his head protection but stunning the man. Kicking his foe in the chest, Jaune sent him tumbling off the roof they were fighting on and into a horde of beasts that immediately started tearing into their new prey.**

**Distaste in his mouth, Jaune shook his head and continued forwards, not sticking around for the gruesome display. The sound of screaming eventually died away as Jaune pushed away the small tinge of guilt that ate at him, if he could end the nightmare, perhaps all of this would fade away as well.**

**Fighting his way past more beasts, crazed hunters and a giant with a magic axe, Jaune stepped into the main cathedral. He froze mid step when he noticed a giant flaming cleric beast just lying on the altar at the very end.**

**Edging forwards carefully, the beast didn't react, just remaining draped over the furniture. A single pendant was hanging from one of its claws. The same intuition that guided Jaune throughout the hunt kicked in again, screaming at him that the pendant was important.**

**Slowly closing the distance, Jaune took a deep breath before swiping the pendant and backing off. The cleric beast didn't react in the slightest and he breathed a sigh of relief.**

"What… is that?" Ozpin asked as he stared at the creature, in his accursed life, he'd seen a lot of things, but nothing quite like the cleric beast.

"That is what's left of this universe's Lionheart." Blank answered.

"What? How? Why?" Qrow sputtered out.

"Self-inflicted mostly, even without the curse, this was always how he would have ended up with his pursuit of power and reckless usage of the old blood." Blank explained.

"The old blood? What is it anyways?" Cinder asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Blood of the gods essentially. Using it grants someone great power, almost all the inhuman feats you've seen so far can be attributed to it in one way or another. Eventually though, usage of it leads to the user becoming a literal monster, and members of the church become the worst of them. If you're curious about where your destiny is leading you, look no further than that."

Mercury's laugh transitioned into a choked cough when Cinder glared at him. Once her underling was sufficiently cowed, she turned back to Blank. "Explain."

"All the magic in this world won't change your greatest weakness, that you're human. Anything good enough to kill a human will work on you. The more power you want to hold, the more of your humanity you'll have to give up, and sooner or later, you won't even look like one anymore. You can only replace so much of yourself with Grimm parts before you're nothing more than a Grimm yourself." Blank said.

**Jaune's boots trudged through a literal river of blood as he made a mad dash for cover. The sound of gunshots ringing out constantly as hunters on the bridge above him continuously fired on him with their rifles. Modified lances serving as bullets caused dirt and blood to spray in the air when they missed their mark.**

**Rushing up the stairs, Jaune began cleaving through the ranks with his blood fuelled katana. Hacking his enemies to pieces with precise slashes, Jaune left the corpses to fade away while he caught his breath.**

**Intuition picking up again that the bridge did not lead where he wanted to go, he nonetheless pressed on to see if it held anything of value. To his surprise, it lead back to the twisted version of Oedon Chapel and the first sane hunter aside from himself in this nightmare.**

"**You're a hunter with your sanity aren't you?** **Must've taken a wrong turn then, eh? Well, we're more alike than you think." Tattered robes and a blindfold hid much of his flesh but Jaune could make out black hair and a flash of pink beneath the blindfold.**

"**This is the Hunter's Nightmare, where hunters end up when drunk with blood. You've seen them before. Aimless, wandering hunters, slavering like beasts. This is what the poor fools have to look forward to." Ren shook his head as he lamented the fates of the hunters who lost themselves to the nightmare.**

"Look Ren! It's you!" Nora pointed out and gripped her partner tightly.

"I can see that Nora." Ren acknowledged and turned to Blank for an explanation.

"You're another hunter trying to break the curse, but you're down to your last life and have been unable to make it past the final guardian." Blank said.

"Last… life?" Nora muttered slowly before squeezing Ren's arm even tighter.

"**So, don't be brash, turn back before it's too late. Unless, you've something of an interest in nightmares?" Ren turned to regard Jaune in full for the first time.**

"**Nightmares are fascinating. Especially when you're trying to unravel them." Jaune replied.**

"**Ahh, yes, I see… You sense a secret within the Nightmare, and cannot bear to leave it be. As if the spirit of Byrgenwerth lives on within you! Such inquisitive hunters will relish the Nightmare. But beware, secrets are secrets for a reason. And some do not wish to see them uncovered. ****Especially when the secrets are particularly unseemly…" Ren chuckled as Jaune's face soured instantly.**

"**Please don't associate me with Byrgenwerth. I'm nothing like those insane researchers." **

"**Aren't you? You're here after all, trying to end the nightmare eh? Admit it, even without that, you'd still be here, a seeker of truth just like them. And just like them, you'd do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of the mystery, wouldn't you?" Ren chuckled as Jaune's face blackened even further.**

**Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, Jaune refused to allow the hunter's words to get under his skin. "Whatever you say. So, if I'm here for the truth, are you willing to tell me?"**

"**No. Form your own opinion just as I did, all you need do is follow the river." Ren chuckled again when Jaune shot him a flat stare.**

"**Ye, thanks for telling me what I already know. Farewell." Jaune bowed sarcastically and left Ren behind, he needed to return to the hunter's dream to replenish his supplies and fix up his equipment, wasting time chatting with a stranger just meant less time before he joined the ranks of the damned.**

"Byrgenwerth? What's that?" Pyrrha asked.

"The original institution that spawned the healing church. Due to irreconcilable differences, a section of Byrgenwerth broke off to found their own organisation to focus on their own research. Eventually, that became the healing church and their 'effectiveness' drew more and more people to them, leaving the original seekers of knowledge behind to rot. Don't be mistaken though, they're just as bad in many areas." Blank said.

**When he returned to the nightmare fully restocked, Ren was gone to places unknown. Jaune huffed and readied his weapons. Leaving behind the sword great sword combo, he now held a rapier to go along with his katana.**

**Reiterpallasch and Evelyn in hand, Jaune started sprinting right out the gate and back to the river. The hunters he killed earlier had already reformed and were eager to take their vengeance. Ignoring them for the time being, he sprinted down the steps and back to the river, keeping close to the bridge and out of their line of fire.**

**Sprinting past a group of bloodlickers, massive overgrown ticks, Jaune shot one with the Evelyn before ducking out of sight. Enraged by the attack, the bloodlickers began moving in search of their attackers, easily noticing the still shooting hunters and proceeding to mob them.**

**With his path clear and his enemies too busy slaughtering one another to care about him, Jaune was free to continue following the river unmolested. Further along the river, he emerged into another section of the twisted city.**

"**Oh fucking hell, what is this?" Jaune took a step back in shock as the bloody rocks piled up near the buildings weren't rocks at all.**

**They were emaciated bodies. **

**Some of which were still alive and moving, hands in the air as though crying out for mercy.**

"By the gods, what are those things!?" Goodwitch said as her face paled.

"Oh did I forget to mention? The curse isn't very discriminating. If you die after using the old blood and happen to be associated with the hunters, there's a good chance you'll get drawn into the nightmare. If you can't fight, you just get killed over and over until that's all that's left of you, perpetual suffering." Blank said.

"How disgusting." Cinder's words summed up their thoughts, although, unlike the rest of the audience. The grisly sight just reinforced her desire for power, to never end up in such a situation.

**Giving the bodies a wide berth to avoid their grasping hands. It saved him from walking into an ambush. Frenzied barking came from the rabid dogs that couldn't wait for him to get closer alerted him to the presence of enemies. Weapons at the ready, Jaune got to work.**

**Cutting them all down with his rapier and gunning down the ones that lurked in the back with the pistol, Jaune blitzed the area and pressed forwards. The intoxicating smell of blood was starting to get to him despite his best efforts and the sooner he could be free of the river the happier he would be.**

**Running into a hunter wielding one of the threaded cane prototypes, there was a mechanical clack as the Reiterpallasch switched forms, the blade shrinking in length to reveal a gun barrel. Raising both guns, Jaune shot down the hunter before he could get in range to menace him.**

"See? A rapier can also be a gun, just lemme-" Ruby looked to Weiss, finally having calmed down enough.

"No. For the last time, you are not modifying Myrtenaster!" Weiss shot down Ruby's suggestion before she could even finish it.

"Oh come on, you're the only member of team RWBY who doesn't have a proper gun." Ruby pleaded.

"No. Besides, Jaune doesn't have a gun either and you don't see his team complaining." Weiss pointed out, getting Ruby to roll her eyes.

"He has an appreciation for the classics, you…"

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Weiss asked, crossing her arms when Ruby trailed off.

Qrow just shook his head at their bickering, of course it'd take weapons to get Ruby out of her shell, why was he even surprised at this point. At least it served as a distraction from all the nightmarish stuff on screen. "Kid's pretty good at fighting isn't he, how does he even know how to use so many different weapons anyway?"

"One of the uh _perks_ of being a hunter connected to the dream is that he has access to the knowledge of past hunters. If someone has used that weapon before, he has the same knowledge and part of their skill. Not enough to make him perfect but enough to give him a massive head start and allow him to figure out the rest on his own." Blank answered.

"That is both awesome and kinda creepy." Jaune said.

**Finally reaching the end of the blood river, Jaune looked around to find himself standing in what looked like a giant refuse pit. Bodies were piled everywhere and literally everything was coated in blood.**

"**Aah… ahh… please… help us… ah… an unsightly beast… a great terror looms… ahhh… Ironwood the accursed is coming!" One of the moving bodies cried out.**

**The sound of heavy footfalls reached Jaune's ear as one of the stacks of bodies was pushed over, a hideous creature resembling a horse stepped forth. Twisted, mishappen, abomination, all perfectly apt words to describe the monstrosity bearing down on Jaune. A battered white robe indicating allegiance to the church was the only thing indicating the creature was once a man, and not just a reanimated pile of corpses.**

**Despite having already run into his fair share of horrific creatures and slaughtered nearly all of them, Jaune still found himself taking a step back as the urge to hurl rose in him. The urge only worsened when the creature's second mouth attached to its neck opened, revealing rows upon rows of eyes instead of teeth.**

"**I take it back. I take it back! Fill their mouths with teeth for fuck's sake!" Jaune cursed, regretting every single time he wished for the scourge beasts to have less teeth in their maws.**

The sound of retching filled the theatre again as even some of the adults lost their stomachs at the sight. Even Cinder who spent years with Salem and had grown used to her more disturbing Grimm was unable to keep from throwing up.

"That's James!? What happened to him." Ozpin asked once he could trust himself to speak again.

"He fell to the curse too when the power he trusted led him astray. And this creature is a reflection of his life's choices. To combat the beasts born from reckless usage of the old blood, he advocated for the creation of larger, more powerful weapons for combat, drafted every willing individual into his army of hunters. When the curse took him, this form reflected that, larger and more powerful than nearly any beast to ever exist, and a body made up of even more bodies." Blank answered.

"How… very foul." Cinder spat out as she tried washing out the disgusting taste in her mouth with copious amounts of water.

"I thought you might want to see where your path is leaded. Is power promised to you by destiny? Yes. Should you be happy about that? Debatable."

"Power is my birth right." Cinder snarled.

"By all means continue, if you do survive you'll likely end up like dear old Ironwood in that universe. Your mistress has no need of weaklings, if you are found wanting, you'll either be tossed aside or she'll make absolutely sure you're worth her investment. You should know what I mean." Blank said before falling silent.

Cinder gulped when the ramifications of failing in her plan came to mind again. Salem was many things, tolerant of failure wasn't one of them. Especially not when she already failed to get the full maiden's powers once. If she failed to bring about the fall… no, she would not entertain that possibility, she'd come too far to fail at this juncture.

**An unearthly howl shook the room as the beast charged with blinding speed. The coppery taste of blood made itself known when he bit his tongue in his mad last-ditch effort to dodge out of the way.**

**Ironwood crashed into the wall with all the force of a freight train and Jaune could feel the ground rumble under his feet from the impact. The beast was unfazed by the crash and just roared when Jaune opened fire on it. **

**Limbs flailing in all directions as Ironwood took multiple swipes at Jaune, flinging blood and bodies every which way. It was all the hunter could do to keep one step ahead of the beast and avoid being caught up in the rampage.**

"**His hide's too thick, shit!" Jaune swore when the eye filled mouth opened up, a stream of high-pressure liquid shot out and nearly carved him in two. Dodging again as another limb came close to taking his head off, Jaune was stuck on the defensive, only able to get in a few shots before having to retreat again.**

**And just when Jaune thought it couldn't get any worse, Ironwood jumped. In defiance of gravity, the beast's misshapen limbs propelled it into the air, almost reaching the high ceiling above them. An unholy screech heralded its fall, right onto Jaune's position.**

**The hunter just closed his eyes and started sprinting full tilt, not even sparing the energy to swear as the behemoth fell back to earth. Ironwood landed with an earth-shaking thud and Jaune spun around at the last second as his instincts screamed at him to block.**

"**GRAH!" Bringing his arms up into a cross to ward off the strike, One of Ironwood's legs struck him dead centre, breaking his arms and sending him hurtling into the far wall.**

**A spiderweb of cracks extended out from where he impacted and Jaune peeled himself off the wall with great effort. Landing on his feet woozily, his vision was blurry from the damage taken but he could make out Ironwood's massive bulk rushing towards him in the form of a hazy shadow.**

**Throwing himself to the side, a sharp gasp of pain left him as he landed on his still healing broken arms and worsened the damage to his probably broken ribs. Once he had motion in his arms again, Jaune whipped out a blood vial and quickly injected it into himself, gasping involuntarily when the agony suddenly lifted.**

**Getting back to his feet, he had to throw himself to the side again when Ironwood fired another stream of liquid from his mouth, scoring a long line along the ground Jaune as just standing on.**

"Jaune-Jaune's getting his butt kicked." Nora stated the obvious as she glared at the screen.

"I'm just glad we don't have to fight anything like that. Not sure my punches will do anything to it… we uh… don't have to right?" Yang looked to Blank for confirmation.

"A beast like Ironwood the Accursed? No, you don't. But that isn't to say all your fights will be smooth sailing though, there are plenty of strong Grimm out there." Blank answered.

Jaune tuned out the muttering from the audience as he fought down his revulsion to analyse the battle, relying on his lessons from Beacon to help him. 'Right, team leaders can't panic, have to analyse situation and make a plan, the team is counting on you. Nothing's invincible, if standard tactics aren't working, think outside the box…'

His eyes flickered rapidly between the bestial Ironwood and his rapidly dodging counterpart, trying to find a method that could lead to a victory.

"Jaune?" Pyrrha asked when she noticed a look of total concentration slipping onto Jaune's face.

"I think I've got it, Ironwood is too fast and too tough to be fought head on. With that many limbs and that spit attack, he's lethal at every range. But nearly all of his attacks have the same thing in common, they rely on the back legs as a launching point or a pivot." Jaune's eye's brightened as the sounded out his ideas, his excitement bringing a smile to Pyrrha's own face.

"That means, the best strategy to use against him is…"

"**Go for the back legs huh?" Jaune muttered as he sidestepped another charging, getting better at noticing the tells. This time, instead of backing off to put distance between them, Jaune rushed forwards and started slashing at Ironwood's legs with the Chikage.**

**His bloody katana cut long gashes along Ironwood's unarmoured limb and the toxic blood started eating away at the wounds. Ironwood roared in anger at the sudden assault to his hindquarters and Jaune backed off when an oversized limb swiped in to try and crush him.**

**Sheathing his katana, Jaune pulled out the Reiterpallasch in gun mode and dual wielded it with the Evelyn. When Ironwood's flailing limbs missed him, Jaune sidestepped repeated to get around to the abomination's side.**

**When he had a clear shot, he started pumping bullet after bullet into the wounded leg, aiming for the open wounds he left on Ironwood. Under heavy fire from two guns and already weakened earlier, Ironwood's leg gave out on him, sending the titan crashing to the floor in a heap.**

**Dashing back around to the front, Jaune started stabbing away at Ironwood's head before he could rise again and counterattack. When he thought he dealt enough damage to make punching through a possibility, Jaune formed a wedge with his fingers and stabbed forwards, plunging his arm into Ironwood's deformed skull.**

**Dredging up his Vileblood abilities, Jaune fired wave after wave of blood magic into his opponent, inflicting as much damage as he could by causing multiple blood explosions within the body.**

**As testament to Ironwood's sheer tenacity, not even that was enough to kill the beast. It just sent it into a mindless rage and it started flailing about, trying to shake Jaune off. The hunter managed to hold on for a few seconds more before he was forced to retreat, lest his arm get torn off by the maddened beast.**

"Gah! So close!" Nora squeezed down hard on Ren's arm, and the boy in green winced in pain. Using his free hand, Ren shoved an untouched bucket of popcorn into Nora's hands, giving her that to hug instead while he tried to get the blood circulating back to his numb arm.

"Tch, well at least it just goes to show a mindless beast won't be able to beat a human." Roman said.

"Correct." Was Blank's simple reply.

"Why… does that answer not fill me with confidence?" Blake asked and her sense of unease only worsened when Blank failed to respond.

**Ironwood slumped over once Jaune was a safe distance away. a section of his white robes shifted and the hilt of a giant sword slipped out, coming into his line of sight. Unbidden, the blade began glowing green, illuminating Ironwood's bestial face with its radiance.**

**Slowly, his eyes were drawn to the sword, and the deformed head seemed to shift, some of the damage Jaune inflicted healing away as the face started to resemble its original human appearance.**

"**Aah… you were at my side all along." Ironwood's voice spoke as one of his pure white eyes shifted back to something more human.**

"**No. Way. Is… is he pulling himself back from beasthood!?" Jaune could only stare in disbelief as the transformed former hunter did the impossible.**

"**My true mentor." Ironwood rose onto his hind legs, standing tall in a bastardisation of his human combat stance, the glowing sword in hand.**

"**My guiding moonlight."**

**Before any attempt to try an communicate could be made, Ironwood had already closed the distance between them with his speed and swung the Holy Moonlight Sword. The magic blade coupled with Ironwood's freakish strength meant Jaune had no chance of dodging the lightning fast attack.**

"**GRAHGH!" Caught unaware, he took the blade to the chest and was sent flying backwards. Crashing to the floor in a heap, his vision swam as precious lifeblood leaked from the near fatal wound.**

**Looking up at Ironwood, he noticed the sword held high in the air, glowing with unparalleled power as energy swirled around it. Jaune's face fell and he prepared for the inevitable.**

"**Fuck."**

**Ironwood brought the blade down and a tidal wave of emerald magic surged towards the fallen Jaune, engulfing him in it and disintegrating him instantly, not even ashes left to mark his passing.**

"B-but he was getting his sanity back! Why would he attack again!?" Ruby asked, not expecting things to go in such a manner.

"He's not completely back, even now he relies on his blade's magic for 'guidance' even though it's what set him on the path to damnation in the first place. There's some irony to be had in the fact that the weapon that led to him becoming a beast also led to him regaining some of his humanity." Blank answered.

"So, how is he supposed to win now? The good general is a freaking monster and has a magic sword with fuck you power." Roman spat out.

"Attrition." Blank replied.

"Attrition?" Ozpin prodded for more information.

"The thing about fighting an opponent who can continuously come back from the dead and is hell bent on destroying you is that sooner or later, they'll learn everything they need and succeed. But you already knew that."

**Once the darkness receded and Jaune returned to life, he found himself in one of the many buildings inside the nightmare. Growling in frustration at his untimely demise, he got back to his feet and dusted himself off.**

"**Fine, the hard way it is then." Checking he still had a full supply of Molotov cocktails at his disposal, Jaune marched out the doors and headed straight for Ironwood's lair.**

**Walking through the entrance, an emerald wave forced him to dodge immediately as Ironwood went on the offensive. Double guns in hand, the hunter started shooting for Ironwood's head whenever the opportunity presented itself.**

**Pelting the beast with quicksilver bullets and the occasional flaming bottle, he began to chip away at Ironwood's absurd defences, the damage starting to add up and he'd eventually bring the former legend down.**

**Jaune's new tactics were far from perfect though. His next death occurred when Ironwood stabbed his sword into the ground while Jaune was trying to circle around to get out of his reach. A circle of power formed around Ironwood and magic blasted upwards, killing Jaune instantly again.**

**Moments later, the darkness was gone and Jaune was back alive in the nightmare. Dusting himself off again, Jaune readied his weapons and made his way back to the fight, he had infinite lives to lose after all, Ironwood would fall to him eventually, and something told him that Ironwood wouldn't be coming back in this bestial form the next time he reformed, if he reformed.**

"He's determined if nothing else, I'll give him that." Cinder muttered as she watched Jaune die repeatedly against Ironwood. Every time he fell, he rose again and switched up his tactics and weapons, once even lugging in a cannon to blast the behemoth with, slowly making progress in his quest to kill Ironwood.

"How the hell can he do this? Doesn't he feel pain?" Mercury asked when Jaune got bisected by Ironwood's sword, remaining alive and conscious long enough for the monster to stomp him to death underfoot.

"Oh he feels pain alright, he's just able to push it aside and he's used to it at this point, dying hundreds of times numbs you to the experience after a while. Giving up leads to him turning and becoming just as damned as everyone else trapped in the nightmare." Blank answered.

**After dozens of resurrections, Jaune finally found his groove. Weaving through all incoming attacks, Jaune kept out of reach and managed to saw through one of Ironwood's legs with the saw cleaver, bringing the titan down to his knees.**

**Stabbing a fist into Ironwood's exposed chest, Jaune fired off his blood magic again before ripping free, a torrent of blood gushed out as he shredded much of the internal organs inside.**

**And the abomination toppled over with a groan, falling to the ground with a thunderous crash. Slowly, the main body decayed into nothingness, leaving behind only a fetid stench and Ironwood's head.**

"**Ahh… good hunter of the church, have you seen the light? Are my church hunters the honourable Spartans I hoped they would be?" Ironwood's eyes opened and the severed head started speaking once Jaune drew close.**

**The hunter paused mid-step as he recalled the numerous insane hunters he already had to put down and the fact that this entire debacle was a thing because the church hunters were anything but.**

**Still, the hope in Ironwood's eyes wasn't something Jaune could ignore despite everything, he just didn't have it in himself to crush the man's final hope with the truth. So he lied.**

"**Yes, they were." He answered curtly.**

"**Ah, good...that is a relief. To know I did not suffer such denigration for nothing. Thank you kindly. Now I may sleep in peace. Even in this darkest of nights, I see...the moonlight..." Ironwood trailed off and the head stopped moving, slowly decaying away as well, leaving behind only a smaller version of the Holy Moonlight Sword in its deactivated state on the ground.**

"**Oh, he's well and truly gone, now. A tragic figure. But he will shame himself no longer. He died with his ideals untarnished. He was a true hero, and earnt that much, at least. Ironwood's guiding Light is yours now. The blinding thread, that lead, and mislead, that consummate hero. The poor brute." Jaune was distracted from his analysis of the sword when Ren came up behind him.**

"**You were watching!? Couldn't you have helped!? Jaune glared at his fellow hunter in anger, with just one more person helping, the number of required deaths could have easily been halved at least.**

"**I'm just a watcher now, only one life left I'm afraid. Combat is no longer my strong suit. I thank thee for freeing Ironwood from his curse. Perhaps at the end of this, my old friends can finally find peace." Ren said. **

"**Old… friend? How long have you been here?" Jaune asked in a whisper, from the bits and pieces of knowledge Ozpin let slip and some of the notes he found in the waking world. Ironwood belonged to the first generation of hunters in Yharnam, their time passed decades ago, for Ren to be one of their contemporaries…**

"**Long enough." Ren replied with a mirthless chuckle.**

**"Do you know why the Hunters are drawn to this Nightmare? Because it sprouted from their very misdeeds. Things that some would rather keep secret. A pitiful tale of petty arrogance, really.**

**High time someone exposed the whole charade." Ren pointed to a doorway hidden in the back, a section of the wall hiding it had fallen away with Ironwood's defeat.**

**"Now, now, go on ahead. You seek nightmares, and the secrets within, do you not? You're getting closer to the truth. Don't stop now." Ren knelt down to pay his respects to the fallen, not reacting when Jaune sighed and continued on his path forwards.**

"Well at least he'll be remembered as a hero?" Qrow offered quietly.

"Hopefully he's in a better place now." Ozpin sighed out.

"Oh, he's probably still suffering in the nightmare as he deserves to." Cinder callously called out, getting the audience to glare at her.

"Can you just shut up and off yourself? You're an eyesore." Qrow spat out.

"What's the matter? You heard what they said, he brought it on himself. What, so quick to condemn me but so eager to brush aside the misdeeds of your own? How very hypocritical of you."

**Advancing deeper into the structure, Jaune found himself in a dungeon and immediately beset by enemies lying in wait. After killing everything in his path, Jaune took a side passage down leading to a lower cell. Staring through the bars, he found a hunter seated against the wall at the very end, ringing a silent bell continuously.**

"**Are you a hunter? Well, that's very odd. Do you hear the toll of the bell?" Cardin asked when he noticed Jaune at the door.**

"**I hear nothing." Jaune answered honestly.**

"**Very well. The beasts you seek will not be found here. Go back to your hunt, and if you have the chance, put this night behind you. Places better left untouched, secrets better left alone...only a fool would so brazenly roam..." Cardin said with a laugh and it immediately gave Jaune a bad vibe.**

"**I'll keep your words in mind." Turning on his heel, Jaune left the locked cell behind to head upstairs.**

"Cardin, what's he doing there?" Nora narrowed her eyes at the screen, fingers itching for a missing weapon.

"He's an assassin of the church, there to prevent secrets from leaking out." Blank answered.

"Oh, so we're going to fight then?" Jaune stated.

"Eventually."

**Emerging into a medical ward, Jaune noted grimly that the corpses on the beds clearly did not die painlessly. A woman in a vicar's uniform was praying at the altar at the end, as Jaune approached, his instincts warned him of an incoming threat and he quickstepped to the side.**

**A bullet passed right by his head as he dodged out of the way, a second church hunter garbed in black started attacking him. And then the vicar joined in.**

**Fighting them both off at the same time proved to be a challenge, but after Ironwood, they were practically a cakewalk. Burying the saw blades of his cleaver into the head of the hunter in black, Jaune ripped the weapon free and nearly split her head in two.**

**As the corpse started disintegrating, he dodged away from the magic projectiles fired his way while keeping out of range of the vicar's whip. For her in particular, Jaune just emptied his remaining supply of bullets, forcing her into a corner and then filling her with holes and leaving her to die where she lay.**

**With all threats taken care of, Jaune approached the altar and examined it. There was a stone statue of a skeleton on it and its skull was hollow. A closer look revealed an opening that was a perfect fit for the pendant he retrieved earlier.**

**Carefully slotting it home, there was a click as a switch activated. The platform rumbled as ancient machinery came to life and it started to ascend, revealing itself as an elevator. When it finally came to a stop, Jaune was surprised to find Ren leaning against a wall waiting for him.**

"**How did you-"**

"**I've my ways.** **Not a pretty sight, is it?" Ren pointed into the room beyond, Jaune could make out deformed individuals in patient outfits milling around. Skinnier than should be healthy, bloated lumps of flesh replaced their heads yet they were still able to find their way around without crashing into things.**

"**The true face of the blood-worshipping, beast-purging Healing Church. But that's not all. You seek the secrets field by the Nightmare, do you not? Then here's what you must do. Climb the Astral Clocktower, and kill Weiss, she hides the real secret to this damnable nightmare." Ren instructed and chuckled before falling silent, only urging Jaune to hurry forwards when probed.**

"I'm sorry, kill who!?" Weiss shot up out of her seat at the unexpected words.

"Wait, isn't Weiss inside the hunter's dream with the workshop where the headmaster is? What do you mean kill Weiss at the top of the clocktower?" Jaune was just as confused.

"Umm, Blank did say the Weiss in the workshop is a copy of the original and the real one was elsewhere, I assume the real one is here then?" Pyrrha opined.

"Indeed, the true Weiss resides at the top of the tower. Once one of the church's most loyal hunters, she grew disillusioned with the leadership after witnessing the lengths they're willing to go to for 'progress'." Blank explained.

"But if Weiss-cream is against the church, shouldn't they be on the same side? Why would Jaune need to kill her?" Yang asked.

"She guards the greatest secret of the healing church from everyone equally in an effort to prevent anyone else from trying to abuse it and repeat the tragedy of the past. Negotiation is impossible since she doesn't believe anyone could resist the lure of such power, not to mention once the seal is broken, anyone else can simply go on through, including agents of the church." Blank said.

"That's just great, guess I'm joining the watch myself die club." Weiss threw her hands in the air and sat down frustrated.

"Look on the bright side Weiss, it can't possibly be worse than mine." Ruby said morbidly.

Blank just coughed sheepishly in the back.

**Fighting through the research halls of the clocktower was a frustrating experience and progress grinded almost to a halt. The numerous patients wondering the floors were more akin to beasts than humans, despite their frail forms, the strength and speed packed in their frames were beyond anything a normal human should have been capable off.**

"**More human experimentation… no this must have been the original research hall after the church split from Byrgenwerth. Pulled into the nightmare or a recreation? What the hell were they doing here?" Jaune poured over some notes he found lying on a table while incensed patients tried breaking down the door he locked and barricaded behind him. **

**When the glass windows shattered, Jaune's left arm snapped up with Evelyn in hand, two shots later and several squeals could be heard as the mortally wounded patients fell to the ground. Returning his attention to the notes on the table, the hunter became more and more disturbed with every document he read through.**

"**Communion with the great ones by creation of artificial ones? Harvesting brains? Transformation into full kin… oh…" Jaune staggered back, temporarily overwhelmed by the information he just absorbed.**

'**These notes are old, decades old, no updates since… small mercies… but what about the church in the waking world? What are they hiding in the upper levels of Cathedral Ward?' Jaune was sickened to the core as he glared at the pile of notes, wishing they would just catch fire and burn to ashes along with everything in this accursed place.**

**A crash signified the door being broken down at last by the horde on the other end. Jaune's pistol snapped up as he gunned down the charging patients, falling back as he did to an elevator at the end of the room.**

**Stepping aboard, he allowed the contraption to take him up further, watching as several of the test subjects fell into the empty elevator shaft in their eagerness to tear him limb from limb. **

"**Poor bastards." He shook his head in pity, according to some notes he found earlier, most of the patients in this place had come to the church for the miracle of blood healing. Instead they were kidnapped and forcibly experimented on until they lost their minds. There was nothing he could do for them now.**

"How could they do that? Couldn't anyone stop them? Didn't anyone try?" Blake asked, unable to comprehend the scale of the abuses committed. Faunus in the SDC mines lived like kings in comparison to these tortured souls.

"The healing church is one of the most powerful entities in that world, at least prior to the current hunt. Having a miracle cure for all illnesses that also serves to increase a person's base stats means a nigh infinite amount of funds and backers willing to turn a blind eye to all ethical conundrums. Most who tried either got swayed with money or the promise of godhood, those that didn't were silenced by those who did." Blank said.

**A loud rumble filled the entire research hall as Jaune pulled the lever to shift the main staircase in the centre. He watched it slowly turn until it was connected to the double doors leading out of the hellhole.**

**Confident that whoever this Weiss person was awaited him on the other side of them. Jaune knelt amidst the pile of corpses he created and focused inwards, allowing his connection to the dream to draw him home.**

**Opening his eyes again, he was back in the hunter's dream. Stopping by the doll to exchange his blood echoes for greater strength, he marched up the steps to the workshop in search of Ozpin, the research notes from the nightmare clutched tightly in hand.**

"**Back already? How fares the hunt?" Ozpin greeted one Jaune stormed in.**

"**You tell me." Jaune growled out as he shoved the papers in Ozpin's face. The old hunter's face fell as he read through the papers.**

"**So. What are you going to do now that you know?"**

"**Go deeper into the nightmare and end it at the source. This… is insane what you've all done. And something tells me this isn't even the worst of it is it? I can see how someone would hate you all enough to curse everyone even remotely related to you to eternal damnation. What, nothing to say in your defence?" Jaune's tone was full of venom as he glared at the old man.**

"**When we started out, we had the best of intentions, everything we did, we did to advance humanity. We found the Pthumeru ruins, an ancient civilisation of super humans who were closer to the gods than anything before… or since. We found that we weren't alone in the universe, and that we humans were so hopelessly insignificant that we were beneath notice to beings who could erase us all just by thinking about it. We were afraid, and so we sought a way to elevate humanity, to remove that threat, and we made contact with sympathetic great ones who were willing to help us try to ascend." Ozpin said in a tired voice.**

"**Yeah well, you know what they say about good intentions and the road to hell. When the hell did you start experimenting on the unwilling? How could you even justify that!?"**

"**To safeguard humanity's continued existence, no sacrifice is too great. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few… that was what we believed at the time." Ozpin replied.**

'Haah… some things I can never get away from.' Ozpin rubbed his temples to ease his building migraine. Once upon a time he believed that too in his fight against Salem, multiple lifetimes of following that philosophy and having it lead him nowhere except into unnecessary conflicts with former allies changed his opinion on it.

It was one of the points he always ended up arguing with general Ironwood over. James was in a sense a reflection of his past, too willing to do whatever it took to complete the mission no matter the cost elsewhere.

The problem with trying to sacrifice others for your own goals was that the sacrifices tended to object to the plan, more often than not through judicious applications of violence.

"**Despite our efforts, everything went wrong in the end. Perhaps we could have done things differently, but what's done is done. It's too late now." Ozpin sighed heavily as Jaune shook his head.**

"**Maybe for you, but I don't intend to give up here. I will break the curse or turn while trying, it's the only path left to me thanks to all of you. Who is Weiss anyway?" Jaune asked as he turned to the worktable and switched out his equipment again in preparation for another hunter to hunter battle.**

"**Weiss?" Ozpin's eyes widened at the sound of her name.**

"**Ah, that's a name I haven't heard in a long time. She was my best student once, then one day she tired of the church's misdeeds and took her own life. The doll was crafted in her image, a way to remember the student I failed."**

"I killed myself? But Ren said… oh, I'm trapped in the nightmare too aren't I? I'm… not a monster like general Ironwood… am I?" Weiss asked in a small voice as Ruby scooted over to give her partner a tight hug.

"No you're not. You resisted the curse by effectively sleeping through much of it, putting yourself into a coma so you couldn't succumb, only waking when an intruder arrives." Blank answered.

"**Not quite dead yet. She's in the nightmare too, guarding something evidently." Jaune said.**

"**I… see… then I presume you're going to lay her to rest?" Ozpin said, a conflicted expression on his face.**

"**If I must. If she's anything like Ironwood, then death is mercy. What was it you said, freedom from a doomed existence?"**

"**Haaa… you will do what you must. You are a hunter after all." Ozpin sighed and closed his eyes.**

"**Yes. I am." Jaune confirmed as he buckled the Chikage and Reiterpallasch to his waist and refilled his supply of blood vials and bullets. Throwing out one last curse at the situation they were stuck in, Jaune stormed off and knelt before the headstone that would lead him back to the nightmare.**

**Returning to the research hall, Jaune fought his way past the numerous victims of the healing church's vile experiments until he stood before the doors barring his way forwards. Taking a deep breath, he pushed them open and stepped through.**

**Finding himself standing in the middle of a lumenflower garden, the sunflower like plants waved gently in the breeze as the rest of the twisted version of Yharnam could be seen from his vantage point. A single giant tree covered in lumenflowers stood at the centre of it all providing shade. It was a surprisingly peaceful image considering everything the nightmare had thrown his way thus far.**

**It didn't last.**

**The ground cracked open as blue limbs punched through the surface and pulled the rest of the body attached to them up. Looking like larger even more deformed versions of the clocktower patients, Jaune recognized them from several of the research notes.**

"**The living failures huh, the first attempt at creating celestial emissaries that ultimately resulted in failure." Jaune muttered as the living failures did as expected and started attacking him.**

**Dodging arcane blasts sent his way, Jaune drew his katana and started hacking away at them. The failures were a lot tougher to kill than the patients but hit them enough times and they went down anyways.**

**Ducking under flailing limbs that promised multiple shattered bones should a hit connect, the hunter fired his Evelyn to stun his enemy and blew it to hell with his own blood magic. As the creature's remains rained back to earth, the sky darkened and Jaune sprinted for cover behind the tree.**

**All around the garden, the blue humanoids were raising their arms to the sky in prayer. Space itself warped in reaction to them and a vision of the cosmos formed in thin air. Blue meteors poured out of the gap in space time and crashed harmlessly against the tree in the centre, the thing shaking under the assault but holding firm.**

**While the barrage was going on, Jaune wasn't standing still. Taking pot shots at the stationary targets, he downed several of them before they started to move again. "They're not hard to knock down, but there's just so many of them!"**

**Continuing to fight on against the still emerging monsters, slowly he whittled away at their numbers until only one remained. No more poured out of the ground and Jaune was free to cut it down with his katana, having long exhausted his bullets against the sheer volume of enemies.**

**As the beast fell over and started disintegrating, Jaune surveyed the once beautiful garden. Everything in it had been ruined, the flowers that hadn't been uprooted in the living failures emergence had been trampled into oblivion, the giant tree that probably once provided comfort to the damned was barely standing, much of it blown to splinters.**

**He could only sigh at the unnecessary destruction brought about by the church's actions and offered a small prayer for all the innocent souls caught up in this mess.**

"It's kind of tragic really. How did things get to such a state? Did no one at all think that their plans weren't working?" Summer commented.

"I'm sure they noticed, problem with corrupt power mad assholes is that when they notice things aren't going their way, they have a habit of doubling down instead, like that will make things any better." Roman said and stared pointedly at Cinder's group.

Neo typed several things into her scroll and showed it to Roman, the master thief just shook his head.

"No, stabbing her in her sleep when we get back is too risky. With her magical bullshit she might survive somehow, we've still got dust in the warehouses right?" Roman asked in a conspiratorial whisper, a grin spread across his face when Neo nodded.

"Good, fire bitch had us steal all that dust and didn't even have the professional courtesy to use it all at Mount Glenn. She's definitely getting her memory wiped, just call her out for a meeting about future plans or something and explode all the dust. Give Cinder and her gruesome twosome a proper firework send off to hell." Roman said and Neo gave an eager thumbs up.

"What are you two whispering about?" Qrow glanced over to the two of them when he noticed their hush hush conversations.

"Nothing much, just some plans for a little fireworks display to celebrate our turning over a new leaf when we get back." Roman said, the perfect picture of innocence, getting Qrow to stare at them blankly and shake his head.

**Moving forwards, Jaune opened the doors at the other end of the lumenflower garden. A large chamber awaited him on the other side, at the far end stood a giant clock face with indecipherable markings in place of numbers.**

**Right in front of it sat a fresh corpse in a chair. With head bowed and covered by an old hat, Jaune couldn't make out anything about the corpse save that it had white hair. A bloody stab wound in the abdomen left no doubt as to the cause of death.**

"**Okay, was not expecting this." Jaune advanced cautiously with weapons at the ready, waiting for whoever killed the hunter to leap out and menace him. Reaching the corpse unchallenged, he reached out with one hand to investigate it.**

**He was caught off guard when the corpse moved and grabbed his outstretched limb with an iron grip and pulled him close. The familiar face of the doll greeted him when the 'corpse' raised her head to look him in the eye.**

"**A corpse… should be left well alone." Weiss intoned before releasing Jaune's hand, allowing the hunter to back off slowly.**

"**Oh, I know very well. How the secrets beckon so sweetly. Only an honest death will cure you now. Liberate you, from your wild curiosity." She rose from her seat and drew her weapon, a twin blade that split into a saber and dagger. Splitting the Rakuyo into its components, Weiss assumed and combat stance as Jaune did the same.**

"**So, you're Weiss then. I'm here to end the nightmare, not perpetuate it, let me pass." Jaune said in a last-ditch attempt to avoid conflict.**

"**How droll." Weiss shook her head and started attacking immediately, silver glinted in the light as their weapons clashed. The two hunters separated with rapid quicksteps and fired their pistols at the same time.**

**Neither found their mark. Jaune's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of another Evelyn in Weiss hands. "You… that gun!"**

"**A relic from my past." Weiss said and fired again before switching back to her blades.**

"Whoo boy, ice queen junior is taking after ice queen senior here eh?" Qrow commented, seeing some similarities between Winter's fighting style and the Weiss on screen.

Weiss herself was busy taking down notes for future self-improvement. Her rapier was fine for now but having more options in the future never hurt anyone, especially not when it was close to her sister's.

**Jabbing a blood vial into his side to heal up a nasty gash across his eye, Jaune parried the incoming blows with his rapier, sneaking in shots from the two guns in hand as he forced Weiss to back off. In both strength and experience, Weiss clearly outclassed him, the sole advantage he had in the fight was that he had blood vials to heal with while Weiss had nothing.**

**Sparks flared as his bullets were struck out of the sky by Weiss's twin blades and Ozpin's former start pupil closed in again, unwilling to give Jaune the time to catch his breath.**

**The cycle of clashing and disengaging continued until Jaune got in a lucky hit with Reiterpallasch and stunned Weiss. Dashing in, he stabbed her in the chest with his hand and activated his blood magic, dealing heavy damage and sending Weiss tumbling back with a spray of blood.**

"That's… messy." Yang said with distaste as her on screen friends continued trying to murder one another.

"I wish we didn't have to fight like that. I thought we were supposed to be on the same side." Jaune groused.

"Conflicts can happen even when everyone has a common goal, trust me on that Mr Arc." Ozpin said as he sipped his coffee.

"**So you are a Vileblood after all. Pity." Weiss said as she got back to her feet, the wound inflicted by Jaune already ceasing to bleed.**

"**And what about it?" Jaune asked, sensing that Weiss was about to kick things to a new level and keeping his distance until he had a better gauge of what she was about to do.**

"**You have a long way to go." Weiss said as she stabbed both saber and dagger into her stomach, burying them all the way up to the hilt and hunching over in pain.**

"Okay? Last I checked you stab your opponents to kill them, not yourself." Mercury said, weirded out by what he was seeing.

"Not entirely so, there are people who can kill others by stabbing themselves." Blank said, thinking of homicidally insane, evil god worshipping ninjas.

"In any case, this is blood magic, and blood magic usually involves blood sacrifice."

**With a cry, Weiss ripped the weapons free from her body in an explosion of blood. Jaune covered his face to avoid the spray getting into his eyes, when he looked up again, he noticed that Weiss's weapons were now coated in her own blood and their reach had been extended greatly.**

"**So much more to learn, pity you won't live long enough to do so." Weiss stabbed forwards and a bolt of blood lanced outwards from her saber, striking the unprepared Jaune head on.**

"**GAH!" The strike was forceful enough to lift Jaune off his feet and sent him tumbling back. Coughing up his own life fluid from having a sizable hole punched through his sternum, he got to his knees and retrieved a blood vial, trying to inject it into himself.**

"**None of that now." Weiss slashed again and a wave of blood left her weapon, lopping off the hand holding the blood vial and causing the precious bottle to shatter on the ground.**

"**Urrghh!" Jaune clutched the stump of his right arm close to himself as he glared at Weiss. The lady of the clocktower merely approached in an unhurried manner, blood enhanced weapons hanging at her sides in a loose grip.**

"**There is nothing for you here, the beasts you seek will not be found on this level. Go back to your hunt." Weiss said in a patronising tone.**

"**I'm here to end the curse on the hunters, I will get past even if it means climbing over your dead body." Jaune snarled back.**

"**You fool. The difference between us should be clear by now. Come however many times you like, I'll kill you every single time.' Weiss raised her blades and prepared to finish off the downed hunter.**

"**Heh, death is an old friend. I only need to win once." Jaune said with a bitter smile on his face.**

"**We'll see." Weiss slashed her weapons in a scissor like motion, twin blood edges fired off and cleanly decapitated Jaune. The headless corpse thudded to the ground and the head followed a split second later. As they started fading away, Weiss returned to her seat to await his next challenge.**

"Alright, magic blood swords are a perfectly legit reason to stab yourself." Mercury nodded to himself.

'What I could do with such power.' Cinder contemplated the possibility of blood magic via the maiden's powers before shelving the thought, there were always more avenues of power that didn't involve self-harm.

"It's still disturbing how easily he can just die and get back up over and over again like there's nothing wrong with it." Blake commented.

"No matter disturbing it is, repetition builds normalcy huh?" Ozpin muttered under his breath.

**Every time he died, Jaune would resurrect and immediately rush off to challenge Weiss, doing much the same as he had with Ironwood, using repeated lives to slowly eke out all of Weiss's techniques. Constantly switching up his own weapons prevented Weiss from returning the favour.**

"**You are persistent, aren't you?" Weiss said as she rubbed her forehead, her gloves came away bloody from where Jaune had scored a scratch with the Chikage. Retaliating with a series of slashes and stabs, Jaune evaded all the incoming blood attacks with practiced movements.**

"**I have to be. You can't win this you know, sooner or later I'll kill you and continue on." Jaune called out as he sheathed the katana and drew the sword he obtained from Ironwood earlier. Swiping his hands across the dull grey blade, it glowed green and its form shifted into its magic form.**

"**Why do you insist on this path? There is nothing for you here, no beasts for you to kill, can't you just let the secrets of the nightmare remain buried?" Weiss asked, tiredness evident in her voice.**

**Jaune shook his head and removed his hat, pulling down his scarf as he did so. glaring at Weiss, he pointed to his eyes, his one blue one now looked purplish as a tinge of red started spreading in it. "Look at me, do you think I have a choice in the matter? Your actions led to the curse on **_**all**_** hunters! We are forever damned because of you and your precious church! If I don't deal with the nightmare once and for all, then I'll become a thrice damned beast. I, and countless others!"**

"**Even so, I can't let you pass. Maybe you speak true, but even so, the church claims the secrets here. If the seal is broken, they'll come in force to reclaim it, and make all the same mistakes. The nightmare will repeat itself again, and I cannot allow that." Weiss said.**

"**I've seen enough to know that the scourge is worsening in the waking world. Every hunt is longer and more violent than the last. The death toll won't stop climbing, if you think whatever dark secret of the church your protecting is unique… I question your sanity." Jaune said as he returned his hat to its resting place and raised his great sword.**

"**It is one of a kind… but I suppose it's impossible to expect those fools to not try and find a new one. Even then, I still can't let you pass. You've seen the research hall and the poor souls within, letting the church through will only cause their tragedy to be repeated to a degree beyond anything you can imagine. And so we're at an impasse." **

"**No. We are at an end. No more secrets! I'll see the church answer for everything they've done!" Jaune grit his teeth and surged forwards, the art of quickening helping to mask his movements as Weiss responded in kind.**

**Blood blades locked against an arcane one as the two hunters sought to overpower one another, each believing in the justness of their cause.**

**Arcane blasts and blood bolts filled their arena as both hunters started pulling out everything in their arsenal to win. **

"Grr… who am I supposed to root for here? They both have valid points." Yang complained.

"That stupid church can't get away with this right? Fearless leader is gonna stomp em all flat right?" Nora asked Blank.

"Rest assured, at this point, the church is mostly finished already. They're currently locked in a civil war between the two largest factions and most of their leaders are either dead, trapped in the nightmare or in exile. The few who remain aren't long for the world either." Blank replied.

"I hope they pay for their sins in full." Ren said quietly.

"They do."

**Jaune slammed the holy moonlight sword into the ground, cursing when Weiss simply sidestepped out of the way. Throwing himself into a tumble to avoid the wave of blood coming for him, when he came back up he fired off an energy wave of his own.**

"**Guh… tenacious." Weiss staggered back when the emerald wave cut a line across her shoulder, not having dodged away in time. Raising her blades, she began channelling more of the blood magic she detested and started floating in the air.**

**The copious amounts of blood spilled during their fight surged off the ground, pouring into Weiss as she absorbed it to power up further. With a blast that shed the excess liquid, Weiss resumed the offensive with even stronger and faster explosive blood attacks.**

**A blood jab scored a line across Jaune's cheek and the hunter had to bite his tongue to keep from screaming when the blood combusted inside his wound, causing pure agony to engulf his face.**

**A quick blood vial injection later and he was back on his feet, dodging rapidly to keep away from Weiss's quickdraw attacks and all the explosions she was sending his way.**

"**Combusting your own blood now?" Jaune asked as he stabbed the great sword into the ground, drawing knowledge from the blade and copying Ironwood's magic circle attack. Only this time, the circle of arcane energy formed a barrier that Weiss's attacks broke against, leaving him unharmed.**

"**A last resort move for Vilebloods. I'm burning through my remaining life force for this. This, is everything I've got. You say you want to end the nightmare, and force the healing church to account for their sins?" Weiss queried and Jaune nodded.**

"**Very well then, come at me with everything you've got. Show me your resolve."**

**Jaune obliged. Charging back into the fray, he closed the distance to erase the range advantage Weiss had over him and reduce the possible attack angles of her blood blades.**

**In response, Weiss leapt into the air before crashing down in a burning blood explosion. The burning wave of heat and light seared Jaune but he simply powered through it, his last blood vial already stabbed into his thigh to mitigate the damage.**

**While Weiss was recovering from her failed attack, Jaune had already reached her. Arcane energy swirled around his sword as he slid into a stance right in front of Weiss. Pulling his sword arm back and bracing the flat of the blade against the palm of his free hand, Jaune thrust the weapon forwards as though it were a lance with all of his strength.**

**Weiss backstepped but it was already too late. The swirling arcane energy blasted outwards at the end of his stab, even though the blade never reached her, the shotgun blast of magic ensured a direct hit all the same.**

**With the magic ripping through her already damaged body, both of them knew the wound was fatal even before she collapsed to the ground twitching.**

"And looks like lover boy wins after all. Then again it's hard to beat someone who just won't stay dead." Yang shrugged her shoulders, at least she wouldn't have to watch them continue fighting.

"That's unfair! Arc, I demand a spar after this." Weiss glared at Jaune, fingers twitching in frustration.

"Whoa what!? I had nothing to do with that! And other me didn't have a choice." Jaune frantically waved his arms in denial, his face paling at the thought of having to face an angry Weiss.

"Not sure I care right now."

"Uh… guys a little help here?" Jaune looked to his friends, all of them suddenly finding their nails or the seats in front of them very interesting.

"Sorry Jaune, you're on your own for this one." Yang grinned and slapped him on the back.

"Uh… go easy on me Weiss?" Jaune pleaded, seeing no help coming from his treacherous friends.

"I'll think about it…" Weiss said in a tone that clearly indicated she was more concerned about finding the best way to put him in the dirt.

"Oh come on! You killed me like ten times in exchange!"

"**Kuh…" Weiss coughed in pain as she pushed herself over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling with blurred vision.**

"**Looks like you win after all."**

"**Was it worth it? Everything you did for the church?" Jaune asked, needing to hear her answer for himself even if he could already guess it.**

"**No, not at all. I did end up committing suicide after all. Heh… couldn't even die right." Weiss's laughter transitioned to a choked cry as her wounds caught up with her.**

"**I tried making up for it, I really did. When I woke up in the nightmare and found the victims of the experiments here, I tried to give them the comfort the church denied them. But it was all for nothing in the end wasn't it?" She asked with a sad smile.**

"**Maybe, but I don't think the effort was wasted. Tell me, what is the secret hidden here anyways?" Jaune asked.**

**Weiss stared at the ceiling for several seconds before answering, the truth would come to light eventually anyways, no need to put it off any longer. "The corpse of the great one Kos and… her living child."**

"**That's impossible, great ones cannot have children." Jaune denied, having found documents indicating as such in various places, including the abandoned workshop in the waking world.**

"**Yet Kos did. Kos made a new great one from nothing, if that can be done then surely you can turn an ordinary human into a great one as well. That was the secret, one so jealously guarded the church committed genocide on the fishing hamlet that discovered it. They killed every last man, woman and child there." Weiss said.**

"**So that's why… they cursed us, they cursed us all for their unjust slaughter and the great one answered the cries…" Jaune whispered, everything coming together for him now.**

"Damn, just damn." Qrow muttered as he took a large swig from his flask.

"And suddenly the Vale council doesn't seem quite so corrupt in exchange." Roman shook his head, unable to believe he just uttered those words.

"Question is, did they succeed in turning any of their own into gods?" Cinder asked.

"No. It can be done, they just don't get the chance to succeed at it." Blank answered.

"Pity, so much wasted effort." Cinder sighed and shrugged.

"Of course that's what you focus on, did you miss the part where they slaughtered innocents or… oh, why am I even asking, you plan to destroy Vale just for some paltry power." Jaune sneered at Cinder.

"I'd hardly call becoming one of the most powerful beings to walk the planet paltry, but whatever. If you're going to put in that much effort into something, then you might as well succeed at it."

"**Here, key to the seal." Weiss held out a disk that Jaune accepted.**

"**This… is the end for me, give Ozpin my regards would you?"**

"**I will."**

"**Good… don't let this ever happen again. Promise me." Weiss looked Jaune in the eyes, waiting for his response.**

"**I promise." Jaune nodded and Weiss exhaled slowly, her body starting to fade away. Having kept herself anchored to the nightmare through nothing but sheer force of will, she let go once Jaune gave his word and she could find no dishonesty in his eyes.**

**Once Weiss had faded away completely, Jaune did as his intuition beckoned and raised the disk up. Once it caught the light pouring through the glass of the clock face, the clock rumbled to life and it started moving. Eventually, an opening appeared in the centre, the path forwards now clear.**

**Stepping through, Jaune was instantly reminded of the twistedness of the nightmare. Whatever source of illumination had lit up the clock face was nowhere to be found. Instead of a sunny expanse as he expected, a dull and dreary landscape met his eyes as heavy rain poured from the heavens.**

**Damaged boats lined the sides of his walkway as an endless sea appeared to stretch into the horizon. Slightly weirded out by having a sea meet him despite walking out of the top of one of the tallest buildings in nightmare Yharnam, he took a closer look at the waters and was further disturbed.**

**The water was murky and choppy waves made visibility poor but he could still make out the twisted version of Yharnam deep below the waves. "I'm… standing on the sky right now? Still… those buildings in the distance… this must be the fishing hamlet the church destroyed. It got pulled into the nightmare too?" **

"Is that the original place or a copy like the city below the um… waters?" Ruby asked.

"It's the original. While the city is a copy made from the collective memories of the hunters trapped in the nightmare to punish them, this place is the original fishing hamlet, pulled in by the power of the great one." Blank answered.

"Okay, so what happened to the people that used to live there? Their corpses get pulled in too?" Roman asked.

"In a manner of speaking. The original inhabitants are long dead and their souls gone, but their bodies have been reanimated by the nightmare and twisted into a new form." Blank said.

"That's freaky." Emerald whispered with a small shiver. She had no intention of dying any time soon but when she did eventually meet her maker, she preferred if her body was left to rest in peace thank you very much.

"**That's encouraging." Jaune murmured as he stared up at a corpse hanging upside down from an overhead beam. Rotted and decayed, enough of its clothing remained to identify it as someone from the church. That the corpse had its head removed and was posed in a manner to resemble the hunter's mark did not bode well.**

"**Isn't everyone here supposed to be dead? Ah what am I saying, the nightmare must have more guardians of its own." Jaune brushed the rain out of his eyes and continued forwards.**

**He ran into the guardians soon enough as he traversed the dilapidated hamlet. Fishmen wielding crude spears and covered in barnacles burst out of the buildings to harass him and impede his progress.**

**Repeated ambushes were an annoyance, visibility in the rain and fog was poor and his enemies good at using it to their advantage. Despite that, Jaune was thankful for the rain that most would have seen as an annoyance.**

**It washed the blood of him, cleansed him of its taint. The smell of fish was overpowering in this place but compared to the overwhelming stench of blood in the city or the odour of vile chemicals and disease in the research hall, the fishiness was a breath of fresh air. **

"I think… I'm going to stave off fish for a while." Blake pushed aside her plate of sushi as the camera had some unfortunate close ups of the deformed fishmen.

"No kidding. Does everything in this universe have to be so disgusting? It keeps one-upping itself." Weiss said, her face a tad paler than normal.

"Can we please see something normal after this? I'm trying to move away from the name vomit boy you know." Jaune asked once his stomach quieted down.

"I'll think about it." Blank said in a non-committal manner.

**Jaune ripped his katana free from the eye socket of a giant fishman, his path cleared for the moment. Taking a moment to just let the rain wash away his aches and pains, Jaune gave thanks that the inhabitants of the fishing hamlet didn't trigger his bloodlust even if they did give blood echoes.**

**He'd already died several times here so far, mostly due to ambushes he failed to spot. Like the time a giant fishman just jumped out of the well and belly flopped right on top of him, squishing him flat. The fishmen and their fishdogs were also nigh impossible to detect with his nose since they smelled the fishiness and the downpour masked everything. Being held in place by rapid fishdogs and then skewered by multiple spears launched out of the mist was certainly a novel way to go.**

**Continuing on his path, he found himself inside a larger building with a locked door. A groan of pain got him to look at the floor where a 'corpse' he overlooked was still moving.**

"**Hey, are you… it's you again!" Jaune turned the body over and found that it was a badly wounded Ren lying there instead of some other random hunter.**

"**oh, you, I'm afraid, I've made a botch of things… I can hear the bell, now…the beast-hide assassin, he's after me… again and again… it never ends…" Ren grunted out with great effort, the many grievous wounds making it hard for him to speak.**

"**Hold on I have-" Jaune froze in place when he reached for a blood vial and his pouch came up empty, having already used the last of it on himself earlier.**

"**Out of blood are we? Heh… it doesn't matter… this body can't heal with blood anyways…" Ren coughed up and smiled wryly at Jaune's stricken face.**

"No…" Nora said quietly and gripped Ren's arm tightly for support.

"How could this happen? Damnit all." Jaune cursed and clenched his fists tightly, having to watch Ren die again sucked to hell and back.

"Beast hide assassin? Cardin did this?" Pyrrha growled and narrowed her eyes, thinking of the encounter in the dungeon cell earlier and how Cardin was wearing a beast hide on him.

"Indeed. He is an agent of the church in this universe after all, he's here to safeguard the secret until retrieval teams can secure it. And since Jaune and Ren are both trying to destroy it to end the nightmare, they're on his list for termination." Blank answered.

"**Please, I need you to do something… this village is the true secret. Testament to the old sins, it feeds this Hunter's Nightmare. Please, bring to an end to the horror…" Ren gripped Jaune's arm tight and begged with tears in his eyes.**

"**So our forefathers sinned? We hunters cannot bear their weight forever… It isn't fair, it just isn't fair…" His grip slackened and fell away as he passed. Jaune bowed his head in respect as Ren's body went limp, not fading away unlike all the other hunters who died in the nightmare. He left behind only his weapon and a small key, both of which Jaune picked up and put away.**

**Exiting the hut, he walked over to the edge of a cliff and stared down at the beaches below. In the distance he could make out what looked like a giant white squid washed up on the shores. "That must be Kos, the cause of all this needless suffering. Time to end this."**

**As he made his way further in, searching for a way down to beaches, the chime of a bell reached his ears. "What the? A bell?"**

**Space warped in front of him as a blood red portal formed and a spectral figure stepped out of it. Unable to make out his features save that it was a man wearing a beast hide, he held a mace in hand and Jaune could sense the hostility from where he stood.**

"**So you're the one who killed him. And now you aim to silence me, dog of the church." Jaune muttered as the figure rammed the mace into his own stomach, the weapon passing through clothes and flesh without resistance, when he ripped it free, the weapon had changed into a giant club made out of blood.**

"**So be it." Dashing in to get the first strike, Jaune struck the first blow with his own blood weapon, the katana far faster than the oversized club.**

**Jaune also landed the next hit, but it was deflected when the enemy hunter downed a lead elixir. The blow struck true and dealt damage but still bounced off as though he was striking rock. The opened him up to a counterstrike and Jaune was sent flying back when the club struck him in the chest, the blood spikes on its head easily puncturing his armour and the soft flesh beneath.**

"**Keh, what a cheap trick." Jaune got back to his feet and wiped away some blood at his mouth before throwing himself back into the fight. Avoiding any needless attacks that would leave him open, Jaune resorted to quick jabs and the occasional gunshot when he found an opening.**

**After fighting Weiss who excelled at high speed combat, this church assassin was nothing more than a snail in comparison and Jaune found dodging the incoming blows to be a cakewalk. Eventually the elixir wore off and Jaune was able to start attacking in earnest before he could drink another.**

"**Go to hell." Jaune staggered his opponent and finished him off with his favoured arm stab and blood burst move, allowing the corpse to fall over the side and disintegrate.**

"**That takes care of that, now… onwards."**

"Is… is that it? Did I avenge Ren?" Jaune asked as Cardin's corpse vanished.

"Not yet." Blank answered.

"What do you mean not yet? Jaune just killed him!" Weiss folded her arms and glared.

"Uh, maybe he's like Jaune and can come back repeatedly?" Ruby offered.

"Maybe… but I didn't come back though. Is there a difference?" Weiss asked.

"Not entirely correct. Winchester is the same as you in that you both have only one life, problem is what your friend killed wasn't the real one. Just a copy he can control, Ren did find the key to the cell where he could kill the original but didn't survive long enough to do so." Blank explained.

"So that thing… it's similar to the uh phantom system in the last world?" Pyrrha asked.

"That is a pretty apt comparison."

**His quest to find a way to the beach took him into a warehouse, processing plant like building filled with even more fishmen and now fish shamans who could summon lightning bolts to smite him. The first time it happened, he got caught off guard and led to another mark on his still growing number of deaths.**

**The next few deaths happened when the toll of the bell rang in his ears and the beast hide hunter returned to harass him. Fighting him off on slippery platforms was a chore on its own, lightning bolts that zapped him every few seconds opened him up to more punishing blows that spelled his demise.**

**At least they died as easily as their more 'normal' counterparts. As he descended a ladder to the lower levels, Jaune wondered if this was where the fishermen would process their haul at the end of a day before the healing church stepped in.**

**Whatever it was in the past though, it was a place of horror now. Instead of fish, countless slugs served as the catch, and somehow, they were being burned for illumination instead of proper candles.**

"**Must have something to do with the great ones… phantasms are they? No matter, it doesn't concern me." Jaune mused as he picked his way past the piles of still moving slugs and avoided ambushes from snail women hiding inside their shells.**

"And the disgustometer keeps on rising. Oh… I won't be sleeping for a long time after this." Yang growled and rubbed her eyes, trying to erase all the disgusting images plaguing her.

"Why couldn't it be fish!?" She bitterly cursed on screen Jaune for bothering to take a closer look and shattering the illusion.

"For the squeamish, I highly recommend closing your eyes for the next part." Blank said and his audience just stared at him in disbelief, Cinder and co included.

"Are… are you for real? Now you warn us!? Couldn't you have done that before!?" Weiss shrieked, on the verge of tearing out her hair.

"I thought you could handle what you saw. But what's about to come is just needlessly repulsive, so I thought I'd give you a warning." Blank said.

"Right… you won't find me arguing with that." Roman shrugged and reclined in his seat, pulling his hat over his eyes to block his view. Neo simply opened up her parasol to do the same.

**Jaune was surprised to find that the warehouse only exit on the lower floors was into a cave system, but he chalked it up to more of the nightmare twisting things.**

**Walking through it was strangely calming, there was no rain or fishy smell down here. No blood or chemicals or poison or anything of the sort, just a normal cave system. Sure, there were still snail women who tried to kill him but it was nowhere near as hectic as the levels above. It set him at ease.**

**Until the singing started.**

"Singing? Who's singing down here?" Mercury asked. At this juncture, it was really just Cinder's group who disregarded the warning, everyone else had their eyes screwed shut and covered to resist the temptation to open them.

"If you just shut up and watch, maybe we'll find out." Emerald spat out, internally wanting nothing more than to follow the rest and close her eyes but her need to not appear weak in front of Cinder was stronger.

"**Oh god no. Winter lanterns." Jaune paled and whispered out in a horrified voice.**

**He could see the orange glow in the distance as the singing grew louder. Pressing forwards was a no go since it led to a dead end and the winter lanterns were now blocking his path.**

"**Sedatives… sedatives… okay… three left, it will have to be enough." Jaune closed his pouch and readied his weapons. Chikage in one hand and Evelyn in the other, ready to shoot at whatever came around the corner.**

**The first abomination rounded the corner, headed straight for him. A feminine figure in a bloody dress reminiscent of the doll's own, a bloated head seemingly made up of the decaying corpses of hundreds if not thousands of messengers. A single giant eye stared at Jaune and unholy pain assaulted his head instantly.**

"HOLY FUCK! FUCK FUCK FUCK! FUUUUUUUCCCCCKKKKKKKK! KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE!" Mercury shot up out of his seat and tumbled over backwards upon getting a close up of the abomination. Emerald was babbling nonsensically and Cinder was pale and shaking like a leaf.

"What? What is it?" Ruby asked despite herself.

"Don't! Don't look at it sis! Whatever you do, don't open your eyes!" Yang lifted her head to shout to Ruby before burying her face in Jaune's neck again for cover.

"I did warn you." Blank said in a placid tone.

"**GRRHAGAHGHAH!" Jaune screamed in pain as he pulled Evelyn's trigger repeatedly, sending countless bullets hurtling towards the lead winter lantern. The quicksilver bullets tore through the unarmoured target easily but it didn't go down, continuing to advance as the other one rounded the corner.**

**An burst of pure agony surged through Jaune's skull as the frenzy effect took hold, his brain literally melting from the overload, dealing near fatal damage instantly when he was too slow to down the bottle of sedatives.**

**Jabbing himself with blood vials to regenerate and avoid excruciating death. Jaune fought back the pain, trusting in the old blood enhanced healing to keep him alive long enough to kill the winter lanterns.**

**Consuming a bottle's worth of pills to push down the second proc of frenzy, Jaune dashed close and started hacking with his Katana, desperately trying to chop them to pieces.**

**As twin arms made out of more dead messengers erupted from the sides of their heads, trying to grab him and bring him in close where they could eat him alive, Jaune sidestepped and hurriedly threw back the second bottle of pills.**

**Pushing the madness back down with the numbing medicine, he resumed the attack. Watching with panicked glee as the first one went down, before turning his attention to the second.**

**As the winter lantern surged forwards with its arms, Jaune held it off with his sword, keeping away from the snapping teeth that sought out his flesh.**

**Pushing it off with a sudden burst of strength, Jaune chugged the last bottle of pills and tossed aside the empty container. Sliding into an iaido stance to avoid the grasping arms again, Jaune struck and cleaved the winter lantern's oversized head in two with his attack, letting the corpse fall and cutting off the damnable singing once and for all.**

"**No. Nononono… it's still building! Argh! Get out! Get out of my head!" Jaune yelled and pressed his hands to the sides of his head as the winter lantern's insanity attack continued even after their deaths.**

**Retaining enough presence of mind to inject himself with another blood vial, Jaune regenerated enough to survive frenzy occurring a second time. Screaming in pain as his brain literally imploded a second time, He collapsed next to the dead winter lanterns, convulsing as the old blood in his veins fought to keep him alive.**

**After an indeterminate amount of time, Jaune's senses finally returned to him. Coughing once, he injected another blood vial into himself before crawling away, his mind too frazzled to attempt standing.**

"Alright, you're in the clear, you can open your eyes now." Blank said once the winter lanterns were dealt with.

"You're not bullshitting us are you?" Qrow asked, his eyes still tightly shut.

"No, I'm not. Well, there is one more fight after this against an ugly bastard but it's tamer than the Ironwood battle, so you're good."

"Alright, I'll trust you on that." Ruby said and cautiously opened her eyes, sighing in relief when she noticed Jaune was back in the hunter's dream and resting instead of fighting some abomination.

"We good? We good. And uh… what happened to them?" Jaune asked when he noticed Cinder's crew were still borderline catatonic.

"Note to self, certain mental effects when dealing with multiple reality universes can bleed over into theatre audience… good to know." Blank said softly.

"What? What was that?" Jaune asked and got no reply.

"**Was she at peace then?" Ozpin asked as Jaune worked on repairing his weapons and armour.**

"**I think in the end she was, she didn't blame you for any of it by the way." Jaune replied as he shoved more sedatives into his pocket, not wanting to be caught off guard by more winter lanterns again.**

"**Ah… that's good then… at least one of us is at peace…" Ozpin said as he wheeled himself out of the door.**

"**I've found Kos and her child." Jaune said just before Ozpin could exit the workshop proper.**

"**Haah… so you have. You're going to kill the Orphan then." Ozpin stated.**

"**Yes, it's the only way to be free of the curse. But first, I have to deal with the fucking church assassin, I'm sick of him showing up to hunt me." Jaune said and picked up his repaired equipment.**

"**Free of the curse huh… that makes one of us." Ozpin closed his eyes and sighed as Jaune returned to the nightmare to resume his hunt.**

"I'm cursed too?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, the first to be cursed actually. You were the first hunter to make contact with the Orphan in the waking world, and when you made contact with the moon presence, you became damned to the role of the hunter's helper. For as long as there is to be a hunt, you shall remain in the dream to guide and assist the next generation." Blank said.

"So the workshop is actually a prison for the headmaster?" Goodwitch asked.

"Indeed, that universe is particularly fond of ironic hells. Once upon a time, the workshop was his pride and joy and guiding new hunters was a calling, now it's a prison from which there is no escape. And he is sick and tired of seeing hunter after hunter march to their deaths or beasthood, most of them fall cursing his name and everything associated with the hunt."

"Depressing." Ozpin grimaced and drank from his mug, too many parallels there, but he supposed that was because it was still him even in another universe.

**Stalking through the underground dungeon above the corpse pile where he slew Ironwood. Jaune cut down the spectre of Cardin that rose to challenge him in order to protect the original. Forcing the shade to its knees by stabbing Reiterpallasch into its leg, Jaune jammed Evelyn into the shade's mouth when it opened in a silent cry.**

**Pulling the trigger, the shot removed the top half of Cardin's head instantly and the phantom faded away. Storming forwards, Jaune marched down the steps that led to Cardin's cell.**

**Fishing out the key Ren left behind, it fit the lock perfectly and with a click, the doors swung open silently, allowing Jaune to enter. Cardin made no move to rise, perfectly content to sit in the back and await his executioner.**

"**Well, well, look who's here. Welcome to my quarters. I've never entertained a guest before. Are you going to kill me? After all you've done, kill me, as if to right your wrongs?" Cardin chuckled as Jaune's face took on an ugly expression.**

"**Fuck you asshole." Jaune raised Evelyn and aimed it squarely at Cardin's head.**

"**What's done is done. Nothing ever changes… such is the nature of men, some secrets were best left buried." Cardin leaned his head back and waited, not a shred of worry on his face, somehow that just pissed Jaune off even more.**

"**Oh yes, the healing church and the lengths they're willing to go to just to protect their secret. I've seen it all, relax, no one will be getting the secret. Not even the church." Jaune said.**

"**Oh?"**

"**By the time I'm done here, the Orphan will be destroyed along with Kos's corpse. There'll be nothing left for your precious church, and soon enough, I'll be destroying them too."**

"**Heh, good luck then. I'm tired of it all, so very tired. Go on. Finish it." Cardin closed his eyes and a single gunshot rang out.**

"And Ren's been avenged… why do I not feel satisfied?" Jaune asked, an unwelcome emotion in his chest.

"Revenge rarely does. Maybe you get some satisfaction in the beginning, more often than not, you just feel empty afterwards. From what it seems, Mr Winchester didn't have much of a choice in the matter either." Ozpin said.

"I… yes headmaster." Jaune nodded.

**Returning to the fishing hamlet, Jaune took the elevator he found back to the depths of the cave. Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly to steel himself for a fight against a literal great one, he began following the path so obviously marked.**

**Countless unresponsive snail women prostrating themselves on the ground, bowing in reverence to their god. Not one made a move to stop him, either because they believed acting would invite divine punishment or because they believed a single puny hunter could not possibly pose any threat to the Orphan.**

**Whatever the case, his approach to the beach was unimpeded. Right at the edge of the sea, next to the corpse, Jaune could make out his target just kneeling in the dirt, staring into the distance.**

"**The Orphan grown old…" He whispered softly as he noted the being having the appearance of an old man despite being only an infant great one.**

**Threaded cane in hand, Jaune switched it into whip mode and rubbed it down with bolt paper, infusing it with lightning. The crackling of lightning and the crunching of sand and seashells beneath his feet finally drew the attention of the Orphan.**

**An unearthly scream of rage emanated from the Orphan and it leapt into the air, a giant placenta in hand as a weapon, it came back down to earth swinging. The fight was on.**

"Is that a placenta, okay, ew." Blake recoiled in disgust.

"I thought you said we were in the clear."

"I believe my words were to the effect of less disturbing than Ironwood. I don't think I lied." Blank said, and despite wanting so badly to call him out on his bullshit, the audience did have to admit he had a point.

"It is still disgusting." Yang said with finality, getting nods of agreement from everyone.

**The once silent beach was now engulfed in an unending cacophony of gunshots, explosions and screeching. The Orphan was even faster and stronger than Weiss had been, as expected of a great one.**

"**Bombs nex-whip!?" Jaune backpedalled as the Orphan defied his expectations and used the placenta as an whip or flail to attack him, instead of tossing grenades his way.**

**Retaliating with gunfire and his own serrated whip, Jaune drew blood before the Orphan got him good. The placenta weighed a significant amount despite being flesh and blood, when it struck him in the chest, Jaune was sent flying.**

**The great one howled to the heavens and waves of electricity surged outwards from it, an electrifying wall of death that Jaune barely managed to jump over.**

"**I can't predict it?" Jaune frowned in frustration as the Orphan's moves were too erratic for him to predict. Unlike the hunters he faced in the past, this humanoid had no fighting style honed by training, no patterns to exploit. It was operating on pure instinct and defying Jaune's ability to read it.**

"**Fine, two can play." Abandoning his attempts at reading the Orphan, he focused all of his attention of absorbing as much information of the Orphan's actions without processing them. Trusting his own combat instincts to guide his reactions.**

**The result was far from perfect but still a far sight better than before. Ducking under a wild swing, Jaune cracked the whip and tore through the Orphan's eyes, blinding it temporarily and causing it to start swinging all over the place in search of an opponent it couldn't see.**

**It was young, untrained, inexperienced. All those factors lead to its unpredictability but at the same time it saved Jaune's life multiple times. Without training, it's ability to press the offensive when Jaune showed an opening was hampered and its mounting rage on worsened its focus.**

**Sure, the Orphan got in a few good licks, killing Jaune several times, but he returned without fail, each time more determined than the last to end things once and for all.**

**Their duel in the pouring rain could only end in Jaune's victory, especially once the hunter figured out that the only reason he was winning was because the Orphan was expending its strength to sustain the nightmare.**

**No matter how it went, the nightmare would come to an end. Either the Orphan gave up and allowed the nightmare to end for self-preservation, or it continued fighting in its weakened state and eventually Jaune would wear it down enough to kill it. Either way, the end result was already decided.**

**In the end, the Orphan chose to go down swinging. Every last move in its arsenal it threw at Jaune, and the hunter gladly returned the favour.**

**And finally, a well-timed bullet staggered the Orphan, allowing Jaune to close in and pour every last scrap of blood magic in him straight into the Orphan's exposed body. With one last piercing scream, the Orphan of Kos fell over dead, nearly all of its internal organs ruptured and destroyed by the repeated assaults.**

**Jaune staggered backwards, not quite believing it was over. But it was, the Orphan's corpse moved no longer. Instead, its essence formed a shade over by its mother's corpse. The true source of the nightmare was exposed at last.**

"**You didn't deserve this either, sweet child of Kos. May the ocean take your essence home, and your curse with it." Jaune switched the whip back into cane sword mode and slashed down, dispelling the shade and allowing the essence to bleed back into the sea.**

**At once, the nightmare world shifted. The unceasing rain in the hamlet stopped and the skies cleared up. The moon hanging overhead had also vanished.**

**A shock ran through Jaune's system as he ripped off his hat and scarf. Drawing a silver knife from his boot, he stared at his reflection in it, marvelling at himself as the redness in his eyes faded away. The pupils returning to the sapphire he had been born with.**

**The endless thirst for blood and the howls for him to kill faded away almost completely. No more did he have to fight with his own instincts, now there was just a very muted feeling, one attributed to the scourge of the beast itself rather than the nightmare.**

"**It's done… the curse is broken. At last… I'm… sorry I couldn't do it earlier, I could have saved so many… I wouldn't have failed Ruby… but…" Jaune turned and looked directly at the screen, smiling wryly as he did so.**

"**I suppose, not every version of me has failed, it will have to be enough." Shaking his head, he walked off into the dawn, just taking a moment to get away from it all.**

"Did… did he see us!?" Jaune said in shock, the screen had gone dark and the lights came on after that last bombshell.

"He did. Insight allows him to discern hidden truths about the world, and he has enough of it to look beyond his own." Blank answered.

"He's still broken up over his failure to protect Ruby huh?" Weiss asked.

"Indeed, he considers it his greatest failure. So the fact that a version of him like the one in this theatre who didn't fail his friend exists, is quite heartening for him." Blank said.

"So what happens to the other Jaune-Jaune now?" Nora asked.

"He rests, and then he returns to the hunt. There's still a fair bit left in his journey, until he puts the final nail in the healing church's coffin, he will not truly be able to rest."

"Please tell me we're not going to see a continuation of this world right now. I don't think I can take another viewing like that." Pyrrha pleaded.

"We'll see, I do hope you got at least something from that Cinder Fall." Blank addressed the still recovering villainess.

"I got that you are a disturbed individual." Cinder spat out and glared hatefully at Blank.

"I'm gonna ignore the hypocrisy in that statement, this is for your benefit you know. Your fate can be summed up with 'power at a price', and you can't afford that price. If you insist on continuing and somehow avoid being killed on return to your world, you'll end up sharing that Ironwood's fate."

"That won't happen. I won't allow it!" Cinder declared.

"A woman can dream I suppose. Maybe you'll change your tune with a few more viewings, maybe you won't, your fate is in your hands. If you want to continue walking your path, you'll have only yourself to blame for your inevitable destiny. In any case, take a short rest people, next world will be ready for viewing soon." Blank said as the audience dispersed.

* * *

Author's notes: Late update since my muse died on me and university is starting again so life is pretty hectic now. Here we go, a return to the bloodborne universe and the introduction of the three evil musketeers. Obviously, I've taken some liberties with the bloodborne story to make the story flow so I'd appreciate not being crucified by the lore experts. Orphan fight is kinda anti-climatic yes but the main focus of this chapter is the interaction with the other hunters in the world, not much interaction to be had with a great one that just screams non stop. And a guy can only write so many battle scenes before he goes mad. For those of you who've read my one shot Ashes, I don't think I'll be putting it into this story, I can't think of a good way to make the audience react to it and it's just plain depressing overall.

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as the hunter

Ozpin as Gehrman the first hunter

Weiss Schnee as the doll/Lady Maria of the Astral Clock Tower

Salem as Annalise Queen of the Vilebloods

Glynda Goodwitch as Eileen the crow

Qrow Branwen as the bloody crow of Cainhurst (duh)

Lie Ren as Simon the harrowed

Cardin Winchester as Brador

Leonardo Lionheart as Laurence the first vicar

James Ironwood as Ludwig the accursed/holy blade

Orphan of Kos as itself


	17. Chapter 16: Jazz in space

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 16: Jazz in space**

**Inspiration: Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt**

"Now that everyone is back, I'm going to have you step out for a bit Jaune Arc." Blank said, getting groans from several members of the audience.

"Aww… does he have to?" Pyrrha complained while grabbing onto Jaune's arm tightly.

"Rules are rules, last universe was one of the exceptions that's all." Blank said.

"It's okay Pyr, I'll be back eventually." Jaune reassured.

"So I'm going back to the testing range then?"

"Indeed, you'll hands on experience with the tech your friends will be seeing this time round. Although I do recommend taking things slow and following the instructions, because I can tell you they will not mix well with motion sickness." Blank answered.

"Alright then, well… bye guys, see you later I guess?" Jaune chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head as he stood up and waited for Blank to begin transport.

"Oh hold up there lover boy, you owe me something." Yang rose as well and planted a kiss on his lips before he could react. Then Pyrrha did the same, slightly ticked off with Yang stealing a march on her.

"Eheheheh…" His giddy laughter was the last thing they heard before a flash of light took him, and replaced him with two additional figures.

"We're back? I… we have new faces now?" Ironwood raised an eyebrow at Cinder's group, not recognizing them.

"Weiss, I hope you've been behaving yourself?" Winter looked to her sister, and the younger Schnee sat straighter in her seat, not wanting to give a bad impression.

"Of course sister. I wouldn't do anything less."

"Ahem, a little explanation to cover everything you've missed is in order I think." Blank coughed to draw their attention to him.

(one explanation later)

"I still think this is a bad idea." Ironwood said and glared at the terrible trio with all the force of a thousand suns.

"Preaching to the choir Jimmy, they'll get what's coming to them eventually." Qrow muttered.

"Nothing we can do about them now, what are we watching this time?" Winter shook her head and asked in an effort to get them off her mind.

"Another universe where humanity has expanded to space but not quite reached the interstellar level yet. Faunus don't exist in this world but the white fang does and humanity is at war with itself." Blank said.

"Figures, those terrorists are a problem everywhere it seems." Ironwood commented, getting Blake's ears to droop.

"They're a lot more than just terrorists in this universe. And like the fang of your world, they have perfectly legitimate grievances as well."

"And so they think violence is the answer to their problems? How barbaric." Winter said.

"To be perfectly honest, violence really _is _the only answer. Their enemies, the earth federation are morally bankrupt. If you combine old Mantle and Mistral pre faunus revolution, you'll get a rough idea of just what kind of a government is in charge of the federation. Both sides are responsible for heinous atrocities and ironically have the same beliefs, victory at _any_ cost." Blank explained.

"Couldn't they try working things out? Negotiating?" Ruby offered.

"They probably tried, and the federation either ignored them or responded with heavy handed tactics. And when peaceful methods didn't work, they switched to more violent ones and started seeing success. Then it just snowballed…" Blake replied, shifting uncomfortably as she recalled the once peaceful protest movement descending into becoming one of the most hated terrorist groups in the all the land.

"Correct. When the white fang of that world got tired of ineffective 'talks' they launched an armed uprising to secure independence for the space colonies, and thanks to vastly superior tech for the time, they started winning. They would have won too, but then the leadership got greedy, and it eventually cost them the war." Blank said.

"Cost them the war, even with a large technological advantage?" Ironwood asked, unable to think of how anyone could squander such an advantage.

"At the beginning of the one year war, the federation folded really hard against the fang's offensive in space and they were pushed all the way back to the planet. With their success, the federation was about to cave to all of their demands. But the white fang launched a full scale invasion of the surface itself instead and there their war efforts bogged down. Gravity and atmosphere severely hampering tactics designed for space combat, their supply lines wound up stretched to the breaking point and they were unable to finish off the federation before they could launch a counter attack."

"So they bit off more than they could chew, pathetic. Should have planned better instead of getting greedy." Cinder said with a smirk.

"I'm surprised you can say that with a straight face." Roman started slow clapping sarcastically.

"In any case, today's viewing will be set in one theatre of the one year war near its close, the thunderbolt sector. I'll just let it start playing now." Blank said and the lights dimmed, the murmuring in the audience dying off as they waited for the movie to start.

**Chatter filled the hallways as the federation pilots suited up and readied for their sortie. Nervous energy filled the air as they entered their assigned GMs, giant humanoid mechs specially outfitted to deal with the harshness of the thunderbolt sector.**

**Their mission was simple, destroy the Big Gun emplacements halting their mothership's progress through the area. But simple didn't mean easy, not when those canons were manned by the crack troops of the living dead division.**

"Living dead division? Cheery name." Roman commented.

"One of the signs of the desperate situation the white fang have found themselves in. So called the living dead since nearly every member already has one foot in the grave." Blank said.

"How so?" Ironwood asked.

"It's a unit of amputees. Their crippling injuries mean they perform poorly in a straight fight, but using them as snipers is perfectly fine since they don't need as much motor control. And if they die, it's considered no big loss."

"…How despicable." Ironwood bit out.

**From the cockpit of one of the GMs, jazz tunes could be heard playing as well as the sound of drumsticks beating against metal. An older Neptune smiled as he floated over to it, the technician grabbing hold of the cockpit hatch and swinging himself down to see his friend bobbing his head along to the beat as the drumsticks danced in his hands.**

**"Listening to pirate radio again Jaune?"**

**"Eh, these guys have the best tunes." Jaune replied with a smile, pointing to a beat up radio he had taped to the dashboard.**

**"Oh at least use some headphones, I'm surprised no one's complained about noise pollution yet. Hmmm, I recognise this one, isn't this an old broadcast?"**

**"Oi, oi, none of that now. You gotta feel the music in your bones, and I like this one. Oh! This is the part, the perfect piece to listen to right before a mission." Jaune said as the music picked up.**

"Catchy, not quite my cup of tea but he has good tastes." Yang said, enjoying the music.

"Eh, as long as he doesn't try to serenade me with it, it's fine." Weiss commented.

"Serenade? There's a story there that I'm missing isn't there?" Winter raised an eyebrow and Weiss sputtered in denial, not wanting her sister to find out about that less than stellar experience.

"Nothing! Nothing happened at all!"

**"Ahhh can already see it, out there, dodging through the debris as the vibrations tell me how to move." Fiddling with the controls, he made the numerous thrusters on the GM dance as the music played, serving as a performance check, happy with their reaction time, his little impromptu performance was cut off by a sudden sneeze.**

**"Oh come on, can't they do something about the crappy air quality in the hangar already? We've been complaining about it ever since we shipped here." Jaune said, getting Neptune to roll his eyes good naturedly.**

**"It's just your sinuses Jaune."**

**"Whatever, Nep you got any tissues?" Jaune smiled when Neptune sent the small pack flying over, catching it between his drum sticks.**

**"Thanks, see you later."**

**"You too." Neptune gave Jaune a small nod as the cockpit hatch closed, the technician giving a small headshake at his long-time friend's little quirks before moving off to check if any other pilot needed his assistance.**

**Jaune performed the final system checks as he waited for the signal to launch. As he was doing so, Weiss's voice came over the intercom. "Here are you mission objectives, eliminate the snipers hiding in our home of Side 4 Moore, in the past month over forty friendly units have been shot down. We will not forgive the cowardly enemy that destroyed our home."**

"Wait what?" Weiss blinked in surprise not expecting to hear her voice.

"Side 4 is a group of space colonies, when the war broke out, they chose neutrality, wanting nothing to do with the fighting. But since the white fang has a if you're not with us, then you're against us policy, they attacked in force and destroyed more than a few colonies there along with everyone on it. Survivors of the atrocity signed up with the federation en masse for vengeance." Blank said.

"What!? I thought they were fighting for the people in space! Why would they attack their own!?" Blake hissed out.

"You know the type, holier than thou, believing their way is the best way and any who won't stand with them are traitors to their own kind." Blank pointed out.

"That's…" Blake wanted to say that her own universe's white fang wasn't that bad at least but then recalled Adam and that thought died a fiery death.

**"This war is reaching its end stages, and retaking the thunderbolt sector will go a long way towards our victory. Glory to Moore, death to the white fang!"**

**"Preaching to the choir huh. Tch, my birthplace just won't let me go huh. Ensign Jaune Arc, launching." Jaune's GM shot out into space, followed by several more of his fellow pilots. Twin shields guarded the front of their mobile suits as they powered forwards, thrusters manoeuvring them around the wreckage of the destroyed colonies.**

**Muted rumbles ran through his machine as debris impacted and bounced off his shield. Jaune paid it no attention as his gaze was focused on his forward view screen, searching for where the snipers could be hiding.**

"Interesting mech designs, I wonder if R&D could make use of these, they're certainly a lot more mobile than the paladins." Winter commented, jolting down several notes.

"These are mobile suits, bipedal mechs whose strengths lie in their mobility and equipment versatility. Do note that outside of units designed specifically for terrestrial combat, most mobile suits can only show their true potential in space where there is no gravity or air resistance to slow them down." Blank said.

"Interesting, I assume the white fang developed these… mobile suits first? And the federation was stuck with older capital ships and fighters similar to contemporary ones?" Ironwood asked.

"Indeed, it took the federation a long while to develop their own suits due to never having the need to do so prior to the war. And they really only succeeded because of the defection of one of the white fang's greatest technical geniuses."

"Hmm, I can see at least how the white fang would be winning at the start. No fighter will be able to perform moves like that, even without air resistance to factor in." Ironwood said as he watched the team of mobile suits evade debris at speeds and distances that would have been fatal for a normal fighter.

**"As I thought, free jazz really is the best for the thunderbolt. I love space, I love mobile suits, I ****_love_**** the battlefield, out here… I'm free." Jaune grinned as lightning flashed nearby, the electrical discharges a leftover from the destroyed ships, colonies and mobile suits littering the area, giving the eponymous thunderbolt sector its name.**

**Several explosions blossomed when the more inexperienced pilots were caught off guard by the sudden lightning strikes and wound up crashing into wreckage, their suits folding in from the force of the impact instantly.**

"Well that's pathetic, dying without even getting to see the enemy." Mercury rolled his eyes.

"Oh shut up Mercury, like you'd have done any better. Now be quiet, I'm trying to watch here." Emerald said, her eyes remaining glued to the screen.

"Huh, never figured you to be a fan of mechs Em."

"There's a lot you don't know about me, now shut up!"

**"Damnit, we're completely exposed out here!" Jaune's radio picked up the chatter from the other pilots.**

**"Never mind, if they shoot, we can just trace it back to pinpoint their location!" Another pilot called out.**

**"Ho, so who's gonna draw the short stra-ah hell." Jaune saw the shot coming a split second before the beam hit, the high powered particle beam instantly slagging his shields and piercing the GM behind it, melting through the upper torso and causing it to explode.**

**Background radio chatter went haywire as the sniping commenced in full, every shot claiming another victim and the surviving pilots trying to relay the location of the snipers back to HQ but being foiled by the high concentration of Minovsky particles in the area.**

A series of gasps and cries went out from the audience, no one expecting Jaune's machine to be destroyed so suddenly.

"Well… that was a quick one." Cinder muttered, after all that build up, she was kind of expecting him to survive for a little longer than that, not go out so anticlimactically.

"JAUNE!" Nora yelled and shot out of her seat, only a quick tug from Ren kept her from leaping at the screen.

"Nora, relax, movie's not over yet. Jaune must have survived." Ren said in an attempt to calm her down.

"Y-yeah, he must have ejected or something."

**Blues music echoed inside the Zaku's cockpit as the sniper pulled the trigger again and was rewarded with an explosion seconds later. "Barrel's reached end of lifespan, switching to target prediction role now."**

**Mercury leaned back from his seat as he pushed away the targeting monitor, switching from active sniper to spotter.**

**"Good shooting Merc, we'll take it from here." His comrades cheered as they picked up the slack, not that there was much with him having cleared out half the federation attack force on his own. Mercury just leaned back in his seat and hummed a tune as he transmitted accurate firing solutions to the other snipers.**

"Well, well, well, look at that, even in another world I'm a badass." Mercury chuckled as the audience glared at him.

"Grr… metal legs, right? Pyrrha, can you break em from here?" Nora turned to her teammate and asked.

"Good question, might as well give it a shot." Pyrrha was about to try before Blank interrupted with a cough.

"Ahem, kindly avoid doing that, I'd rather not have to disable your semblances as well."

**"Hmm… ensign Corsac, is your suit drifting? There's some interference from your comms." Mercury said when he noticed Corsac's screen glitching out.**

**"Huh? Is it, hang on lemme check the cables… eh what the?" Corsac trailed off when a small light started to beep on his controls and his viewing monitors shut off, the cockpit hatch of his Rick Dom opening up immediately after as the emergency release was triggered from outside the suit.**

**"What is- no wait!" Corsac's cries were cut off when a pistol entered his cockpit and fired once, the bullet landing right between his eyes, killing the white fang pilot immediately.**

**"Corsac!" Several shouts came from the other snipers as they watched their comrade be murdered right in front of them, none of them in any position to do anything about it. Mercury just stared at the screen with wide eyes as a person in a federation pilot suit entered Corsac's mobile suit.**

**Jaune smiled and hit the release on Corsac's seatbelt, grabbing hold of the deceased corpse and shoving it out into space to join the thousands of other corpses floating around in the vacuum. "Hmm controls don't seem too different from a Zaku, this Dom is mine now."**

**Jaune looked up into the monitors displaying the other white fang pilots, kicking his legs up onto the controls, he gave Mercury a small wave. "Yo, you look the ace in charge of these snipers, good shooting but your taste in music is absolute trash."**

"It's Jaune! He's alive!" Nora cheered, throwing popcorn into the air in celebration.

"Yes he is, now please calm down Nora." Pyrrha said as she joined Ren in trying to get her to sit back down.

**"Tch, bold words from someone who just got lucky!" Mercury said as he glared at the screen.**

**"Hiding in the back, sniping people from afar like cowards… a perfect job for cripples like you peg legs." Jaune mocked as the members of the living dead division glared at him.**

**"Are you laughing at my legs?" Mercury asked angrily.**

**"Of course, you are kinda pathetic aren't you? Oh, and thanks for giving me all your sniping positions by the way, I'll pop by to pay you a visit later. For now, I'm just gonna walk home right on through your blind spots. Tata boys." Jaune laughed as he hit the controls to disengage the mobile suit from its position, gunning the thrusters as he prepared to shoot on home. The boys back home would probably bust his ass for abandoning his core fighter out in the middle of nowhere, but he could probably buy them off with the Dom.**

"Dick." Mercury said curtly.

"…Okay, that's… kinda uncalled for actually. What's with Jaune?" Yang asked.

"He has… issues to say the least. His family life is complete crap after his father committed suicide and he found the body during the white fang invasion of his home colony. Then when he joined the federation, he found out that he effectively sold his soul to a force just as corrupt as the fang. And after fighting in a war he would rather never have been part of, he's now only capable of feeling alive in the heat of battle. Being a jerk is the only way he can deal with the absolute insanity of the situation." Blank said.

"Aren't there counsellors that can help with that?" Ironwood asked, having seen soldiers like that under his command, they usually didn't last long.

"There are, but not nearly enough to deal with the extreme numbers, so many fall through the cracks. And Jaune Arc knows that as long as he remains on the battlefield, his problems won't improve, at the same time, he can't bring himself to walk away. Too much anger in him."

"Tragic." Ozpin summed it up with one word.

**"You're not getting away you hear me, next time I'm definitely shooting you down! I'm chief petty officer Mercury Black, and I'll be gunning for you always until I kill you." Mercury swore.**

**"Ensign Jaune Arc, when you hear the sound of jazz, you'll know I'm here." The Rick Dom took off and drew its machine gun, pumping several rounds into the Big Gun, the artillery emplacement went up in a ball of flames.**

"That's set up for a blood feud if I've ever seen one." Blake muttered under her breath.

**"Damnit all, twenty-four of them went out and this is all that returned?" One of Neptune's fellow techs complained as several badly battered GMs limped back to the carrier, some helped in by more functional mobile suits as their pilots were already KIA.**

**Neptune nervously watched the proceedings, his worry growing when there was no sign of Jaune's machine coming in. Just as he was moments away from a nervous breakdown, his attention was drawn away by several shouts of awe.**

**Turning to the hangar entrance expecting to see Jaune's GM make a miraculous return, his blood froze in his veins when he saw a white fang mobile suit coming in for a landing. The worry faded away once the machine came to a stop using the safety net and a familiar pilot suit emerged from the cockpit.**

**"Jaune! Where the hell did you get that!?" Neptune pointed to the captured mobile suit once his friend had made it over to him.**

**"Uh… funny story about that. You see, there was a little accident out there, and the previous pilot was kind enough to lend me his suit so I could make it back. Told me to keep too." Jaune said smiling sheepishly, unable to meet Neptune's eyes.**

**"Oh for the love of! You abandoned your unit out there again didn't you!?"**

**"Now, abandon is such a strong word…" Jaune trailed off and wished he could remove his helmet and plug his ears.**

**"You dick! Do you have any idea how long I worked on your GM!?"**

**"Uh… a couple minutes?" Jaune didn't have the time to regret his words as Neptune caught him in a headlock and started squeezing, their antics bringing laughter to the hangar and lightening the grim mood.**

"I still don't get it, how did he survive getting his mech blown up?" Taiyang asked at last, unable to keep the curiosity at bay any longer.

"All the GMs are equipped with a core block system, essentially the suit is made up of three parts. The legs, the upper torso and a connecting core block made up of a transforming fighter, in an emergency it can function as an escape pod or a last ditch effort to continue battle. Before the GM was completely destroyed, he managed to eject and circle around in the core fighter." Blank explained.

"An escape pod that can function as a fighter… interesting concept, that would lead to higher survivability for pilots." Winter said.

"Ah, that's a side benefit of the core block system actually, not the main focus."

"What?"

"The federation places greater emphasis on the combat data collected by their mobile suits than the pilots, due to the absurdly high attrition rate faced by pilots on the field when rookies run up against veterans, high command believes the data to be more valuable, since it could lead to development of new strategies or technology to advance the war effort. That the pilot survives is a nice bonus but chances are good they'll just die in the next engagement." Blank said.

"That's very pragmatic and also very depressing." Roman said after silence took the theatre.

**"So the fleet finally sent reinforcements and a new prototype unit with them, and you want me to pilot the new suit. Heh, did the Moore brotherhood send more money to the federation again?" Jaune said as he leaned against a wall in Weiss's office.**

**"Every pilot that outranked you died on the last mission. Otherwise…" Weiss said after a long period of silence, staring out into the void of space.**

**"I'm the only one left eh? Figures, but what else is new, we both got to where we are now because everyone above us went and bought the farm, isn't that right acting captain?" Jaune said and Weiss spun around to glare at him.**

**Her attempt to slap him was halted when Jaune simply grabbed her arm and locked it in place, leaving her to glare at him. "Let go. That's an order."**

**"As you say captain." Jaune released her hand but before Weiss could try slapping him again, he'd already slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her in close for a kiss.**

"JAUNE ARC!" Weiss screamed out completely mortified, her face was burning red, and she could hear the loud roar of the blood rushing to her face, telling her to find a hole somewhere and bury her head in it.

"Oh my, anything you want to share with me Weiss." Winter turned to stare at her sister, causing her face to turn even redder.

"Yeah Weiss-cream, anything to share with the class." Yang glared at her teammate, thoroughly unamused by what she was watching. Pyrrha was by her side cracking her knuckles, if Weiss suddenly decided she wanted a piece of Jaune as well, she'd… well she didn't know what she was going to do yet, but it'd be something drastic.

**Weiss forcibly broke the kiss, pushing away from Jaune with tears in her eyes, her words spilling forth in a broken tone. "No, I have to stop loving you, only then can I order you to your death."**

**"Go ahead then Weiss, order me into battle. I've been possessed by the demons called mobile suits that shine on the battlefield." Jaune smiled, an expression just as broken as the one of Weiss's face.**

"I don't like it, I don't like it all. What happened to them?" Ruby whispered, unnerved by what she was watching. The people on screen were still undeniably her friends, yet so… different, and not in a good way.

"It's quite simple, war is hell." Blank replied.

**"Wooo… this is amazing, it's like night and day. And I thought the GM Nep tuned for me was good… so this is a Gundam eh?" Jaune said to himself as he prepared for the first test flight, a simple recon mission to check up on the sniper positions identified from the captured Rick Dom's computers.**

**The black and red mobile suit shot out into the sea of stars, moving far faster than any GM as the multiple boosters on its back gave it unparalleled acceleration. With Jaune at the controls, a GM could really move among the debris, but with a Gundam, he could make it dance.**

**"hahhehaha…. Heehahehahaha…. Hahhehahhahah! This is it! This is the power I've always wanted!" The Full Armour Gundam raised its twin barrelled beam cannon and fired on a destroyed building, blowing it to smithereens in a single shot.**

**"Gundam, give me your strength."**

"Unreal, and I thought those GMs were mobile, and that kind of firepower, isn't that a battleship grade weapon?" Ironwood looked to Blank for confirmation.

"Indeed, that is the FA-78 Full Armour Gundam, thunderbolt custom. A single high-performance mobile suit equipped with the Full Armour package for maximum mobility and firepower, turning it into a weapon capable of fighting off entire armies or small fleets on its own." Blank explained.

"The way he says the machine's name… the Gundam isn't something ordinary is it? It's not just another mobile suit right?" Qrow asked.

"Indeed. The original Gundam was a prototype for the later mass production models, an experimental unit that would have served as a testbed for most future weapons research and as such had its performance tuned to the absolute max with nearly every type of tech they could think off crammed into it. When the white fang attempted to destroy it, they failed and it fell into the hands of someone who would later become their single greatest nightmare." Blank said.

"One person becoming that feared? It is kind of hard to believe." Goodwitch said.

"Never underestimate how much damage one determined person is capable of causing. That way lies surprise and death." Blank said and Goodwitch nodded quietly, seeing his point, a constant reminder was just seating several seats away after all.

**A white fang pilot pulled the trigger on his artillery piece, the Big Gun spitting out lasers at a rapid pace towards the pale streak in the distance. But none of the attacks even got close. "Damnit, what the hell is this, it's not hitting!"**

**Firing again and again until the barrel overheated, he wasn't able to shoot down the federation suit, its speed simply too much to compensate for. The next thing the sniper knew, a pink beam had already struck his cannon from the side, causing it to explode and sending his suit into a tailspin.**

**"Fuck! What the hell is this!?" Righting his suit after fighting the controls for a bit, his mobile suit drew a machine gun for defence, hunting for the enemy that just disappeared. A second beam shot flashed out of the blue, slagging half his machine gun and causing it to explode.**

**While the sniper was starting to panic, his comms came to life as a transmission came in on a universal frequency. Instead of words or some encrypted message, only jazz music played from the speakers.**

**His viewscreen was momentarily filled with the enemy mobile suit as it rammed him and ripped away one of his arms. The white fang member started screaming in terror as the federation suit disappeared from view, reappearing again only long enough to cut off his Zaku's legs with a beam saber.**

**Then a shield entered the screen as it was used to push aside the Zaku's remaining arm. An arm grabbed hold of the Zaku's torso as the enemy came into full view for the first time. The doomed pilot getting a front row seat to the unveiling of the Full Armour Gundam just before it rammed the beam saber into the cockpit, vaporising the man inside.**

"That… was needlessly cruel." Ironwood said at last, impressed with the Gundam's performance, but displeased with Jaune's handling of the situation.

"It was a test flight to see how the Gundam would perform in a live fire situation, Jaune Arc was testing its limits. And, also relying on the Gundam's potential for psychological warfare. Every member of the white fang knows that facing a Gundam in open battle is effectively suicide, even aside from the original White Devil, subsequent Gundams have been weapons of ace pilots that their own aces tend to suffer one hundred percent casualties against. Having a Gundam show up here now is soul crushing for the Living Dead division." Blank said.

"It was perfection actually, it's not enough to just have power, you have to rip it away from your enemies too. Leave them crawling in the dirt as they fall into despair and understand their place in the world." Cinder praised, her world's version of Jaune Arc may be an enemy, but that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate the actions of another world's.

**Mercury sat calmly in his refurbished Zaku I, his original mobile suit long destroyed by Jaune's Gundam while in the hands of another pilot. He inhaled, counted to four and slowly exhaled, keeping an eye on the screens feeding him precious data from sensors scattered throughout the thunderbolt sector.**

**Hard to believe it had only been two weeks since the Gundam appeared. In that time, he'd been called back to A Baoa Qu to receive a medal for his sniping and test out the new reuse pyscho device system.**

**When he left, the white fang laid claim to the majority of the sector, when he returned, most white fang installations had already been destroyed, most of them at the hands of a single unit. Survivors fortunate enough to return from the slaughter spoke of jazz music playing on the universal frequency moments before the attack came out of nowhere.**

**The ace sniper of the white fang knew Jaune was taunting him, hunting him. Using the sound of jazz to lure him out. "I'm back now, sorry to keep you waiting, and I… see… you."**

**Disappointed that the Gundam wasn't in his firing range, he relayed its projected path to his fellow snipers, trusting them to take the shot for him.**

"Yeah, that's not gonna work. If you want something done right…" Mercury shrugged his shoulders and felt a small bit of pity for his other self, there was no way those other grunts would be able to take out the Gundam on their own.

**"There you are, I see you!" Jaune yelled out as he deflected a Big Gun shot using one of his four shields, discarding the damaged equipment once the shot faded away.**

**The Gundam accelerated, its movements becoming even more erratic than before in an effort to outpace the Big Gun's adjustment speed. Launching two missile pods, dozens of micro missiles shot out of them in the direction of the closest identified sniper, exploding harmlessly in the vacuum, they served to blind the sniper to Jaune's movements.**

**The sniper just kept firing blindly, knowing his position was compromised and hoping to get a lucky shot off. But fortune was not on his side, Jaune's Full Armour Gundam shot through the smoke cover and locked onto the sniper, the Gundam's shoulder mounted beam cannon fired, the pink beam lancing through the Big Gun and blowing the area to hell.**

**"Bunch of cowardly snakes, can't you fight outside your hidey holes? Tch." Jaune fired randomly into the debris field, breaking up larger pieces into a cloud of smaller ones to hamper visibility. Abandoning several of his spent fuel tanks, Jaune used them as decoys to suss out the location of the remain snipers.**

**"Found you." Double barrel rifle firing, the beam damaged a Rick Dom and destroyed the second sniper position. While the mobile suit was struggling to regain control, Jaune boosted closer and hacked off its legs with his beam saber and readied for the final blow.**

**"Gotcha now. Die!" The third and final sniper position, manned by Mercury himself, got a lock on the Gundam. Full Armour or not, a single hit from a weapon designed to bring down capital ships would destroy it instantly.**

**Depressing the trigger, the particle beam lanced outwards, headed straight for the Gundam. It was a perfect shot, and Jaune had no way of dodging it in time.**

"NO!" Nora yelled in panic.

**Then a miracle happened. A thunderbolt passed right between the Gundam and the beam, the electrical discharge deflecting the particle beam to the side and sparing the Gundam any damage aside from superficial paint scaring.**

"Bullshit! I had him dead to rights!" Mercury yelled next, pissed off at his perfect kill being messed up by a lightning bolt in space of all things.

"You'll just have to try harder next time Mercury." Emerald smirked as he started growling.

"What do you mean try harder!? That was perfect! There's no doing better than that!"

"Oh be quiet you two, your little grudge match hasn't ended yet." Cinder said with a frown and her underlings fell silent immediately.

**"Ho… sniping at me from such a long range… it's you isn't it peg legs!?" Jaune grinned maniacally as he forgot about finishing off the crippled Rick Dom in favour of settling the score with Mercury. **

**"Tch, a thunderbolt deflected the beam!? I can't believe this guy's luck!" Mercury swore and prepared to continue sniping, ignoring his comrades calls for a retreat. Refurbished or not, the Zaku I was an antique and there was no way in hell he'd be able to outrun the Gundam in it, and the both of them knew it.**

**"If you can predict my movements then I dare you to fire. If you're prepared to kill your own that is." Jaune's Gundam had grabbed hold of the first sniper who was still alive, holding it in front of him as a human shield, daring Mercury to kill his own comrade.**

**Jaune's eyes widened momentarily when the next few sniper shots went wide, blowing up pieces of the destroyed colony instead. "Oh, adding to the debris as a distraction huh? Trying to funnel me into a kill box?"**

**Instead of playing to Mercury's plan, the Gundam started weaving through the new debris field at breakneck speeds, keeping out of the line of fire, jazz playing all the while, pumping Jaune up. "Ahhh I love this song! When you hear the sound of jazz, it's the end!"**

**Jabbing another almost spent fuel tank into his human shield, Jaune sent the hapless sniper flying forwards, before launching a missile pod straight into it, detonating it and executing the white fang pilot. The resulting explosions lit up the area and the glare kept Mercury from getting a good look at the Gundam's location. **

**"It's over." Jaune said as his distraction gave him the opening he needed to sneak past Mercury's guard and end up directly overhead. Firing downwards, he blew the gun emplacement to hell, but Mercury's Zaku dodged away at the last minute, the monoeye tracking catching sight of Jaune just before he could land the finishing blow.**

**Undeterred, Jaune's machine surged forwards, using his gun to pin the struggling Zaku to a section of the colony. "Hahahaha! With your worthless body, this must be your limit, how pathetic. It's over peg legs!" **

**The Gundam's beam saber came down, intending to spear Mercury's Zaku right through the cockpit. The white fang suit tossed out a cracker grenade and brought up one arm in an effort to ward off the blow.**

**Mercury's efforts succeeded partially, the addition of the arm deflected the beam saber enough for it to not deliver a fatal blow but the exploding instruments inside his machine critically wounded him anyways.**

**As the cracker grenade went off, Jaune was forced to retreat to get out of the blinding flash. When his sensors could get a better look at Mercury's position, the Zaku was nowhere to be found, the living dead division's ace sniper had escaped to fight another day.**

**"Kuh, son of a bitch!"**

"Gah, so close!" Nora complained, displeased with having Mercury escape his fate.

"Tell me I get him back for it later." Mercury asked, equally displeased with being put into such a situation.

"You do, although whether or not that's a good thing for you highly depends on just how much you want your revenge." Blank said.

"That makes no sense." Cinder said.

"The Full Armour is beyond anything the white fang has at the moment, except one unit."

"So use that then. Oh wait, guess that means legless over here is going to use it." Emerald commented.

"Indeed, enough power to match the Gundam, it just comes with a very high cost." Blank said.

"High cost?" Cinder raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yes, the special system installed on that machine can only bring out its full potential when its used by a quadruple amputee, at the moment, that Mercury Black is missing two legs and an arm, but there's still one functioning one left that would hamper performance." Blank's words got Mercury to pale instantly and clutch his arms to himself.

"Bullshit, they cut off my arm for that!? Lemme guess, they didn't bother asking for my opinion either."

"Correct. Power is expensive after all."

**"So the final assault is starting soon huh?" Jaune asked as he hung out with Neptune, both of them taking a break to recover.**

**"Yeah, you blew up most of their guns and the fleet is free to push through. HQ sent in even more reinforcements to make up for our losses. Gotta push the damn fang out of the sector soon, I heard they have their own reinforcements coming soon." Neptune replied as he watched the new arrivals touch down.**

**"Eh, with more hands we should-what the hell!? They're just kids!" Jaune's cheery tune changed when the fresh pilots exited their shuttle and started mingling with the existing crew, their youth and inexperience easily visible. His hands clenched in to fists as Neptune shook his head with a depressed sigh.**

**"They're all we've got, everyone else is with the main fleet preparing for Operation Star One." **

**"This is bullshit, I need to see Weiss. God damn it, I asked for reinforcements not cannon fodder."**

**"They're your men now Commander Jaune Arc." Neptune said.**

**"It's a sick joke." Jaune slammed his fist against a wall and left to find his captain.**

"They don't look like kids to me." Roman shrugged, unsure about what Jaune was so upset about. Sure they were a little on the young side but still, hardly actual child soldiers.

"It's the principle of it. Those pilots are fresh out of training school and have zero combat experience, some haven't even been out on the field and they're being sent to fight veteran aces. For comparison's sake, it's like asking students fresh out of combat school to go fight off ancient Grimm that veteran huntsmen have issues with. In other words, a death sentence." Blank said.

"Oh." Roman said quietly.

"The higher ups don't expect those pilots to return, do they?" Ironwood asked.

"They expect some, not all. Barbaric as it is, throwing fresh meat into the grinder can and has given great results. Rookies who survive the crucible emerged hardened and more experienced then before, eventually becoming great aces themselves should they live long enough. And there's also the issue that both sides are nearly completely exhausted at this point in the war, they're just throwing everything they have left at the enemy and hoping the other side breaks first." Blank explained.

"It's the battle of the century folks, cripples versus child soldiers! That's… actually very messed up." Roman jested in an effort to lighten the mood before processing the words again and falling silent.

**"Weiss! Weiss!" Jaune yelled as the door to the captain's quarters opened. The lights were out and Jaune nearly had his eye put out by a syringe floating in the air.**

**"The hell?" Looking at it, he identified the syringe as one meant for injecting painkillers. The thing was already empty though and he could see Weiss hunched over her desk.**

**"Weiss!" Surging over to where she lay, Jaune hauled her up roughly and forcibly rolled up her sleeves, cursing when he saw several injection marks on her arms.**

**"Damnit! You're an officer for fuck's sake, how long have you been using!?" When Weiss failed to respond, Jaune slapped her twice to bring her back to the waking world.**

**"What is wrong with you!?"**

"I-I'm a drug addict!?" Weiss choked out, brain frying at the image she was trying to process.

"I… I… why!?"

"It's the only way you can cope with having to send your subordinates to their deaths repeatedly. Having to order Jaune out into the field and now effectively sign the death warrants of the rookies, that version of you has gone way past her limits." Blank answered.

As her friends and her sister moved to console Weiss, Ironwood smiled bitterly at the sight. "The chains of commanding huh?"

He'd lost a lot of good commanders that way in the past, some resigned, unable to continue their work. Others found solace at the bottom of a bottle, unable to deal with their guilt. And then there were those who went and chewed on a gun.

"If we can just improve the mechs to where they can replace a flesh and blood soldier completely, maybe this will be a thing of the past." The general mumbled to himself, hoping that such issues would one day be a thing of the past.

**"I understand… I understand what your father felt like now." Weiss said and Jaune recoiled as though he was just slapped.**

**"I know how he must have felt now when the deaths of everyone in Moore weighed on him. You'd never understand it Jaune. I have to order more people to their deaths again! EVEN THOSE CHILDREN SENT HERE LIKE EXPENDABLE GOODS!" Weiss cried out, tears leaking from her eyes. **

**Jaune's face contorted into a bitter expression, unable to find any words for the situation. In the end, he settled for pulling Weiss into a hug and letting her cry her heart out without any condemnation.**

"Tch, big deal, it's just ordering other people into battle while you stay safe. I'm the one who got my limbs sawed off, if anyone's got the right to cry it's me." Mercury rolled his eyes at the sappy display.

"You're evil, you don't count." Ren replied.

Mercury glared and was about to start arguing back when Cinder shut him up with a look.

**As Jaune resumed his role as commanding officer of the mobile suit squadrons and left to brief the other pilots on the upcoming final push, he left Weiss in the hands of Neptune.**

**When she came out of painkiller induced stupor, she found herself lying in a specially set up medical ward inside Jaune's quarters. Neptune was there, staring at photos of the three childhood friends, taken before the war and shortly after they enlisted.**

**"Life used to be so much simpler back in the day. Just doing as we pleased, the world was our playground." Neptune said as he picked up one of the group photos and stared at it with fondness in his eyes.**

**"I still see those days in my dreams." Weiss said after a long silence.**

**"Drugs can't take you back. Jaune doesn't actually enjoy war you know, he's just… only capable of feeling truly alive when he pushes himself to the limit. After all this… he can only live in the madness of war now. I feel sorry for him actually." Neptune said.**

"What is that supposed to mean?" Emerald asked in confusion.

"Hmm? Isn't it obvious? He hates what he's doing but it's the only way he can live." Mercury explained.

"And how would you know that?" Emerald challenged but Mercury just shrugged.

"Figure it out yourself Em."

**Jaune stood in front of the assembled pilots, his heart sunk when he not only found himself the oldest person in the room but the only one above the age of twenty. Gritting his teeth, he began his speech.**

**"Our mission begins at 2400hrs, you'll be acting as my shields. I'll be avoiding any random skirmishes along the way, the Full Armour Gundam's sole mission is to sink the enemy fleet and take out their ace sniper. **

**This is a messed-up world where someone who kills lots of people gets praised as a hero. An infinite loop of planning ops and fighting. Even when the players and pieces change, the mission we call war continues. Try to ignore it all you want, there's no changing it.**

**I love mobile suits. I'm hopelessly addicted to these machines that amplify my abilities. It gets me fired up from head to toe, call it sinful or whatever, but I'll break free of whatever ties me down. And I'll keep fighting all the way to the pits of hell itself.**

**Farewell, my brother and sister expendables. If any of us survive, I'm buying."**

**Jaune finished his speech and saluted, the assembled pilots returning the gesture. There were no lies in his speech, nothing but the honest to god truth. Yet none of the rookies wavered, their patriotism keeping them from breaking, somehow, that made him feel worse than the alternative.**

"That's… one heck of a depressing pep talk." Blake said, even before dangerous missions in the white fang, there had never been anything so… dark.

"Ya know, I thought all these mission speeches were supposed to raise morale, not lower it." Yang said, uncomfortable with the twistedness on display.

"He's being honest because he thinks they're all going to die no matter what, he's convinced morale won't make a difference and if he's going to send them to their deaths, he might as well be honest about it." Winter analysed.

**As soon as the battle begun, things went awry for both sides. The white fang and the federation both coming to the same conclusion, the battle would not be won as long as the enemy fleet remained intact, and both knew their rank and file mobile suit squadrons simply wouldn't cut it.**

**Mercury's new Pyscho Zaku and Jaune's Full Armour Gundam both skirted the around the front lines, missing one another as they hunted the enemy capital ships.**

**Both machines engaged at the same time, inflicting heavy losses on the fleets, none of the ships on either side capable of handling a direct assault from high performance mobile suits.**

**With the fleets going down in flames, the two aces returned to the front, hunting one another once more.**

"D-did we just die!?" Weiss asked, seeing the carrier they were on take several direct hits from Mercury's assault.

"Neptune survives on a lifeboat and eventually meets up with Jaune, you live as well although rescue comes later for you and you get amnesia from oxygen deprivation as a result. You meet up with them again in the future but that's a story for another time." Blank said.

"W-well at least you're alive?" Ruby said, trying to find a bright side to the situation.

"That's… not really comforting Ruby, but thanks anyway." Weiss replied.

**"That was too easy… battle's not over yet, there's still one more out there. Where are you peg legs?" Jaune asked himself as he scanned the view screens, hunting for any sign of Mercury. The enemy fleet had been completely wiped out by the Gundam and the white fang carrier was now besieged by the surviving federation mobile suits. They could take it from there, he had a score to settle.**

**"There you are!" After several minutes of fruitless searching, Jaune caught sight of his target, a heavily modified Zaku that couldn't be anything but an ace custom. Firing his arm beam cannon in an attempt to get in a fatal blow, he couldn't help but grin when the red mobile suit evaded it effortlessly.**

**Their fight spilled over into the interior of one of the destroyed colonies. The Gundam firing its beam weapons repeatedly while the Zaku retaliated with bazooka shots. Explosions rocked the ruins, and Jaune landed the first solid hit.**

**His shot incinerated half of Mercury's bazooka and caused it to explode in his hands. An attempt to follow up with a finishing blow was halted when a large piece of debris knocked loose from their shootout fell in the way, taking the hit for Mercury and letting him escape.**

**"Guh! Lucky bastard!"**

"Payback's a bitch." Mercury smirked, seeing Jaune fall victim to the same bullshit luck that saved him earlier left a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

"Shut up Mercury, I'm trying to watch here." Emerald scolded as she furiously shovelled popcorn into her mouth.

**As their fight led them deeper into the residential sector of the colony, the mass grave of the massacred colonists served to hamper their fight as Mercury found out.**

**"Get out of my way." A dress once trapped in the rubble became dislodged by the fighting and ended up blocking the Zaku's main camera, obscuring Mercury's vision. A quick burst of steam from the Zaku's hands cleared the obstruction just in time for Mercury to spot the Gundam coming in for a saber slash.**

**Pushing his thrusters to the maximum, the Zaku shot away just in time as the Gundam swung, the beam saber finding only vacuum for its efforts.**

**Explosions blossomed all over the destroyed colony as the two machines continued their duel. The final resting place of so many lost souls disturbed once more by two individuals driven to kill each other no matter the cost.**

"It's… it's like Mount Glenn again." Ruby said, recalling the deserted city and seeing the contrasts between the colony and it.

"It's disrespectful, can't they leave the dead to rest in peace?" Goodwitch huffed angrily.

"Clearly not, some people don't have the decency for that." Roman said and glared at Cinder, her forcing him to return to that cursed land was yet another reason why he'd piss on her grave if they bothered to give her one after her inevitable execution.

**"Grah! Just die already!" Jaune yelled as he fired another wave of missiles, growling when the Zaku's extra manipulator arms on its backpack whipped out two machine guns, gunning down the entire volley before they could threaten him.**

**Trying to shoot down Mercury with the Gundam's two beam weapons wasn't going so well either. The Zaku's movements were unnatural, too fluid for a normal pilot and it was causing Jaune a major headache.**

**"Guh, how is this happening!? The Gundam is obviously stronger than that Zaku, so why can't I kill him!? Is… is he… NO! There is no way in hell a cripple is a better pilot than I am!"**

**Jaune's frustration increased yet again when Mercury dodged his attacks and retaliated with a fresh bazooka, the subsequent blast rattling the Full Armour Gundam as it landed nearby.**

"I don't get it, how is he putting up such a fight? He doesn't even have limbs anymore. What kind of system could do something like that?" Pyrrha asked, unable to identify the reason behind Mercury's sudden increase in skill.

"The reuse psycho device is an attempt to reduce user input lag. As anyone who's ever piloted or driven anything before will know, there's always a time delay between you thinking of your next action, your limbs moving to carry it out and finally the machine responding to your input. That delay may be miniscule at worst but every bit counts when life and death can be decided in a split second. The system connects the pilots nerves to the machine directly, cutting out the middleman and allowing the machine to react far faster than should be humanly possible, it's why a quadruple amputee is needed, the mobile suit's limbs _are _his limbs now." Blank answered.

"Enough power to match a super weapon, and all it requires is the user sacrificing his body." Ironwood said and looked down to his own mechanical parts.

"Power isn't cheap. Never has been, never will be." Blank summed up, even though the orb didn't have eyes, Cinder could still feel him sending a pointed stare her way.

**Disbelief was mounting for Jaune as the Gundam started taking more hits, including a direct strike to its head, disabling its missile pods and damaging the camera, causing half his view to start flickering. **

**Gunning the thrusters, he disengaged the spent fuel tanks and shot out into space. The interior of the colony too cramped for his liking and loathe as he was to admit it, gave Mercury the home field advantage. The white fang had been in control of this place for too long, Mercury simply had the better picture of the place while he was effectively fighting blind.**

**Detaching the useless missile launcher, Jaune continued firing with his beam weapons and dodging the counterattack. Thumbing a button, multiple hatches on the armour blew away, revealing hidden emergency missile pods, firing every last one of them at the Pyscho Zaku, too many to shoot down and forcing Mercury into a specific dodge pattern, allowing Jaune to line up a clean shot.**

**Despite his planning, the reuse psycho device allowed Mercury to evade a fatal blow once more. The Gundam's particle beam blowing off one of the Zaku's arms and damaging its weapons pack but leaving it largely intact. In response, Mercury fired off a sturm faust, the rocket slamming into Jaune's shields and blasting him backwards.**

**With both machines spiralling out of control, they ended up getting separated and losing one another in the debris field. Instead of rushing to resume the fight instantly, both pilots fell back to deal with the damage to their machines.**

"At the rate they're going, it's going to end in a draw." Taiyang commented.

"What. I thought I'd get him back for taking my arm, what gives." Mercury complained, getting an elbow to the side from Emerald for his interruption.

"Your fight ends in a draw, but white fang reinforcements mean you win the battle." Blank said.

"So the fang wins? That leaves a sour taste in my mouth." Winter frowned, annoyance written all over her face.

"They win the battle but go on to lose the war. But, it honestly doesn't matter which side wins in the end, victory by either the fang or the federation doesn't lead to a lasting peace." Blank replied.

**"As expected of a Gundam, if I ditch the armour I can still fight huh?" Jaune muttered as he initiated a full system reboot, the Gundam's various systems coming online again. A full check indicated that the armour had borne the most of the damage with the exception of the damage to the head. A simple purge and he'd be fully mobile again.**

**Hitting the emergency release switch, steam vapour hissed out as the mobile suit vented coolant to purge the jammed pieces of armour. Most of its weapons were offline but Jaune still had one last beam saber at his disposal.**

**"Alright, time to end this. This time, I'll kill him for sure." Glaring in the direction Mercury had flown off in with determination, he pushed the Gundam forwards again, eager to get back into the fight. **

**Searching through the area, Jaune finally found his target, the Zaku had fallen back into the colony interior and was lying amidst another ruined section of the residential block.**

**"Gotcha, when you hear the sound of my jazz, that's when you die peg legs!" Jaune roared and sent the Gundam into a straight dash, beam saber outstretched and ready for the coup de grace, Mercury's unit not reacting after apparently losing power.**

**Once more, fate intervened. Before, a thunderbolt saved Jaune from an unblockable strike, and now, the thunderbolt sector did the same for Mercury. The lightning struck the colony dead centre, electrical energy racing through the ground and into the downed Zaku, jumpstarting it and causing its last sturm faust to fire at point blank range.**

**Jaune could only look on in shock as the missile smashed straight through the Gundam's head, taking it clean off and deflecting his attack enough to stab through the Zaku's monoeye but miss Mercury's cockpit.**

**That was the last bit of action from either of the two suits as they finally ran out of fuel and started to shut down from the damage. **

**"WHY!? WHY CAN'T I BEAT HIM!?" Jaune roared and slammed his fists against the dashboard when the Gundam went completely offline. The Zaku was right there in front of him yet he could do nothing to finish it off.**

**His fight in the thunderbolt sector finished, Jaune popped the hatch and exited his mobile suit as white fang reinforcements started pouring in, the multiple Gelgoogs pointing their beam rifle at him. Noticing the Psycho Zaku had likewise popped the hatch, the two ace pilots came face to face in person for the first time.**

**"Haa… ahhh…" Jaune was speechless when he saw Mercury's full body in person, and noticed the limbs ending in metal rods.**

**"No… no way… he's missing all his limbs!? I lost to a guy like that!?" **

"Serves you right for being a dick." Mercury crowed, still annoyed by Jaune's earlier mockery of his disability.

"Gah! That's not fair! What happens to fearless leader now?" Nora asked and folded her arms.

"Probably taken as a POW." Ironwood answered.

**"So what happens now? We beat the Gundam, we destroyed the federation fleet but we still had to pull out of the side 4 completely. And the reuse psycho device will probably be mass produced with the data from your machine." One of Mercury's colleagues said as they stared at the large numbers of wounded sealed inside medical tubes.**

**"Yeah… it can turn even the most average of pilots into superhumans, they just have to be willing to cut off their limbs for it." Mercury said and looked down at the prosthetic limbs replacing his flesh and blood body.**

**Shaking his head, he left his comrade behind and headed for the detention blocks, going to pay the Gundam pilot a visit. He didn't know if he wanted to go and mock the man, scream at him or just stare, he just felt the need to see the individual responsible for taking his arms from him.**

**As the guard buzzed him through, Mercury entered the cell and simply stared at Jaune, the Gundam pilot having been beaten to an inch of his life by other members of the living dead division.**

"What the hell!? That's mistreatment of POWs, that's a war crime." Ironwood growled out, seeing mistreatment of prisoners was a quick way to piss him off. He'd been accused of facilitating torture on captured members of the white fang in the past despite having done nothing of the sort and this type of war crimes was a very sore spot for him.

"Grr… they're dead. They're so dead." Nora growled out, fingers clenching into fists, by her side, her friends were nodding their agreement.

"Yes, they are actually." Blank answered.

"They are?" Winter looked to Blank for clarification.

"He gets free eventually, and most members of the white fang left on the ship at the time of his escape end up as target practice for him. He's an ace pilot but he's also gone through basic, and he's a crack shot."

**"Jaune Arc, son of the former leader of side 4, part of the Earth Federation's Moore Brotherhood… and notorious Gundam pilot." Mercury listed off as Jaune raised his head to look him in the eye.**

**"Mercury Black, tell me, how do you pilot a mobile suit with that pathetic crippled body of yours?" Jaune grinned before coughing up some blood, captured and beaten as he was, he remained defiant to the end.**

**Mercury's prosthetic arm tightened into fists, the metal rattling under the strain as he glared at Jaune. "I wanted to kill you to put an end to this. I thought if I could beat the Gundam, it'd set me free from this nightmare called war."**

**"Nightmare? Gah! After all you've done, you want to play victim now? You beat my Gundam with the power you gained by sacrificing your body didn't you? Hehehhe… hell of a rush isn't it? Beating me, the more we curse war, the more we hate it, the more obsessed we become with it." Jaune spat out, getting Mercury to take a step back as the memory of the pure euphoria of piloting the Psycho Zaku came back to him.**

**"It's our fate to go on fighting, admit it and quit lying to make yourself feel better. You sacrificed your body and I sold my soul, we're both demons who can only exist on the battlefield now. hehehehhahahhaheeha… the war isn't ending anytime soon for either of us." Jaune burst out laughing as Mercury simply spat to the side and left, unable to refute the words without his rebuttal sounding hollow even to his own ears.**

"They're all… broken." Summer said.

"They're all casualties of war, the walking wounded of both sides." Ozpin replied with a small headshake.

**Neptune sat huddled in a corner as the white fang ship rumbled from multiple hill breaches. He couldn't tell what was going on outside but he could guess from the snippets of conversation he overheard from the guards.**

**"A Baoa Qu huh… so the fighting has already reached here. Operation Star One must be succeeding then." He smiled bitterly and pulled his legs in closer, tuning out the worried mumbling of his fellow POWs.**

**Weiss was on board their carrier when it went down, and Jaune was nowhere to be found after having been separated from the rest of the prisoners. He didn't know whether they were interrogating him or if Jaune had already been summarily executed. For all he knew, he might be the only survivor of the three of them.**

**Panicked mutterings broke out when a series of impacts rocked the ship, causing the lights to go out and engulf them all in darkness. Before a full on riot could erupt inside the hold, the doors opened.**

**Blood spray floated into the room followed by the corpses of several white fang soldiers, both living dead division members and regular white fang troops. Jaune was right by them, one arm at the door controls and the other with a pistol outstretched.**

**His friend's face a royal mess, swollen and bruised all over but there was no missing the grin that just oozed smugness. "Nep, got any tissues?"**

The screen faded to black and the lights came back on.

"Yeah! Jaune-Jaune got them all!" Nora cheered while Ren and Pyrrha just clapped politely.

"Meh, I was hoping peg legs over there would bite the dust too, but I guess you can't win em all." Yang shrugged, just happy to see Jaune escaping and rescuing his comrades.

"Gottaseemoregottaseemoregottaseemore…" Emerald was chanting softly under her breath, getting Mercury to shift one seat away from the mint haired girl.

"Reuse psycho device huh… interesting concept, is there anyway to develop that technology here without it needing the removal of all four limbs? Or a way to adapt it for better prosthetics?" Ironwood asked, staring at his own mechanical parts and wondering if they could be improved, internally wishing Dr Polendina was here to see all this.

"I suppose it is, I can prepare some notes on the device and several other similar analogues. It'll be made available the next time you enter the testing range." Blank said.

"Is that wise? Not that I don't trust Jimmy here or anything, but that kind of tech is open to a lot of abuses, especially if a certain someone gets hold of it." Qrow said, thinking of Salem and how much of a nightmare her pawns would be if they had access to such tech.

"Everything can be abused Mr Branwen. In the end, the decision on whether or not to introduce such technology to Remnant isn't mine to make, it's all of yours. Go refresh yourselves ladies and gentlemen, next viewing will start soon." Blank said.

* * *

Author's notes: Done, can't believe it took me so long to do a Gundam chapter. Try googling my profile name, just for fun. In other news, university has started and update schedule might get thrown out of whack by classes. An extra backstory tidbit for Gundam lore nuts, thunderbolt is actually the second time a modified Zaku II high mobility type has defeated a Full Armour Gundam, the first was done by Johnny Ridden shooting down Heinz Baer in another manga. Decided to write this chapter after re-watching Gundam build divers re-rise, came for a show about kids piloting giant robots in VR without stakes, got an SAO like isekai and furry genocide... yeah... on that note, ever see someone raise a death flag so high they wiped out an entire city with them?

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as Io Fleming

Weiss Schnee as Claudia Peer

Neptune Vasilias as Cornelius Kaka

Mercury Black as Daryl Lorenz

Corsac Albain as Hoover


	18. Chapter 17: RIP & TEAR

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 17: RIP & TEAR**

**Inspiration: DOOM (2016)**

"Alright, this universe is slightly different from all the others, namely Jaune Arc does not speak in this one. This version of him is a firm believer in actions speaking louder than words." Blank said, getting Neo to perk up immediately at the thought of seeing another mute on screen.

"Ooh, so he's the kind of guy who talks with his fists then?" Yang asked, punching her palm with an audible smack.

"You could say that." Blank agreed.

"Oh, so a male version of Yang then? Minus the puns at least." Weiss said and sighed while rubbing her temples.

"Not… exactly. This one only has two moods, angry and angrier, he's also a firm believer in bloody murder being the first, best and only solution to his problems."

"…Heh, well this ought to be interesting." Mercury chuckled softly.

"Jaune's a bad guy!?" Ruby asked with wide eyes.

"No. He's a good guy all the way through, it's just that the enemies he faces deserve it completely." blank answered.

"But he's still a monster then, so much for the moral high ground you all love to cling too." Cinder smirked when the audience directed their ire her way again.

"Well, yes, yes he is. Considering he is literally fighting off the forces of hell, half measures don't cut it. He came to the conclusion that the only way to win was to be the single most terrifying monster to tear through the depths of hell, and put the fear of him in everyone standing in his way."

"I'm almost afraid to ask, does he succeed?" Ironwood asked.

"Considering entire demonic hordes broke and fled at the first sign of his approach in the past, I'd say he did. Hell effectively gave up trying to kill him after a while, judging it impossible, in the end they sacrificed one of their most important sites as bait and dropped a mountain on him to seal him away in supposed eternal agony, unable to die or escape." Blank said.

"Oh. That's… horrible." Ozpin said with distaste.

"Nah, it didn't stick. He didn't even feel it, just took a few millennia long power nap until someone released him."

"What." Blake stared blankly at the ball of light, wondering if he was messing with them.

"Ah, I'll just start the viewing, it'll be a series of shorts covering the entire incident." Blank said and the lights dimmed, instead of the screen coming on though, narration started first.

**In the first age, in the first battle, when the shadows first lengthened.**

**One stood.**

**Burned by the embers of Armageddon.**

**His soul blistered by the fires of hell and tainted beyond ascension.**

**He chose the path of perpetual torment.**

**In his ravenous hatred, he found no peace.**

**And with boiling blood, he scoured the umbral plains.**

**Seeking vengeance against the dark lords who had wronged him**

**He wore the crown of the night sentinels.**

**And those that tasted the bite of his sword, named him…**

**The Doom Slayer.**

**A metal riff started playing as the screen came to life, displaying the title card.**

**DOOM**

"Ah now that's music for the soul!" Yang cheered as she bobbed her head to the beat.

"It is catchy, I assume Jaune is the Doom Slayer then?" Ren asked.

"Indeed" Blank confirmed.

"Man, I wanna know just what a guy has to do to get a title like that." Mercury whistled.

"Get a kill count so large they have to invent a number for it and or slaughter your way across hell multiple times."

**Resurgence**

**Jaune's eyes snapped open, the foul reek of hell spawn filled the air and got his blood boiling. Looking up, he could see the lid of the sarcophagus that held him for untold centuries suspended from the ceiling.**

**As the argent energy shielding his body faded away, Jaune's attention was drawn to the side when an inhuman screech tore its way free from a transformed human researcher. A quick glance at his limbs indicated he was still held down by the manacles the demons thought strong enough to hold him.**

**As the demon approached, Jaune pulled on the supposedly unbreakable chains. Within seconds, they'd snapped under his strength. Backhanding the now in range demon hard enough to crack its skull, Jaune gripped it tight with his thumb inside the central hole on its face. Without a word, Jaune slammed his prize down on his sarcophagus, smashing the skull to pulp instantly.**

**Ripping his other arm free and then his legs, Jaune leapt off his former prison, picking up a discarded pistol on the floor. Grabbing it and thumbing the safety off, Jaune started firing on the remaining possessed in the room with him, blowing their heads off with precise shots.**

"Eww… those… things are disgusting. It's not going to be as bad as that dream, nightmare one is it?" Emerald asked, disgust written all over her face.

"Some demons are grotesque, but nothing on the level as that one. Oh and as a safety precaution." Blank flickered once and a purple silencing cylinder materialised around Ruby's seat.

"To protect your ears, some of the guns are… out of this world I shall say. She's free to scream to her heart's content inside that cylinder." Blank explained and received a series of understanding 'oh's in response including a thankful nod from Blake.

**Exiting the room, Jaune was pleased to see his Praetor suit just waiting for him outside. As he donned the armour, he found himself running through his memories to his time before the sealing. Argent D'nur remained in the hands of the demons, and the wraiths were still shackled, with any luck, that would change soon.**

**Attempting to access a nearby terminal for information on the demonic outbreak yielded no results, one of the satellite dishes was misaligned and until it was adjusted, no data would reach him. Any further attempt to pry more information from the terminal was prevented when the system initiated a remote lockout, and an incoming call started playing.**

"**Welcome, I'm Dr James Ironwood, I'm the head of this facility. I think we can work together and resolve this problem in a way that benefits us both." Jaune shoved the screen away, sending it crashing into the wall and breaking it instantly before continuing forwards.**

"That's… rude. At the same time, I had something to do with this mess, don't I?" Ironwood asked with a heavy sigh.

"You are partially responsible for it. You're a well intentioned extremist here, you do what you do because you believe that there's no other choice. The benefits outweighed the risks in your assessments, but you failed to account for your subordinates being far more susceptible to demonic influence than yourself." Blank answered.

"What could General, uh Dr Ironwood have been doing to cause this demonic invasion?" Winter wondered aloud.

"The world was facing an energy crisis that would have meant the near total extinction of humanity in the not too distant future. Every existing energy source was either already dry or simply not enough, to solve it, Dr Ironwood invented argent energy… obtained by siphoning energy from hell itself." Blank said.

"What. I used to work for fire bitch, I've heard and been part of more than enough stupid ass ideas than I ever needed to. But, that has got to be the single most insane idea I've ever heard of." Roman said, Neo nodding vigorously by his side.

"Steal energy from hell… who thought that was a good idea again? How in the world did they not think it would go wrong?" Qrow agreed with the master thief.

"They were very, very desperate. To be honest, it would have worked too, if not for the failure of the human element of the plan." Blank replied.

"Just so we're clear, I'd never do anything like that." Ironwood reassured when he could feel several stares resting on him.

"You won't do something like that, it's true, but you do have the same problem as that version of yourself. Both of you have a tendency to resort to desperate measures when the chips are down, no matter how 'wrong' the solution feels, simply because you think a sure bet is better than risking it all on alternatives."

"Is that so wrong though? Clearly everything has gotten out of hand over there, but you can't afford to risk some things." Ironwood argued.

"Maybe, the problem with picking the sure bet is that it's only 'sure' because you think your data backs it up. If the data is wrong either by mistake or by deliberate sabotage, any decision made on it will more likely than not also be wrong." Blank said and Ironwood fell silent, mulling the words over.

**After clearing a hallway of possessed workers, Jaune came across a locked door. Looking down at his feet, he shook his head is disappointment when he noticed the corpse lying there. Whoever it was had to have fallen over at the last second and failed to get up in time before the door sealed shut and bisected him.**

**Nothing he could do for the man now. Reaching down to grab hold of the corpse's shotgun, he pulled on it and found the man's fingers frozen to the metal, another pull and it came free, tearing the torso free from where it had been trapped by the door, minus the legs.**

**Undeterred by the gruesome sight, Jaune reached down and forcibly lifted up the heavy door by force, ignoring the protesting whine of the machinery as he stepped through.**

**There came a roar when an imp leapt down from the pipes, fireballs in hand ready to challenge him. Jaune simply shot the demon in the face with his new shotgun. It was still alive after that, but rapidly ceased to be when Jaune grabbed its mangled face and introduced it to his armoured knee hard enough to splatter the skull completely.**

**The room beyond was dyed with a sickly orange glow. Jaune's expression tightened under the helmet as he noticed the gore nest, a twisted mishappen blob of flesh made up of the bodies of countless victims, acting as a doorway to hell for the demons. A quick wrench and Jaune removed its core, causing it to explode in a shower of blood and gore and a piercing scream that hurt the ears.**

"Ew. Just ew." Weiss's revulsion was blatant for all to see, in Cinder's corner of the theatre, Emerald was nodding empathetically.

"They turn the corpses of their victims into portals? That's… actually a good plan, the more they kill the more portals they can spawn to serve as a staging ground to further their invasion." Winter looked ill as she found herself agreeing with the demon's actions even if only from the tactical standpoint.

"Good thing the Grimm can't do that, or we'd have gone extinct a long time ago." Blake said.

**Additional demons started teleporting into the room, drawn by the destruction of the gore nest and making it through before the portal collapsed entirely.**

**Their rallying cries were rapidly drowned out by shotgun blasts as Jaune went to work. The Doom Slayer fired until his guns were empty, then he used his fists, beating the remaining imps into bloody chunks with his bare hands.**

**Finishing off the last imp by grabbing it and ripping it in half vertically, Jaune tossed aside the disintegrating corpse, revelling in the surge of energy that fed into his Praetor suit. His body sang with angry energy as power coursed his veins, washing away any hint of fatigue and waking him up fully from his long peaceful sleep.**

"Doesn't he take damage at all? He can't possibly be fine after getting hit so many times with those fireballs." Cinder stared at the screen incredulously, as a fire user herself, she knew just how much damage attacks like that would cause. Having someone simply shrug it off like nothing was quite disconcerting.

"His armour is indestructible and the demons are nothing more than food to him." Blank answered.

"Food? They don't look very tasty." Nora commented.

"Not in the normal sense, whenever he kills with a melee attack, he drains away the demon's remaining life force, using it to fuel himself and keep himself refreshed. Long as he's killing, he doesn't need to eat, drink or rest."

"That's… okay… I'm just happy he's a good guy and our version of the kid isn't some life stealing vampire." Qrow muttered with a small shiver.

"Eh, it is what it is. It definitely helped contribute to his reputation though, since hell itself is functionally an all you can eat buffet for him." Blank replied.

**An announcement came over the loudspeaker once the clean-up was done, announcing that demonic taint was back in manageable levels and the area lockdown had been lifted. Jaune simply rolled his eyes as he made for the exit, as if there was such a thing as a manageable level of demonic taint that wasn't zero.**

**While waiting for the elevator to arrive, a hologram sprung into existence, old security footage playing due to damage to several subsystems. The ghostly image of Cinder walked around, muttering to herself. "He cannot be allowed to leave this place, he would ruin everything."**

**As the hologram faded, Jaune filed the image away in his mind for future reference. Instincts telling him that whoever it was in the recording was at the heart of this mess.**

"Why am I not surprised." Roman deadpanned and glared at Cinder.

"You're willing to sell out humanity to the Grimm here so why not sell everyone out to the forces of hell themselves? Par for the course now that I think about it."

"It's called being on the winning side. I'm sure whatever deal I've been offered is worth my time. As for everyone else… what about them?" Cinder said nonchalantly.

"The demons promised you power for your cooperation, and unfortunately for that version of you, they uphold their side of the bargain." Blank said.

"How is that a bad thing?" Cinder asked, unable to comprehend how getting the power she was promised could be detrimental.

"You'll see, you'll see."

**As Jaune hit the elevator button to ascend, his annoyance spiked when Ironwood's voice came through his elevator's speakers. "I'm willing to take full responsibility for the horrible events of the last 24 hours. But you must understand, our interest in their world was purely for the betterment of mankind."**

**Jaune said nothing, simply looking down at his feet. There lay the corpse of yet another victim of the demons, the heavily mauled individual had made it to the elevator in hopes of reaching safety, yet expired just before he could reach the buttons if the trail of blood was anything to go by.**

**Jaune looked back to the intercom and cracked his knuckles as Ironwood continued speaking. "Everything has clearly gotten out of hand now, yes, but it was worth the risk I assure you."**

**Slamming his armoured fist into the interface, Jaune smashed it to pieces instantly and the short ended there.**

"Can't say I can't understand why he's not willing to listen to you Jimmy. That really isn't helping your case." Qrow chuckled at the morbid display.

"Haah… fair's fair, I probably wouldn't listen to me either in that case." Ironwood sighed and rubbed his temples to ease the building migraine.

"All for the sake of humanity huh… heh just like that version of myself from the nightmare universe." Ozpin said, smiling bitterly at the reminder.

"The road to hell is ordered by the righteous, planned by the well meaning and paved with good intentions. You'll find that truer in more situations than you think." Blank said.

**Minor setback**

**Jaune's plasma rifle sent a steady stream of bolts towards the hell knight, burning off parts of its flesh with every hit. Once the weapon's heat sinks were full, Jaune vented it, releasing a blast of heat outwards that staggered the demon, causing parts of its anatomy to start melting. With it staggered, Jaune punched its head in, knocking it to the floor, then raised his boot and brought it down, pulping the skull.**

**With the last demon dead, there was no longer any interference and the giant turbines started working again. They dissipated the heat build-up and prevented a complete core meltdown that would have destroyed the entire facility.**

**With the immediate threat dealt with, Jaune was now free to continue forwards on his quest to shut the hell portal down completely.**

"**A primary control room has been activated somewhere nearby, it could be Cinder." Ironwood's voice came through the comms but Jaune didn't respond, didn't need to. He was now standing outside a control room of sorts with the shutters down, once he unlocked them, there standing behind a reinforced glass wall was Cinder Fall.**

"**Authorization, Cinder Fall, alpha 4, 0, 2." Jaune slammed a fist against the glass pane and watched as his fist simply bounced off, even without the shutters, a kinetic barrier was in place to keep him from breaking in. Cinder ignored him as she started fiddling with the control panels, rerouting power from all over the facility to the argent energy tower.**

"**She has locked me out Dr Ironwood." Penny's voice helpfully informed as Cinder continued to put her endgame in motion.**

"Penny is here as well?" Winter asked.

"Indeed, she doesn't have a human body though, just an AI core. What she lacks in combat ability, she makes up for in processing power." Blank informed.

"**She in trying to tear open a portal between our world and theirs." Ironwood surmised, getting Jaune to frown.**

"**You could not have saved them anyways." Cinder smirked before turning on her heels and leaving. Jaune slammed his fist against the barrier again, getting it to ripple from the force of the strike but not much else. By the time Penny had hacked back into the system and unlocked the doors for him, Cinder was long gone.**

"Looks like I win again. As expected." Cinder grinned widely, seeing another version of her triumph over her enemies easily brought a smile to her face.

"Keep talking, just keep talking, we'll see how long it takes for you to start screaming when I skin you alive." Qrow growled.

**With the argent energy tower overloaded with power and slowly enlarging the hole used to siphon hell's energy, it was only a matter of time before the rift between worlds grew large enough for the entire demonic host to start pouring through.**

**Unlike with the security system where Penny still had some control over, Cinder's lockout on the power grid was total. There was no remote shutdown and the facility had too many backup generators to simply destroy all of them. That left only one course of action, disabling the tower's induction filters.**

**Jaune stared at the tower in the distance, storm clouds surrounded the beam shooting into the heavens from it started to increase in intensity. There would be time to deal with the tower later, for now he had filters to disable.**

**Following the nav points Penny was kind enough to provide, Jaune made his way to the closest filter, only to find a gore nest blocking his way. Popping it by tearing out his heart, Jaune readied his weapons for the incoming reinforcements.**

**True to form, the red flashes indicating demons teleporting started popping up all around the area. Jaune met the firstcomers with a face full of buckshot, downing them with his shotgun. When the hell knights started arriving, he followed up by feeding them grenades and then melting their faces off with his plasma rifle, the heat wave function serving as a very effective crowd control weapon.**

**Stumbling back slightly when a hell knight landed behind him with enough force to cause a localised earthquake, he was sent staggering back when the demon punched him right in the face. Shaking off the hit that would have killed a lesser man, Jaune got back up and fired his plasma rifle until it clicked empty.**

**A roar of triumph came from the hell knight as it realised Jaune was out of ammo. That sense of pride and accomplished died instantly as Jaune dropped the gun, letting it hang by its sling and rushed in close for a melee beat down.**

**Despite the demon towering over the Doom Slayer and having greater strength behind its blows, it was the one being forced back when Jaune simply powered through its blows and continued delivering haymaker after haymaker.**

**Finally bringing the knight to its knees, Jaune grabbed its head and kneed it hard enough to shatter the skull. Feeling the lifeforce of the dead demon drain into him, Jaune checked his depleted plasma rifle and found that it was back to half charge, not as much as he would have liked but it would do.**

"Okay, how does that work? I get the stealing lifeforce on kill bit but how does that translate to ammo?" Yang asked, her mind tying itself into knots trying to make sense of it.

"It just happens, the full details are murky even to me, but I chalk it up to the same being who made his armour. A blessing for him to continue his endless campaign of terror against the demons, he can use any weapon he picks up like a seasoned professional and when he's low on ammunition, kills refill a portion of his reserves. You'll find he doesn't need to reload his weapons either." Blank said.

"Now that you mention it, I don't recall seeing Jaune reload his shotgun, and there's no way it can hold that many bullets." Pyrrha said.

"**We're only temporarily disabling the tower." Ironwood said once Jaune reached the first induction filter, a complex device that funnelled red hell energy through and put out clean blue argent energy on the other side. The Doom Slayer paid no attention to Ironwood's words as he investigated the machinery.**

"**You need to remove each lens individually. Carefully release the hinges." Ironwood instructed and Jaune stopped his investigation, he'd heard all he need to. Raising his boot, he brought it down, kicking the filter in and causing a spray of blue liquid to fountain into the air, smashing it again, the filter broke completely and hell energy was free to feed into the system, contaminating the refined argent energy beyond.**

**Red lights started flashing as an alarm blared. "Warning, energy contamination detected."**

"…Well… that's something alright." Goodwitch commented with some disbelief in her voice.

"Heh, I like this one. There I was thinking he'd be a goody two shoes and follow instructions, hah! Glad to be proven wrong." Mercury grinned, appreciating the carnage and utter disrespect for authority Jaune was showing.

"Yes, but I do hope you're not getting any ideas of insubordination now Mercury." Cinder said and he shut up instantly.

"**Destroying the production of argent energy isn't necessary." Ironwood chided, annoyance dripping from his every word. Jaune paid it no mind, simply exiting the room to proceed to his next target, slaughtering any demon that tried to stop him in the process.**

**Picking up a rocket launcher from a fallen member of the security forces, Jaune used it to great effect against the summoners once they started spawning in. Infernal teleporting bastards as they were, thanks to his new toy, he had more than enough rockets to share with all of them, doubly so once he picked up a tracking module.**

"Was the cylinder really necessary? Most of the weapons aren't that amazing so far… except maybe the plasma rifle. Where's all the cooler stuff!?" Ruby poked her head out of her silencing field to complain.

"Patience. They'll appear soon, have some cookies while you wait." Blank replied and a plate of cookies appeared in front of Ruby.

"Fine." Shrugging and accepting the plate, she retuned to the field and started munching on her new plate of snacks.

"**You must stop. The hell energy is unusable without the filters" Ironwood's protests went ignored again as Jaune ground the second filter to scrap under his boot.**

"**What you are destroying is more valuable than you can possibly imagine. It is a perfect and unlimited energy resource." Jaune didn't reply to the doctor's explanations, simply making his way to the third and final filter and reducing it to scrap as he had the other two.**

"**We spent decades perfecting the science, selling it to humanity. We balanced their hell energy with our science to make it usable and safe!" Jaune turned and stared at the multitude of human corpses lying on the floor before pushing forwards.**

"**We solved an energy crisis the world had no answer for, it works! You cannot do this!" Again, Ironwood's protests fell on deaf ears as Jaune focused on wiping out the final gore nest in the area. The many imps hurling fireballs his way were a greater concern than listening to the prattling of a man playing with forces beyond his comprehension.**

"**If stopping our energy production is all you want, then you need only destroy this lens filter and argent energy will no longer exist in this solar system. We will be back at square one." Ironwood's words only cemented Jaune's resolve as he looked out at the argent energy tower in the distance, still widening the gateway with every second that passed.**

**Clenching his fists, he slammed down on the lens filter casing, cracking it and eventually shattering it. Grabbing the glowing core inside, Jaune ripped it free and tossed it away, the filtration system exploded violently seconds later.**

"**You have no idea what you've just done." Ironwood's horrified voice came through the comms again. Jaune simply stared into the distance, the beam threatening to spell the end of humanity had shut off and the gateway to hell was starting to shrink. So, he did actually have a pretty good idea of what he just did.**

"Gotta admit, he has a point." Taiyang pointed out.

"I'm not that bad am I?" Ironwood groaned and buried his face in his hands, unable to believe his counterpart was still insisting on the idea of stealing energy from hell being a good one for humanity.

"Not really, but you do have a habit of doubling down when stepping back would be a better idea James." Ozpin said, getting his fellow headmaster to groan again.

"**Cinder is still alive, I've detected her life signature in the argent tower. She has removed one of the accumulators from the tower base, it has a unique energy signature that we can track." Penny's voice replaced Ironwood's and Jaune simply nodded. To him, that woman was probably still trying to find a way to force open the portal and he had a bullet with her name on it.**

"**Well, that's it then. There's nothing else to be done." Ironwood's disappointed voice came through the comms one last time before falling silent, leaving Jaune to exit this section of the facility in peace and make his way towards the tower in the distance.**

"You're kidding, doesn't she know when to quit!?" Weiss shook her head, unable to wrap her head around the idea that Cinder was still trying to tear open the portal.

"Across the multiverse, knowing when to fold is very rarely a trait that Cinder possesses." Blank said.

"**Primary access points to the tower were destroyed in the explosion. The pipeline is damaged but still intact. There are thrust boots in the maintenance hangar, you can use them to traverse the pipeline." Penny informed once Jaune made it to a 'bridge' leading to the tower. He could see a portion of it near the end had been destroyed in some explosion.**

**Whatever these thrust boots were, they were probably some kind of additional mobility option. Before he could claim the boots though, he had to deal with the minor demonic presence maintaining the lockdown. Several possessed soldiers and a couple of revenants were waiting for him.**

**As the revenants roared and sent a barrage of missiles at him, Jaune simply shook his head at the existence of the mashup between a demon and _human_ technology. Clear signs of human experimentation, and even more reason to level the entire facility to prevent all this from happening again.**

**Suppressing the urge to sigh, Jaune raised his own rocket launcher and returned fire.**

"Human experimentation? What is it with these worlds and human experimentation!? First it was turning people into monsters, then people into cyborgs and now people into cyborg monsters. I'm starting to see a pattern here." Blake threw her arms up in the air and complained.

"Huh, it's just a coincidence I assure you." Blank said and several of the audience members shot him disbelieving looks.

"Bullshit." Mercury fake coughed out.

**Upon retrieving the thrust boots, he found the additional mobility and 'double jump' it offered a great addition to his arsenal. It certainly made traversing the damaged pipeline a lot easier even with all the demons spawning in to offer themselves up as tribute.**

**Fighting to the end of it, the thrust boots meant that he cleared the damaged section easily, landing with a solid thud on the other side of the gap. His anger grew when he noticed Cinder standing on the other side of the viewing screen messing with some elevator controls.**

**Once more a kinetic barrier and reinforced glass stood in his way, and Penny had yet to hack into the doors to allow him access. The treacherous woman noticed him and grimaced, picking up a cylinder glowing with red energy, she carried her precious cargo into the elevator and prepared to ascend.**

"**Ah… that's an argent accumulator she's carrying. She'll try to use it to open a portal manually into hell." Ironwood's words confirmed Jaune's suspicions.**

"**While the argent tower is non-functional, the connection to their world is still viable. We are at great risk Dr Ironwood." Penny said as she rapidly worked to grant the Doom Slayer access to the tower.**

**It didn't work, Cinder had already sabotaged the doors in the event Penny tried to open them. The doors started to open slowly before there was a small explosion and sparks flew, causing the door to grind to a halt. The only option left was for Jaune to pry open the doors himself and by the time he did so, Cinder was already on her way to the top of the tower.**

"Well, well, well, too late to stop me again. Doesn't he ever get tired of failing?" Cinder smirked as Jaune was once again too late to catch her counterpart.

"He hasn't failed yet, he'll catch you sooner or later." Pyrrha said.

"And then Jaune-Jaune's gonna break your legs." Nora followed up.

"Count on it." Ren finished.

**Jaune stomped downwards, flattening the skull of a summoner. Three imps were all that was left of the small taskforce sent to impede him, everything else was already dead. Dodging their fireballs with quick footwork, Jaune closed to melee distance and vented his plasma rifle, melting them down.**

**With all opposition in the area vanquished, he was free to advance again. According to Penny's info, much of the tower was actually hollow, nothing more than a casing built around the central pylon for maintenance purposes. Various lifts, side passages and repulsors would get him to the top if at a slower pace than the central elevator.**

**Making his way through the maintenance ducts, he came to a viewing platform, the argent energy pillar was clearly visible through it. No demons in sight but given the strength of the pillar, Jaune knew they'd be mobbing him as soon as he stepped foot inside.**

**Sure enough, the instant he lifted a door and stepped through to the interior, a mancubus leapt up to challenge him. Roaring and smashing its arm cannons together in defiance, it started firing fireballs towards Jaune.**

"Damn look at that fatass, hasn't he ever heard of a diet or a treadmill?" Mercury clapped sarcastically at the sight of the morbidly obese demon.

"Still… that thing can jump." Emerald commented, what the mancubus lacked in walking speed, it made up for with ridiculous jump height, easily getting around the arena to try and blindside Jaune.

"Those cannons more human experimentation again?" Torchwick asked.

"No. Those armour and weapons on it are natural growths… as natural as anything can be for a demon anyways. As for experimentation on them, well…" Blank trailed off into silence.

**Unfazed by the wall of flaming death approaching him, Jaune dodged to the side and raised his rocket launcher, firing the rockets directly into the demon's exposed unarmoured belly.**

**Credit to the mancubus's resilience, despite having multiple high explosive projectiles introduced to its flesh, it refused to go down. Until Jaune jumped onto it, shot out its eye with a shot gun and ripped one of the cables on its back free, causing the behemoth to explode in a shower of blood and gore.**

**As though that was the signal, demonic reinforcements started pouring in in force, including a number of hell knights and several more mancubi. Stowing the empty rocket launcher and drawing his shotgun, the Doom Slayer got to work.**

"Again with the eye, why, just why!?" Emerald complained.

"It's… certainly effective." Summer said slowly, equally creeped out.

"If it has a head, it has a weak point. And generally, the weakest point on a head would be the eyes, or eye as the case may be." Blank answered.

"That's… one way of looking at things." Goodwitch said.

"**The energy signature of the argent accumulator indicates that it is nearing the top of this facility." Penny informed Jaune while he was on board a service lift taking him up.**

"**If she ruptures that accumulator near the argent beam, she could open a portal to their world that we will never be able to close." Ironwood added, emphasizing the severity of the situation.**

**Jaune's rage simmered inside at the bad news, but there was nothing he could do. None of the service elevators in the area reached the top and snails moved faster than them. He was stuck jumping and climbing from platform to platform trying to pick his way upwards.**

**Smashing his way past several more waves of demons in his climb, he was finally gaining on Cinder if Penny's tracking of the argent accumulator was correct.**

"**You cannot stop me from claiming what I am owed! What I was promised!" Cinder's voice reached him through the intercoms, a small hint of panic in them as Jaune was hot on her heels.**

**Penny's navpoint pinged on his HUD, indicating Cinder was on the other side of a set of sealed blast doors. Jaune gripped the doors at their seams, pulling them apart, the metal folding inwards and the machinery groaning in protest.**

"**THIS IS NOT THE END! IT'S ONLY THE BEGINNING!" Cinder screamed out as she twisted the lid on the argent accumulator, before jumping backwards and into the argent beam, getting transported to the other side and having the accumulator explode in the process.**

**The blast wave ripped the doors asunder and tossed Jaune backwards, sending him crashing to the floor in a heap. When he got back up, he was treated to the sight of the argent beam going haywire and demons spawning in by the bucketload as the portal was forcibly wrenched open and widened by Cinder.**

**As he continued fighting, the argent beam grew brighter and brighter, until finally there was a brilliant flash and Jaune could see no more.**

"I win as expected. So much for not failing to stop me." Cinder gloated, relishing in the hate being sent her way.

"Bullshit! There's no way she wins like that!" Yang slammed a fist onto her armrest, denting the thing as her hair started leaking embers into the air.

"Relax, that's just one short, there's still more to come." Blank's words lifted the audience's spirits somewhat and put a damper on Cinder's

"They're still screwed though, with all the demons already there… what!? I'm just saying!" Roman raised his hands in defence when he found himself the subject of multiple angry glares.

"Technically speaking yes, but since everyone in the facility aside for the doctor is already KIA, functionally, there isn't much difference other than clean up going to take longer." Blank clarified.

"Oh… that's good? Better? Worse?" Weiss shrugged, unable to come up with a solid answer.

**Old friends, old enemies**

**The bloody baron of hell sank to its knees, unable to stand anymore with all the damage dealt to it. One green eye stared tiredly at the approaching Doom Slayer. Jaune planted a foot on its head and grabbed its horn, with a violent wrench, he tore the protrusion free, taking a chunk of flesh with it. The baron's dying cries were silenced when Jaune clubbed its skull in with its own horn.**

"Wait, isn't he supposed to be dead? Is he in hell or something?" Mercury asked.

"No, and yes. When the argent tower destabilised, he was sucked in and thrown into hell, and now he's killing his way out of it again, business as usual." Blank answered.

**The noxious air of hell was familiar to him, and so was this section of hell. It had been remodelled extensively since the last time he was here but he recognised enough of it. This was where the demons entombed him after their epic failure at killing him. And now it was his way back, Ironwood's men had left a fully functioning transporter here and the demons hadn't destroyed it or even investigated it.**

**He felt a tiny bit of amusement that the demons were so terrified of his legacy they didn't bother investigating his tomb even after Ironwood had it shipped across worlds. If they had, the demonic invasion would probably have happened sooner.**

**Not that it would have made much difference, he'd simply have woken earlier that's all. Jaune holstered his weapons and activated the console, there was a brief tugging sensation and then he was between worlds again.**

"He's going back already? Aww… I wanted to see fearless leader kick butt in hell." Nora whined.

"He'll be back later." Blank answered.

**Jaune's boots thudded onto a metal platform, upon looking up, he was back in the UAC facility on mars. He hadn't taken a single step before Ironwood's voice intruded on his thoughts again. "The argent tower is destroyed, the portal can no longer be closed from this side. The hell energy flows from a location in their world we call, the well."**

**Exiting the room he was transported to, Jaune was treated to the sight of the facility in even worse condition than before. The damage to the buildings and structures was far more extensive than before his sojourn to hell, thick black smoke poured from the still burning buildings and shrouded the night sky.**

"**But you've returned, the only flesh and blood to walk between dimensions. So there may be a way." Ironwood's chuckles grated on Jaune's nerves as he blew apart a surprised cacodemon that rounded the corner unprepared. Jaune lowered the gauss cannon, deactivating its siege mode and nodded appreciatively at the firepower the weapon possessed.**

Once Ruby stopped vibrating inside her cylinder, she poked her head out of the silencing field and started firing off questions rapidly. "What was that? A laser weapon? Plasma? How do I build it?"

"Neither, it's an electromagnetic weapon firing tiny flechettes instead of a single slug. If you do build it, mind the recoil." Blank answered.

"Recoil? Oooh… I have ideas already." Ruby retreated back into her cage and started scheming, she already used the recoil from Crescent Rose in her fighting style, if she could swap out the standard sniper rifle bit for the gauss cannon…

'More recoil, more speed, more firepower…' Qrow read his niece's lips and sighed when she started giggling silently inside her silencing field.

**Get to Lazarus labs, retrieve artefact, use it to find a way to shut off the portal at the source. Simple plan, Jaune liked it, simple was good… except for the part where the demons were content to lead him on a wild goose chase all over the area.**

**To get to the labs, he needed to go through the advance research complex, to get to the ARC, he needed to take the tram, and to take the tram he needed a god damned key card. Of which only one was still functional in this entire demon infested section of the facility. And of course, it had to be stolen by a demon who thought the card's owner made a good chew toy.**

**Needless to say, he was royally pissed off. Funnelling that rage into his blows, Jaune extracted his pound of flesh from every demon the dark lords threw at him in their pathetic efforts to stem his offensive.**

**As Jaune punched a flying cacodemon hard enough to send it hurtling towards its earthbound brethren, bowling over several before it popped like a balloon, he mused that the one good thing about the portal being out of whack was concentrations of argent energy popping up in places.**

**Those concentrations functioned as temporary powerups for the Doom Slayer and allowed him to perform feats of inhuman ability. Such as punching enemies hard enough to reduce them to bloody chunks in a single hit without the need to weaken them with gunfire first.**

"Whoa, he can punch. I wonder, if I get Jaune to boost my semblance will I be able to hit that hard?" Yang furrowed her brows in thought, the idea of being able to slaughter Grimm en masse with a single punch was very tempting.

"No experimenting with Jaune's semblance Yang, we don't need you to be a live example of why children shouldn't play with fire." Blake swatted her partner on the head before her imagination could lead them down the road to a lifetime of detentions.

"Oh come on, just think about it! Victory in one punch! What's not to love?" Yang defended.

**After clearing out a sizable chunk of the demonic presence in his vicinity, Jaune finally retrieved the key card from the deceased pinky. The upper torso of its chew toy was only barely recognizable as human, but at least the card was intact.**

**Backtracking to the tram station and clearing out some more of the possessed UAC workers, Jaune boarded the tram and scanned his key card. The vehicle rumbled to life and he was on his way.**

"**It's time we meet in person, my office is on the second floor of this facility." Ironwood's voice cut into Jaune's thoughts and the Doom Slayer briefly wondered if he should take the opportunity to put a bullet or two into the doctor before canning the idea. The good doctor had a lot to answer for, but stopping the demonic invasion came first and for that, Ironwood was still helpful.**

**Any hopes that the demon taint might not have spread this far died when the tram pulled into the station. Jaune's expression was grim as he beheld the blood splattered waiting area and several half-mangled corpses lying around the area. The amount of blood spilled did not tally to the number of corpses visible and Jaune could easily tell that meant most of the bodies had already been dragged off to form gore nests. Which would undoubtably be problematic later on.**

**Climbing to the second floor, he was greeted with sight of several possessed just milling around until they were melted into piles of goop by a wall of fire. The mancubus responsible lumbered into view shortly after.**

"They're killing their own? Why?" Winter asked.

"The demons are hardly united, they hate everything almost equally, including each other. The only reason why the demons are capable of mustering any kind of cohesive force at all is that their fear of the demon lords holding their leashes outweighs their hatred for them." Blank answered.

"Fear is an excellent motivator." Cinder quipped.

"Sure… up until you get careless and turn your back, and then someone's gonna stick a knife in it." Roman fired back, Neo mimed stabbing someone violently with a cheerful smile on her face before running her thumb across her neck.

**As thanks for clearing out the possessed for him, Jaune tipped the mancubus with two gauss cannon shots, the blue beams of death reducing the demon to chunky salsa.**

**Continuing onwards and lifting the lockdowns by wiping out the demons wherever he found them. Jaune heaved a sigh as his earlier suspicions were confirmed, a gore nest stood proudly in the centre of the lowest floor of the wing Ironwood's office was in. It's unmistakable red glow dyed the area the colour of blood.**

**Shouldering the gauss cannon and drawing his plasma rifle, Jaune destroyed the gore nest and got to work. As the imps and revenants started spawning in, Jaune vented his plasma rifle. The heat wave searing them all and destroying the imps instantly. The revenants lasted a little longer until Jaune brought them to their knees and used their shoulder mounted rocket launchers to smash their skulls in, putting the transformed humans out of their misery.**

**When the mancubi and hell knights started showing up, Jaune fell back, leading them into a kill box where they would be easy pickings. Infusing himself with a build up of energy that supercharged his strength and allowed him to go back to one punching demons, Jaune let his mind wonder while his body did the work on instinct.**

**Reading over the files Penny was nice enough to send him on the UAC's research on the various build ups, Jaune noted that the scientists had termed this particular one 'Berserk'. It was a pretty apt name Jaune mused as he ripped a hell knight in half at the waist. The rush of energy and the heady feeling of power certainly didn't do anything to contradict the name.**

"Hmm… I'm not sure if even Hazel has the strength to do something like that." Cinder muttered under her breath.

She mused about using magic to achieve that level of strength for a bit before deciding otherwise, as much of a psychological edge she'd get on her enemies by ripping one of them in half in front of the others, it just wasn't her style. Much easier to just burn them all… less messy too.

**Once the lockdown had been disengaged, Jaune was free to climb back up and head for Ironwood's office. As he hit the controls to unlock the door, his vision went haywire as a massive surge of electricity ran through him.**

**The door swung open afterwards and a robot that towered over Jaune was there to greet him. "Do not be alarmed by the system update. It is a prototype of our interdimensional tether, a means for me to pull you back from hell. I'm sorry for the… jolt, but I didn't think you'd allow its installation voluntarily. I'm Dr James Ironwood, I have supplies in my office, this way please."**

**Ironwood stepped back and gestured for Jaune to follow him. For a brief moment the Doom Slayer considered just putting a bullet in his back for the 'surprise' before shaking off the thought.**

"Huh, you _are_ an actual tinman in this one Jimmy." Qrow commented.

"What happened to this version of me?" Ironwood asked.

"Incurable brain cancer. You cheated death by transferring parts of your brain into a robot body and abandoned your old one. And yes, medical technology there is advanced enough to pull it off." Blank answered.

"Oh… so tinman is actually brainless. That must be why he thought tapping energy from hell was a good idea." Qrow surmised, drawing a long-suffering sigh from Ironwood and a glare from Winter at the insult.

"That is one explanation for it but there's more to it than that of course. To that Ironwood, humanity would not be able to stave off extinction long enough to discover a new energy source. It was either tap into hell or watch as humanity wipes themselves out in unending wars to secure what little resources remain." Blank said.

**Ironwood's office was large and surprisingly spartan at the same time. several shelves with books and files lined one wall and his table stood in the centre of the room. The only decoration present in the office were the statues lifted from hell during one of Ironwood's expeditions.**

**Jaune stared at the stone copy of his own Praetor suit and the images of his former comrades the night sentinels. It had been a long time since Argent D'Nur fell to the forces of hell and it was a little heartening to see something of his old friends remain intact.**

**Idly, he wondered just how long he'd been sleeping in the UAC facility he woke in. Certainly long enough for Ironwood to analyse his suit and find a way to apply the tether to him remotely and create the knockoffs sported by the supposed UAC elite forces. Shame about the kill switch Cinder activated remotely.**

"**The destruction of the argent tower is… devastating. But, I am committed to helping you close the portal. All of our work and understanding of their world is derived from the inscriptions on a large stone artefact we pulled from hell in the earliest days of the program." Ironwood started speaking once he saw that Jaune had finished resupplying his ammunition from the office stockpile.**

"**We call it the helix stone. It is our most closely guarded asset." A hologram sprung to life in the centre of Ironwood's table depicting the stone.**

"**Cinder was obsessed with it. From it, we learned how to manipulate hell's energy. Bend it to our will. Take advantage of their resources. It also led us to you. The helix stone shows us how to harness the power of the well. I believe it will show you how to shut it down." Jaune said nothing, simply looking at the stone.**

"**For years, Cinder has kept the helix stone in her private office in the Lazarus labs, which is only accessible through a secure elevator from the advanced research complex across the chasm." Ironwood said and turned away from the window to face the Doom Slayer.**

"**Your affinity for _guns_ is apparent, I'm confident you'll find something useful there as well. The service elevator is at the end of the hall." Ironwood pointed to the exit and the doors opened for Jaune.**

"A secret facility with only one entrance housing a top secret artefact. I can understand that. But why in blazes was it given to her without oversight!? Did nobody question what would happen if she went rogue?" Ironwood demanded an explanation from Blank, missing the sheepish cough from Ozpin in the process.

"As with most things, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Before that Cinder turned traitor, she was one of the best minds on the project, possibly second best, right behind your counterpart. Having it sequestered in her office made sense in that it was convenient and sped up progress. As too oversight, on the one hand, your other self trusted her too much, on the other, what oversight you put in place failed when they became corrupted too." Blank explained.

**After taking the service elevator down, Jaune found himself exiting the facility, noting the chasm Ironwood mentioned. A gore nest was in the area and the way forwards was sealed off by a barrier that would not go down until all demonic taint in the area had been forcibly expunged.**

**Rocket launcher loaded and ready to go, Jaune got to work. Tearing out the core of the nest, it blew apart with a mind tearing screech and the demons showed up right on schedule. With a haste powerup in the area plus the recent restock, Jaune had plenty of rockets for all of them and the speed to finish his gift deliveries like a very angry green coloured Santa Claus.**

**The demons went down quickly under his sustained fire. Then the cyber mancubus showed up and Jaune found himself reconsidering his decision to not shoot Ironwood again. Heavier armour, cybernetic targeting systems, overhauled arm cannons that fired plasma orbs with toxic residue. Oh the urge to turn around and put a few bullets in the overgrown robot grew with every second.**

"What gives!? I thought you said no more human experimentation!" Roman complained.

"Ah… I said they didn't experiment on humans for this. I never said humans didn't experiment on demons." Blank said.

"Why. Would. Anyone. Do. That." Weiss spat out the words slowly.

"To make them more lethal of course."

"Again! Why!?"

"To see if they could be weaponised, but mostly just to prove they could. Demonic corruption didn't happen overnight, just little whispers in their sleep at first, ideas they 'came up with' one day. Little things add up."

**Jaune stowed the gauss cannon once the upgraded mancubi were dead. Fortunately for the world at large, the demonic cyborgs shared the same weaknesses as their unaltered counterparts. Their protruding belly still made great targets for massive damage and with enough firepower, they would go down.**

**Once the security field was deactivated, Jaune began the task of slowly jumping across the chasm, using several platforms built into the sides of rocky pillars as footholds. He found his entry point into the complex in the form of a ventilation hatch that opened periodically.**

**Once it opened again, he simply jumped in and was on his way. Several imps and possess engineers were there to greet him and the Doom Slayer thanked them for their welcome with buckshot and grenades.**

**According to the information from Penny, he needed to go up. Most of the maintenance lifts in the area were non-functional but the turbines in the area were. Jumping on, he allowed the updraft to carry him upwards until he found his access point at the top.**

**The twisting passageways eventually led him to a circular section of the complex. The corridor went all the way around, surrounding an inner chamber that was locked off. Several other rooms branched to the sides.**

**And of course, there were demons everywhere, including several more cyber mancubi.**

**With the curvature of the hallway and the cramped quarters, his gauss cannon and rocket launchers weren't optimal here. Drawing his minigun instead, the strangely shaped rotary barrel started to spin as he warmed it up.**

**When the demons noticed him, they came running. Jaune flicked a switch on the minigun, causing the barrel to split into three small ones, all ready to fill the air with red hot lead. And fill the air it did, the mobile turret sprayed a solid wall of death towards the oncoming tide, easily shredding the rank and file demons and also inflicting massive damage against the cyber mancubi. Each bullet dealt minimal damage to them even when impacting against unarmoured flesh, but several hundred rounds impacting every second… they were shredded to pieces before they even knew what happened.**

"A gun that is also a gun. I dig it." Mercury shrugged his shoulders and grinned, appreciating the design of the weapon.

"Interesting design, but I highly doubt the ammo consumption is sustainable." Winter analysed.

"True, but this version of the minigun was always meant to be used as a stationary gun emplacement. Short bursts to save ammo and prevent the barrels from overheating. But, the Doom Slayer already found an upgrade for it to keep the barrels from melting and ammunition isn't really an issue since he can just tear it from his enemies." Blank said.

"Man, what I wouldn't give to be able to beat Grimm like piñatas until ammo comes out." Nora said, her mind already conjuring scenarios where she waded into a mass of Grimm and emerged by climbing out of a mountain of grenade launcher ammo.

"Oh yeah, if that could happen, I'd never need to buy ammo for Ember Celica again." Yang commiserated, aside from Weiss, their weapons were the biggest lien hogs simply due to the amount of dust that went into them. Even with a stipend from Beacon, using their weapons could honestly be compared with burning piles of money at times.

**After wiping out the demons Jaune tried to gain entry to the central chamber again to no avail. The door was locked and required a retinal scan. Suppressing his frustration, he started hunting around the various rooms, looking for an intact corpse with at least one good eye.**

**Just when he was about to give up and decide to start pounding on the floor until it gave way to the level below him, he chanced upon one. The poor bastard only had his upper torso left, the rest of it probably ripped away by his transformed colleagues. Bringing it up for a closer inspection, Jaune noted that while one eye had been clawed away, the other remained intact.**

**Slinging the body over his shoulder, Jaune made his way back to the access panel. Grabbing the torso by the back of its head, Jaune slammed its face into the scanner, a few seconds later, there was a small ping and the doors unlocked. Jaune paid the welcome message no mind as he allowed the corpse and its now mangled good eye to fall from his hands and entered the room.**

"Again. Again with the eye. The guy was already dead! Doesn't he know how to respect the dead!?" Emerald yelled and Mercury just rolled his eyes, even if he was a little freaked out by the almost casual approach Jaune took to desecrating corpses for his own benefit.

"Not really. Considering the forces of hell have the tendency to reanimate or repurpose corpses for their war efforts, he stopped caring about the dead a long time ago. As far as he's concerned, the dead are too dead to worry about what he's doing and anyone alive to object can take up their protests with the demons first." Blank said.

"He's seen a lot of death." Ozpin stated.

"Indeed."

**Inside the chamber, he found an oversized cannon suspended inside a smaller chamber at the centre. Instinctively, Jaune knew the gun was made for his hands. He was drawn out of his reverie by the doors sealing shut behind him and an announcement being made.**

"**Biometric mismatch detected. Scanning, unauthorised personnel detected. Expulsion to commence in 5… 4…" Jaune didn't wait around for the countdown to finish, jumping upwards and mantling onto a ledge created when the rooms machinery folded back into the wall.**

**The floor opened up revealing a mesh of lasers below that would have sliced any unfortunate interloper to pieces. Above him, more lasers appeared on a ring, ready to cut downwards and finish off any intruder trying to avoid the laser floor by climbing on top of the weapon container.**

**Too bad the intruder was the Doom Slayer. Drawing his assault rifle, Jaune simply fired on the upper ring, damaging the thing and causing it to collapse with the lasers still active. Cutting through the metal casing protecting the gun, the thing fell to pieces and Jaune was free to leap onto the platform and claim his prize.**

**the platform, damaged by the falling laser grid couldn't withstand the sudden impact and the supports gave way shortly after Jaune claimed the gun. Crashing to the level below, the Doom Slayer shook off the impact and hefted his new weapon, smiling appreciatively under the helmet.**

**Exiting the ruined lab, he found himself facing down a veritable army of the possessed. Hardly a threat and easy enough to mow down with his plasma rifle heat discharge, but no, none of that. Not when he had a new weapon to test.**

**Pointing it in the direction of the horde, Jaune depressed the trigger and the weapon discharged a glowing emerald orb in their direction. Lightning bolts shot out from the central projectile, striking every demon in the room with him and causing them to explode. The projectile itself crashed into the wall and detonated with a flash.**

There was a burst of rose petals and Ruby appeared in front of blank, wide eyed and breathing hard. "Details. Now."

"The BFG 9000. Yes, it means exactly what you think it means." Blank said before Yang could open her mouth.

"Fires a burst of ionised argent energy, explodes on contact for massive damage. But biggest feature about it is that argent energy reacts with the energy inside the demons, destroying them from the inside out and will effectively one hit kill every demon except the absolute toughest hell has."

"So, how do I build it!?" Ruby demanded, vibrating in place fast enough she was starting to leak petals everywhere.

"Well, it uses argent energy, so I'm afraid you can't. For obvious reasons, I'm not going to tell you how to open a portal to hell just so you can build bigger guns." Blank denied her request instantly.

"Aww…" Ruby stopped vibrating and started sulking, it was like looking at a kicked puppy.

"Well, you could create a similar effect with the right application of dust, it won't be as powerful, but there's no risk of end of the world scenarios with it." Blank compromised and Ruby perked up instantly, shooting off her thanks at a thousand words a second.

"I'll have a copy of the notes readied and brought back with Jaune Arc the next time he's back here." Ruby accepted the answer and skipped merrily back into her silencing field, if she could have the gun in real life, at least she could appreciate the carnage it was causing on screen.

"That girl loves her weapons far too much." Taiyang sighed and shook his head at his daughter's mannerisms.

"Everyone has to have a hobby. Besides weapons are better than lame puns." Summer said, oblivious to Taiyang and Yang suddenly grasping at their chests as a heart attack assailed them.

**The elevator leading to the Lazarus labs wasn't too far off from where he picked up his new favourite gun. As expected, a gore nest induced lockdown blocked his way once more. Destroying the nest sparked the next round of combat.**

**Crushing wave after wave of imps, hell knights, revenants and mancubi with his arsenal. The once relatively pristine and sterile lab environment became covered in demonic blood and gore. When the barons of hell and cyber mancubi started spawning in to impede his quest, dark glee filled the Doom Slayer as he brought the BFG to bear against them, vaporising all of them and relishing in their cries of terror and pain.**

**When the lockdown disengaged, Jaune entered the elevator and activated it with a face splitting grin on his face.**

"Anyone get the feeling the kid may be enjoying this a wee bit too much?" Roman said.

"He's enthusiastic." Ozpin confirmed, internally wishing he had a legion of huntsmen with that fervour and skill to send against the Grimm.

"Hey, if I had a gun that exploded all my enemies without even needing to aim, I'd be excited too." Qrow shrugged and there were several agreeing nods.

"You're not wrong on that." Roman agreed.

**Upon entry to the Lazarus labs, the place barely resembled an installation dedicated to science anymore. Mutilated corpses hung from the ceiling and piles of blood flesh were stacked against the walls in places. Rune circles covered the floor in places among other signs of demonic rituals. Sad thing was, it wasn't even the demons who did this.**

"The people here… they did this to themselves?" Pyrrha asked in a shocked voice.

"Indeed." Blank answered.

"Why? No never mind, let me guess, demonic corruption and they were promised power if they did this… or their higher ups have a twisted sense of humour." Weiss's flat tone conveyed all of her displeasure at the sight.

"Correct on both counts. Needless to say, that promise of power never materialised for these individuals." Blank said.

"**Cinder activated the hell wave from somewhere inside this facility. I did hope she could rise above their influence. I was wrong." Jaune wondered if Ironwood's little speeches were some way for him to shirk the blame onto his former subordinate. As far as he was concerned, they were both equally guilty for letting things get to this point.**

"**She proved to be weaker than I thought she'd be." Once more the Doom Slayer remained silent as he traversed the empty hallways, seeking a path to the helix stone.**

"How dare he, I am not weak, I will never be weak." Cinder seethed at alternate Ironwood's insult.

"You sold out your own people on some vague promise for power. That's weakness to me." Qrow smirked and chugged from his flask.

"I have the sense to be on the winning side, that's all." Cinder replied.

"Oh yes, you're gonna join the side who's so terrified of the man hunting you that they won't even go into his tomb after he's been carted off. That sounds like the winning side to me alright." Cinder fell silent, unable to find a comeback to that.

**A laser beam from a hell razer scored a line across the ceiling as Jaune grappled with it, slowly forcing the arm and the beam upwards until it melted the demon's own face off. Letting the headless corpse fall, Jaune dodged out of the way of a charging hell knight before shooting it in the back with the gauss cannon, using the recoil to get him clear from more mancubi fireballs.**

**The helix stone wasn't far off now, all that was left was for Jaune to clear out the main laboratory. Rage fuelled his blows against the demons and he sorely regretted not waking earlier, as far as he was concerned everyone who worked in this place deserved the death sentence.**

**This was definitely the place they were using to experiment on demons. A dissected mancubus's corpse occupied a large table in the centre of the room and all around the place, there were stasis tubes containing various demon organs.**

**Jaune fell back into a side passageway before raising the gauss cannon and switching it into siege mode. As a new wave of demons eagerly rushed to meet him, he depressed the trigger, firing a blue beam of death straight through the centre of them and blowing all of them to pieces save one mancubus. That one he finished off by getting close and tearing its heart out with his bare hands and shoving it back into its greedy mouth.**

**Once the lab was clear, Jaune shot the accursed place one last glare before pushing forwards. He didn't have the time to waste levelling the place. The room beyond the lab was something of a museum, stone tablets were proudly on display, filled with inscriptions.**

**Jaune paid them no mind, they were peanuts compared to the actual helix stone. That and more demons were spawning in, someone down there was clearly getting desperate to stop him. Oh well, nothing the BFG couldn't handle, green death wiped the room clean and he was on his way again. The elevator to Cinder's private office was right in front of him and waiting.**

"Yeah! Go get em fearless leader!" Nora cheered, seeing Jaune wipe the floor with demons and get close to his goal easily got her pumped up.

**Jaune staggered back after approaching the helix stone, the images directly uploaded to his mind gave him a major headache. Truly, he detested such a means of information transfer but there was no denying its speed and effectiveness.**

**The crucible, and the wraiths.**

**Those were his targets now… a chance to settle an old score. Eons ago, he failed to prevent the fall of Argent D'Nur to the forces of hell and its power was taken. Now it seemed he'd be going back to finish things, to set the wraiths free at last.**

"**The crucible, that's what she was looking for. Penny, did you get the location?" Ironwood's voice came through the comms, having caught the helix stones activation and the info it transmitted.**

"**Yes, it is located in an uncharted region of the titan's realm. We will need to rupture another argent accumulator to create the portal. The only accumulator in this sector is in specimen CD-587." Penny answered, getting Ironwood to chuckle.**

"**You're going to have to… remove it. Once you've extracted the accumulator, it will become unstable. The ruptured casing should cause a rift strong enough to send you back to their world, we can determine your point of entry by using the tether system I uploaded to your suit. Retrieving the crucible is critical, without it we have no way of shutting down the well and closing the hell portal here on mars." Ironwood instructed, conveniently leaving out what specimen CD-587 was.**

**The Doom Slayer's blood sang with angry energy, demanding he go out there and rip and tear until it is done. When the demons showed up as expected, the urge to put the laughter in slaughter was almost overpowering.**

**In the end, Jaune settled for grinning widely as he beat the demons to a bloody pulp with his bare hands.**

"What is this Argent D'Nur anyways?" Blake asked.

"Another world that hell invaded long, long ago. The Doom Slayer fought alongside their defenders and held the demons at bay for a long time. Until they were betrayed by one of their own when he made a deal with the demons to resurrect his fallen sister. As with most deals with the devil, they honoured the words of the deal but not the spirit of it, and Argent D'Nur was lost, absorbed into hell's dimensions and the bulk of its population slaughtered." Blank said.

"And the wraiths? What are they?" Ren asked next.

"Physical gods and the source of unlimited power. They were the source of Argent D'Nur's strength, empowering their defenders to nigh invincibility. But after the betrayal, they were shackled and used as batteries, feeding hell with more energy to use in conquests of other worlds."

"Oh. And now Jaune is going to set them free?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yes."

**After fighting his way past several sections of the lab turned into a chapel for demonic worship, Jaune reached ground zero. The site of the first hell portal that sparked the initial invasion and through which demons were still entering despite the large hole in the sky.**

**Several button presses later and the portal was shut off. It wasn't much compared to the main portal but every little bit counted, especially since this meant that demons wouldn't be able to pour in after he closed the big one.**

**Ironwood was still talking about how Cinder was weak of mind and to blame for all this and trying to justify that the risks were worth it, how the Doom Slayer's presence was supposed to be a way to mitigate those risks. Jaune tuned it all out, there was a room full of demons beyond to butcher and that was infinitely more appealing than listening to some robot espouse the insane logic behind exploiting hell for its resources.**

**After wiping out the remaining demons that made it through the Lazarus hell portal, Jaune was left taking an elevator down to a secure vault. Heavy duty blast doors tougher than anything he'd seen since waking up stood between him and specimen CD-587, a quick wrench of the release lever and it started to open slowly.**

**Jaune's eyes widened when two massive limbs reached through the opening and forced the doors open with brute force alone. Before he could react, the giant demon on the other end had already grabbed him and tossed him inside the containment chamber. Behind the demon, the doors started sealing shut, the mechanisms going haywire from the sudden attack on it.**

**A pissed off roar came from the armoured demon as it stomped its feet, causing the room to rumble. Pure unadulterated hate burned in its eyes as it recognised Jaune. As the Doom Slayer got back to his feet and drew his weapon, the feeling was mutual.**

**When he killed something, Jaune expected it to have the courtesy to stay dead.**

"Big… monster…" Nora whispered in slight awe despite herself upon seeing the cyberdemon.

"Looks personal, what's the story behind that?" Taiyang asked.

"That's the cyberdemon. A demon that Jaune killed in the distant past. It's remains were fossilised and recovered on one of the expeditions to hell. When the noticed parts of its flesh would reanimate when argent energy was introduced to it, they tried bringing it back to life with some mechanical upgrades. Originally, they kept the brain sealed off from the energy so it wouldn't come back to 'life' completely." Blank said.

"I sense a but in there somewhere." Weiss said and rolled her eyes.

"When they tried adding an argent accumulator and neural link to it so it could have an almost endless supply of energy to fix whatever battle damage it took, they lost control. That link instantly fed the energy to the brain and reactivated it, and then it was too tough, too strong for the UAC to kill or incapacitate. Best they could do was lock it up inside that holding cell."

**Rockets rained down all over the holding cell as the cyberdemon launched a barrage into the air, causing multiple explosions everywhere. Jaune retaliated with his own rocket launcher burst fire, the explosive ordinance detonated against the cyberdemon and only served to piss it off further.**

**With the argent accumulator constantly keeping the cyberdemon buffed up and regenerating the damage taken, Jaune could already tell the fight wouldn't end until he got rid of that accumulator.**

**Backing off and sprinting to the side when the cyberdemon tried blasting him with its arm mounted laser cannon, Jaune retaliated with his own gauss cannon. The siege mode blast doing work when the cyberdemon stopped in its tracks to fire any wave of missiles into the air.**

**Avoiding the rain of high explosives, Jaune fought the urge to curse when the cyberdemon closed to melee range with a sudden burst of speed and just barely missed smacking him in the face with its arm.**

**Stowing the gauss cannon and drawing the BFG, Jaune fired it, sending the orb of emerald energy straight into the cyberdemon's face. As testament to its sheer tenacity and the argent energy supercharge, the demon didn't die in one hit unlike its weaker brethren.**

**Blood flowed from the multiple wounds and its face was a royal mess of mangled flesh but it still lived. The demon was stunned and Jaune would have to take what he could. Running low on ammo for his gauss cannon and rocket launcher, Jaune switched to the super shotgun, an archaic weapon that packed a surprising amount of punch.**

**Shooting the cyberdemon in the face repeatedly with it, Jaune blasted off more and more of its flesh, damaging the demon faster than it could regenerate.**

**A howl of bloody murder emanated from the demon's destroyed jaws as it got back to its feet, the damage from having argent energy violently tear its way across its organs shrugged off for the time being.**

**The cyberdemon's arm cannon switched from the slow firing beam weapon to its rocket launcher configuration, sending a volley of rockets towards the Doom Slayer. It's howl of rage was deafening when none of the rockets connected, its weapon lacking the lock on system that Jaune's own rocket launcher had.**

**Undeterred by the weapon's failure, the cyberdemon's other arm formed an energy blade around its claws. When it swung the arm, a wave of burning energy shot towards Jaune.**

**The Doom Slayer ducked and jumped over the incoming blasts before firing the BFG again, stunning the cyberdemon once more. This time instead of closing in with a shotgun, Jaune drew his minigun in mobile turret mode.**

**The endless stream of red hot lead struck the stunned demon, chewing through its reinforced human armour and demonic flesh at the same time through sheer volume of fire alone. The entire front of its chest was reduced to a red mess and the cyberdemon sank to one knee, trying to reroute energy from the accumulator to healing instead of augmenting its own strength.**

**Seeing his opening, Jaune dashed in and leapt onto the cyberdemon's hunched over torso, grabbing hold of the argent accumulator embedded in its upper body and ripping it free in one motion.**

**The cyberdemon staggered backwards and Jaune leapt off. It raised its arm cannon to fire before a gurgle left its throat and the demon fell over backwards, collapsing to the ground with a giant thud. Without the argent accumulator animating it, it was back to being a lifeless corpse.**

**Jaune looked down at the accumulator in hand and noted that it was shaking greatly and the energy field around it was dangerously unstable. Tossing it away, the accumulator detonated with a white flash, when the light died down, he was already back in hell.**

"Whoo! That was intense, and since that explosion sent them both to hell, guess they went out with a Yang eh?" Yang joked and the theatre was filled with groans and grumbles again.

"Don't make me get the spray bottle Yang. I mean it." Ruby poked her head out of the silencing field to give her warning before returning inside.

"I'm starting to think you silenced the wrong niece." Qrow muttered under his breath.

"…That is a distinct possibility." Blank said.

**Before Jaune could leave and try to get his bearings, red lightning sparked around the fallen cyberdemon and it started to move again. The only sign of the anger boiling inside Jaune at the demon's sheer audacity to require killing a third time was a twitching eyebrow.**

"You're kidding, isn't it dead? Why is it getting up!?" Mercury was taken aback at the demon getting back to its feet with an angry roar despite the ridiculous amount of damage it'd already sustained.

"Hmm, if argent energy reanimated the original corpse and argent energy is a derivative of hell energy, I assume a direct infusion of hell energy by simply being there is enough to reanimate it with whatever argent energy is left inside." Ozpin muttered, sipping from his mug as he processed that line of thought.

"Close, but not quite. Hell energy on its own will just corrupt the argent energy back into more hell energy, which won't really work on the cyberdemon. That was the direct intervention of one of the dark lords of hell in their attempt to find a way to stop the Doom Slayer. Not quite argent energy so no more potent regeneration, but enough to get it to move again." Blank answered.

"These dark lords, if they're that powerful, why don't they engage the Doom Slayer themselves?" Cinder asked.

"They tried, once. Never felt the need to try again. Can't be a lord if you're too dead to rule. And the last time an actual champion of hell rose to fight him, a demon more powerful than any that came before it or since, the Doom Slayer murdered it and used its corpse as a stepping stone to greater carnage in the lower levels of hell that suddenly lost their greatest protector." Blank replied.

**The ground rumbled beneath Jaune as the cyberdemon used its magic to manipulate hell's terrain, raising walls of earth spikes on either side of Jaune, boxing him in. It loosed several loud roars that might have passed for laughter as it swung its energy blade, sending waves of power towards the Doom Slayer.**

**Jaune didn't even flinch, simply ducking or jumping over the waves as they came. So lateral mobility was shot to hell thanks to the spikes, that was fine though, he didn't really need to move much when he was using the mobile turret.**

**Firing the BFG's last round to stun the demon again, Jaune unloaded with the mobile turret, dealing as much damage as he could before the cyber demon could get back up.**

**While the demon was stunned, the rock walls lost their cohesion and crumbled, the magic holding them in place disrupted. Jaune continued firing until the cyberdemon was back on its feet before starting to move.**

**When more energy waves came his way, Jaune rapidly switched to the gauss cannon and fired it mid jump, using the recoil to push him out of the firing line and to safety.**

**With ammunition for most of his power weapons depleted, Jaune switched back to the super shotgun and got in close for maximum effect. Taking care to avoid being hit by the cyberdemon's flailing arms, Jaune blasted away at its exposed chest.**

**Their little dance of death continued until a good blast from the shotgun caused the cyberdemon's legs to collapse under its weight, bringing the demon to the ground with an earth-shaking crash. As it struggled to get back up, Jaune decided to take out some of his pent up anger on the demon.**

**Grabbing hold of its horn and tearing it off in a show of force, Jaune hefted the horn like a club and used it to smash the cyberdemon's face in when it turned to look at its vanquisher. Between the diamond hard horn and the Doom Slayer's strength, the cyberdemon's skull stood no chance, the entire top half of it was completely smashed to pieces and the cyberdemon went down like a ton of bricks.**

**With its brain destroyed in the hit, no amount of argent or hell energy would be reanimating it again. Nonetheless, Jaune waited for a minute for the son of a bitch to twitch before tossing the horn away and walking off, glad to be rid of this ancient thorn in his side he swore he got rid off long ago.**

"Third times the charm huh?" Qrow said, just happy that Grimm for all their nightmarishness were nowhere near as hard to kill as that.

"Indeed. One more short to go." Blank said.

"So… we gonna see fearless leader tear through hell now?" Nora asked.

"Towards the end of it when he frees the wraiths yes." Blank answered.

"Meh, was hoping we'd see it right now… but I guess we can skip the fetch quest bit." Nora shrugged her shoulders and she was then the subject of stares from the audience.

"Fetch… quest…?" Blank said slowly, trying to comprehend the meaning of the words in regards to the situation.

"Well yeah, Jaune-Jaune's just running around the demon world right now trying to collect that crucible thingy right? That's totally a fetch quest." Nora pointed out with one finger stuck in the air.

"That's… true… I guess… but… but…" Blank shut up and let the next short play.

**Settling the score**

**Jaune stomped up to the last hell guard protecting the crucible from him. The demonic mech was battered and broken from his attacks. Grabbing hold of its chest plating, Jaune ripped it free, exposing the 'pilot' inside. The snake like creature powering and controlling the hell guard tried to resist being torn free to no avail.**

**Jaune ripped the demon free and grabbed its writhing body with both hands before pulling in opposite directions, tearing the demon in half and killing it.**

**As the pillar containing the crucible rose up, Jaune was free to remove it and stow it away. He blinked in surprise when he caught a green glow out of the corner of his eye. Looking up, he noticed several ghostly apparitions appearing in front of him.**

**Five spectral knights in armour, fallen night sentinels greeted him. The Doom Slayer struggled to find words as he was greeted by his lost comrades. As the lead sentinel saluted him, Jaune wanted to return the gesture but he never got the opportunity.**

**Electricity rippled across his form as the tether system activated, Ironwood having detected his collection of the crucible through the tether and was now pulling him back to mars. Before Jaune could say anything, the portal was open and he was through, leaving the ghosts of his comrades behind.**

"Damn, talk about poor timing." Roman winced as the ghostly reunion was cut short.

"That could have gone better." Ironwood muttered and rubbed his face with his hands, there was no way that timing would do anything to reduce the bad blood between his counterpart and the Doom Slayer.

"Poor Jaune." Pyrrha said.

**As Jaune's boots slammed into the ground after the portal dropped him back on mars, his blood was boiling and demanding he just start destroying things. Ironwood's voice intruding again only incensed him further. "You have the crucible. And with it the means to contain the power of the well. We have a plan to send you there. Penny will walk you through the process."**

**Jaune pushed the rage down, right here and right now, there weren't any demons to destroy. Better to stow that anger away for later use. Again, stopping the demons came before any personal vendetta against Ironwood.**

**Exiting the section of the UAC facility he landed in, the area outside the airlock was a snowy windswept wasteland. The freezing wind howled as it blew through the damaged buildings, it would have chilled to the bone if not for the Praetor suit.**

"**This is my primary operating facility. It's where I was created and where my core processing unit is maintained. It takes approximately 2.4 terawatts of power to sustain my operational capabilities." Penny said.**

Ironwood started coughing instantly. "How much power!?"

"A lot." Qrow summed up with a laugh at Ironwood's sudden loss of composure.

"**But it's been decided that we can use that power to send you the source of the portal. I will not survive the procedure and am unable to self-terminate. So I will walk you through the process." Penny continued.**

"WHAT!?" Ironwood roared and shot out of his seat.

"No way! There's no way Jaune is going to kill Penny right!?" Ruby popped up in front of Blank and asked in a pleading tone, unwilling to watch one of her friends kill another again.

"Relax, this Penny is different from your own. This one is a complete AI, the process will disable Penny yes but she gets uploaded to storage by Jaune. She can be brought back whenever they rebuild the facility housing the AI core." Blank assuaged.

"Oh, that's a relief then." Ruby went back to her seat and collapsed in it with a relieved sigh.

"**My security systems operate on two separate neural networks that terminate in this maintenance facility. Each termination point is protected by an electrified field but you should survive the surge." Penny informed Jaune as he dropped in through a hatch in the ceiling.**

**Spotting the levers he needed to pull, Jaune made for the closest one and grabbed it. Immediately the electrified defences tried repulsing him, shocking him repeatedly as he pulled it down. Not a grunt of pain left the Doom Slayer as he carried out his task, deactivating the first network before wringing his hand out.**

**The alarm sounding must have alerted the demonic hordes in the vicinity because they came running almost immediately. Jaune shook his head before embracing a berserk powerup in the room, feeling the supercharge hit, he went to work.**

**Once done painting the maintenance facility red with the blood of demons, Jaune went and deactivated the second network, granting him the ability to override the lockdown in place at the console.**

"**My vital operating systems are now vulnerable. I recommend destroying my cooling systems first. This will accelerate the destabilisation process." Penny informed.**

**Destroying the cooling systems wasn't too difficult, four coolant generators just needed to be shot to pieces. Jaune went about doing so until the demons started warping in again to stop him. As a sign of the portal over mars widening, their numbers were growing greater and greater with every encounter.**

**More and more barons were pouring through as well, Jaune's lips set in a thin line as he recognised the developments. It was Argent D'Nur all over again, as soon as the barons started showing up in force, it meant the main demonic host was about ready to invade, no more of these scouting forces. Humanity was running out of time.**

"Scouting force? You're kidding, a scouting force did all this!?" Winter could hardly believe it.

"They are world conquerors, of course they'd have the numbers to back up their ambitions. Most of the demons that came through in the first wave were scouts and trailblazers, there only to secure the landing zone for the rest of the army." Blank said.

**At least Jaune had the BFG to speed things along. Numbers didn't really matter when the BFG was capable of clearing the room all by itself, after expending all its ammo to clear out every wave of reinforcements. Penny was nice enough to direct him to spare power cells that could be repurposed into BFG ammunition.**

"**Thank you, you can now move to where my core is to complete the process." Penny thanked Jaune once all four coolant generators had been destroyed and the demons cleared out. Already, sections of her speech were slurred as the meltdown began.**

**Jaune remained silent, a tinge of unease inside him. Over the eons he'd been fighting demons, he'd killed a lot, lost a lot of comrades too. But never had he ever been thanked by one of his comrades for having to kill them to defeat the demons. It was… disquieting.**

"Ah good, so he's still human under that armour." Roman commented.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Yang glared at him, challenging him to say something stupid.

"Hey, just saying he's really good at killing, and really quiet at the same time. You have to admit in places he feels more like a machine than the actual AI here. There's being a consummate professional and then there's this." Roman clarified and Yang had to concede the point.

**As Jaune followed the path marked out for him by Penny, he found himself standing on a ledge overlooking a monorail and no way forwards.**

"**The train below will take you to the entrance." Penny said as the small goods transport vehicle came around the bend and slowed to a stop, allowing Jaune to jump on.**

**Once he was aboard and had secure footing, the train started up again, taking Jaune to the terminus where Penny's AI core was located.**

"**For you to gain access to my core, the demonic threat must be removed from the room ahead." Penny informed as the vehicle pulled into the station.**

**Jaune didn't need to be told twice as he started firing as soon as the demons were in sight. The gauss cannon in siege mode picked off the exposed mancubi and revenants before they even knew they were under attack.**

**Once the doors sealed behind him though, multiple barons of hell leapt out from hiding and started hurling green plasma blasts towards him. Jaune leapt off the train and started using the various walls and platforms as cover from the attacks.**

**As the attack splashed harmlessly against the walls and slagged them instead of hurting him, Jaune returned fire with the BFG, exploding the barons and surrounding demons.**

**With their ambush a failure, whichever demon lord was in charge of hampering his progress started throwing every last demon they had at their disposal at him. Pinkys, cacodemons, revenants, mancubi and even more barons eventually.**

**All in an effort to overwhelm the Doom Slayer in the uncomfortably cramped quarters of the train terminus. Jaune relished the challenge, the rapid pace of battle keeping his blood pumping. Firing rockets and gauss cannon shots when he had the range for them, he switched to the super shotgun when things got up close and personal. And when the demons started funnelling through corridors, he had a mobile turret or micromissile launcher waiting for them.**

**Constantly keeping on his toes, Jaune remained one step ahead of every demon trying to box him in. And whenever the demons thought they had him cornered, a BFG shot would change their minds for however long they had left before the argent energy fried them from the inside out.**

**When only one floating cacodemon was left, Jaune circled around and leapt onto it from behind, climbing over it like it was some twisted rock climbing wall. As the cacodemon's one eye locked onto him, Jaune rammed and armoured fist straight into it, before ripping free and leaping off. The cacodemon whinnied in pain before bursting like a balloon.**

"Eyes. Again. I give up. At least that's not going to happen on Remnant." Emerald threw her hands in the air in frustration at the sight, taking some comfort in the fact that the Doom Slayer didn't exist in their world. Just a noodle of a boy who didn't pose much of a threat compared to everyone else.

"Yeah, about that… heheheh…" Qrow chuckled at a memory of a previous viewing.

"What? What about it!?" Emerald asked nervously upon hearing Qrow's dark laughter.

"Oh nothing much, just one of the futures waiting for you. Right before your execution, the kid was nice enough to feed you a last meal, he scooped out your eyeballs with a rusty spoon and fed em to you." Qrow replied with another round of chuckling.

"…what?" Emerald squeaked out and paled considerably when none of Qrow's body language indicated any lie.

"The hell man?" Mercury said equally freaked out, not even his old man had that level of brutality and that man was as cold as they came.

"Something something, revenge for framing my niece and his partner during the Vytal festival something something." Qrow said and grinned when he saw the two swallow nervously.

Cinder was about to say something but Blank beat her to the punch. "Yes, that is one of the universes where Jaune Arc burns you alive at the stake. And no, neither magic nor your master saved you from it. He keeps you burning for seven days straight."

Cinder's mouth shut with an audible click.

**As a moving platform carried him upwards, Penny tried speaking to Jaune but the words were slurred to the point where it was almost impossible to make out what she was saying, the meltdown severely impeding her functions.**

"**Once Penny's core is destroyed, the vacuum of energy will pull you back through to hell. We have your destination set to the well's location. Use the crucible to power it down and the portal here on mars will be closed permanently." Ironwood said as Jaune stepped off the platform.**

"**They will not allow access to the well without a fight… but I'm sure that's what you're looking for isn't it?" Ironwood fell silent as the doors opened up, red alarm lights flashing all over the place as the meltdown continued.**

**Beyond the doors lay the Ai core, a giant piece of machinery that somewhat resembled a giant brain. Smoke was starting to fill the area as the core's destruction continued, and now it was up to Jaune to speed along the process.**

**On either sides of the core lay the neural processors. Jaune went up to them and ripped out the plugs on them, causing argent energy to start spilling through and slagging the machinery from the energy discharge. Explosions followed shortly thereafter.**

**Returning to the centre console, Jaune found that Penny had already set up the system nicely for him, all he had to do was the final step, push the button and initiate the core destruction in place of an emergency shut down.**

**Hesitating before pushing the button as Penny's slurred words came through his helmet's speakers, Jaune instead hit the key for backup, storing Penny's software inside a chip he then removed and stowed away securely.**

"**Thank you Penny." Ironwood said as Jaune finished the core destruction process. There was a blast of heat and light and the Doom Slayer was between worlds once more.**

"Oooh… time for the final showdown, I can feel it." Nora said as she started munching on popcorn.

"Guess we'll finally see what happens to Cinder huh, this ought to be good." Roman rubbed his hands together and started laughing evilly while Neo took a page out of Nora's book and started chowing down on a bowl of ice cream.

**When the whiteness faded, red replaced it. Red skies, red sands, red rocks, almost everything was a shade of crimson. Jaune took a deep breath, held it there for a moment before releasing it. After so long, he was finally back. Argent D'Nur, warped by being sucked into hell but still easily recognisable as the land he once fought so hard to defend.**

**As he strolled down the deserted pathways, he thought he actually recognised the street it used to be. Once upon a time, it would have been filled with children laughing and playing, now not even the ghosts of a slaughtered people remained to mark it… just their memories.**

"That used to be his home?" Ren asked.

"For a time, it was. Then he failed to protect it." Blank answered.

Ren's fists clenched tight as bad memories resurfaced before he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "I see."

**Seeing the demons desecrating the once proud cities of Argent D'Nur with their filthy footsteps royally pissed Jaune off. This place had no strategic value, was hardly a good defensible location and held nothing of importance. That there were demons present in this location at all wasn't so much a garrison force as it was a slap to his face.**

**Taunting, they were taunting him with his old failures by having demon trample over what he once held sacred. Jaune knew it was a trap, that going down there was asking to be mobbed. But he didn't care anymore, the blood was rushing through his ears and his tortured soul screamed out for the vengeance owed to the fallen with interest compounded in blood.**

**Leaping down from his perch, Jaune landed right on top of an imp, his heavy combat boots squashing the demon's head on landing. Super shotgun coming up, he blew away the next couple of imps before they could react.**

**Switching to his gauss cannon next, he took out the floating cacodemons with precise shots. Scarlet flashes occurred all around him as the demons started pouring in when their trap was sprung.**

**Jaune held his tongue, making a beeline straight for a berserk argent energy build up that had been sucked through the hell portal sometime earlier. As the energy empowered him, Jaune made it a point to viciously remind every demon in the area with him why they were terrified of him to begin with.**

**He wasn't trapped in hell with the demons, the demons were trapped in hell with him.**

"Yeah! Rip and tear Jaune!" Nora cheered as the Doom Slayer tore an imp in half vertically before spinning around and punching a hole straight through a hell knight.

"I should probably start instructing Jaune on how to fight with his fists actually. He is getting better with a sword but there's no harm in having a back up since he's not too set in his ways yet." Yang mused and Pyrrha found herself agreeing with her.

"It is a good idea. I've been working on his sword and shield skills but hand to hand combat really isn't my forte. Perhaps we could work out a schedule?"

"Yeah… and maybe a training par- I see you hiding there Rubes, you're not getting out of proper training." Yang pointed at her sister, easily spotting her attempts to hide in her seat when the topic of hand to hand combat came up.

Ruby gave up hiding once Yang caught her and shot up, pointing a finger at her sister, she started protesting and yelling a lot. With the silencing chamber in place, Yang couldn't make out what she was saying but she could guess it was something along the lines of 'I have Crescent Rose and that's enough'.

"None of that Ruby, you will get proper training or so help me I'm cutting off your cookie and strawberry supply. Go on, try me." Yang delivered her ultimatum and was rewarded with Ruby paling and sinking into her seat.

**Three steams of energy fed into a central point in the sky before the energy continued upwards. At the source of each of the three streams lay the shackled wraiths and Jaune's primary targets. With the streams serving as guides, he made his way to the nearest one, slaughtering all demons in his path with extreme prejudice.**

"**KILL HIM"**

**A thunderous voice echoed telepathically as a demon lord psychically commanded all demons in the area to attack him before he shut off their source of power. As Jaune crested the hill and came to the site of the first wraith, he found a bunch of demons already there to answer their master's call. A single thought ran through the Doom Slayer's mind as he readied his weapons for the blood bath.**

**Bring it.**

**Demons swarmed and the BFG answered. The fighting became exceptionally fierce once Jaune's BFG clicked empty and he had to massacre the demons the old fashioned way. Bullets, rockets, plasma, metal flechettes and his own fists and legs when the occasion called for it, Jaune gave it everything he had.**

**The familiar yet twisted landscape bore witness to the Doom Slayer's rampage once more as demon blood watered the streets on a level that hadn't been seen since the initial demon victory. Jaune bashed in a hell knight's skull and revelled in the surge of life energy he absorbed plus the additional ammo for the BFG.**

**Firing it immediately, Jaune's glee at the carnage was outstripped only by his boiling hatred as he continued rampaging through the demonic lines, giving no quarter and expecting none in return.**

**Once the last demon bit the dust under his boot heel, the doors leading up to the wraiths slowly opened up. Poor design, luck or divine intervention, Jaune didn't know and didn't care, his way forwards was clear and if it was another trap he'd just shoot his way out of it again. This time there wasn't a mountain for the demons to drop on him.**

**The mangled body of the wraith lay at the top, energy constantly pouring from an orb hovering over it. It was barely recognisable now, the demonic taint of hell having warped the poor creature into something that resembled a living corpse.**

**Jaune closed his eyes at yet another reminder of his failure before drawing the crucible. There was a click and several spikes shot out of the bottom of the handle, Jaune plunged the spikes into the orb and twisted the crucible as though it were a key in a lock.**

**There was an explosion and Jaune was blasted backwards. When he got back to his feet, the energy stream had been cut off and one of the night sentinel ghosts was standing there to greet him, pointing the way forwards before fading away.**

**One wraith freed from its chains, two more to go.**

"Progress baby, progress! Still think you're on the winning side Cinder?" Roman mocked the irate fall maiden.

"He hasn't won yet." Cinder spat out.

"Maybe, but everyone can see the writing on the wall… except you evidently." Roman laughed as Cinder squeezed her armrest impotently, with two barriers between them, there was nothing she could do even if she wanted to.

**The demons were fighting with a desperation he hadn't seen in a very long time as Jaune neared the final wraith. They were throwing everything and the kitchen sink at him now.**

**And all their sacrifices succeeded in doing was delay the inevitable.**

**Nothing would stand between him and righting the wrongs of the past. Nothing.**

**Picking up two imps, Jaune smashed their skulls together repeatedly until they had the consistency of mashed potatoes before using the corpses as flails, beating back the demonic horde one body at a time.**

"Oooh… idea…" Nora cackled to herself as her imagination activated again.

"Nora. No. No beating Grimm to death with other Grimm." Ren denied.

"Aww… what about-"

"No beating other humans with more humans either." Pyrrha shot down the idea before Nora even uttered it.

"Okay… but then-"

"No using faunus either. And that's racist!" Blake chimed in, already seeing where Nora's train of thoughts was going.

"Is it though? Hmm… if I beat a human using a faunus as a club, is that racism or helping to fight for faunus rights?" Yang's question caused Blake's mind to short circuit instantly and she swore there was smoke coming out of her ears now.

"Of course it's… why are we even discussing this?" Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose, catching herself before she got dragged into the insanity of it all.

"Nora." Her friends fired back the answer in unison.

**Upon freeing the last wraith, the night sentinel ghosts appeared again, directing him to a pit. At the bottom of it, he could make out a giant runic circle on the floor. Nodding his thanks to his deceased comrades for pointing out the way, Jaune leapt through, landing on the ground below with a thud.**

**Looking up, he suppressed a grin as he realised why the ghosts had directed him here instead of simply leaving him to wait for Ironwood to pull him back. He helped set the wraiths free and now they were helping him settle the score.**

**Cinder Fall stood hunched over several metres from him. Still alive and blood soaked, blind white eyes stared back at him as she stood in the centre of the runic circle. Whatever she'd seen in her time here had clearly broken her, such was the reward for working with the demons, for the wages of treachery are suffering.**

"**They… promised me… so much" Cinder said in a harrowed tone. Before Jaune could put a bullet in her, hell energy zapped her and suffused her entire being, getting her to scream in agony. Once it faded, her limp form fell to the ground and sank into it as though the ground was liquid.**

**Jaune took several steps backwards as ground starting bubbling, blood welling up from dry earth and splashing everywhere. The tremors continued to grow until a massive mechanical spider leg burst out of the ground, followed by another.**

**Then an oversized exposed brain emerged, pushed up by a third spider leg on the back, attached to the brain was an ugly mug not even its mother could love. The white cybernetics and the design of it left no doubt that that was Cinder transformed.**

**A spider mastermind of all possible demons… fitting really. For all its supposed brain power, Jaune was about to prove that Cinder had a case of terminal stupidity and had most assuredly reached an evolutionary _dead_ end.**

"W-what is that!? What happened to me!?" Cinder yelled to make herself heard over the mix of retching and laughter in the theatre.

"You wanted power, you went to the demons for power, they gave you power." Blank answered while ensuring there were enough buckets to go around for the squeamish.

"That… there's no way any version of me would have asked for that!" Cinder protested.

"Your requests were simple, power, access to Argent D'Nur as your new home, disposal of everyone else once they outlived their usefulness. All the researchers who worked with you are dead save Ironwood. You're in Argent D'Nur now. And the spider mastermind is one of the strongest demons in existence. The forces of hell actually did uphold their end of the bargain completely, but maybe you should have been more specific about what you wanted." Blank pointed out.

"You said it wouldn't be as disgusting as the hunter universe, that's a walking brain attached to a spider! How is that less disgusting than what we saw!?" Blake just barely kept from yelling at Blank.

"Hmm? I would think the nightmare version of General Ironwood would be more disturbing and as to monster brains… ah that's right, I haven't shown you the brain of Mensis yet." Blank muttered to himself, getting the audience members who were paying attention to pale.

"Woah! W-we're not going back to that universe, right? I'm not sure my stomach can handle any more of that." Yang asked nervously.

"Not anytime soon, but there is one last viewing in that world, I'll show it eventually for closure." Blank answered.

"Ah who cares! Cinder's a freaking spider!" Roman burst out laughing at the ridiculous sight, Neo giggled silently by his side.

"Oh… that hit the spot. Say, any chance of her turning into something like that in our world?"

"It's low. It's not often anyone survives to the point where they require such extensive tuning in Remnant." Blank said.

"Ah… so you're saying there's a chance then." Roman grinned and Cinder just gulped, a tiny nugget of doubt brewing inside her that she wasn't able to quash completely.

"Salem would never betray me like that." Cinder declared and Blank just chuckled.

"Sure, the one who though you how to use and discard pawns would most definitely not discard you when you're no longer useful." Cinder fell silent upon hearing those words.

"And then there're the rare timelines where Salem finds an escape clause in her curse, dumping her immortality on you instead. Sounds great on paper until you realise she does it after wiping out all of humanity and faunus kind in those timelines. All alone for all eternity, you'd be the most powerful individual in existence by default."

**Plasma fire streaked towards Jaune as the plasma cannon on the spider mastermind opened fire on him. Jaune retaliated with his own plasma rifle, red and blue streams of plasma crisscrossing the arena as they shot at one another. Jaune's speed and smaller profile kept him out of reach of Cinder's attacks while he barely needed to aim to shoot the giant target.**

**When Cinder started telekinetically tearing blocks of earth from the ground to hurl at him, Jaune used the opportunity to fire a few gauss cannon rounds into her brain. When the rocks were hurled at him, Jaune simply used the recoil to escape and assume a new firing position elsewhere.**

**As the transformed Cinder raged, her violent throes caused several pillars to burst from the ground. As she slammed her legs into the ground and electrified it, trying to kill Jaune with lightning, the Doom Slayer jumped on top of the pillars and resisted the urge to just laugh at the display. Giving him an out for her own attack however unintentional it was, terminal stupidity indeed.**

**Shooting her with the BFG, Cinder was stunned as she displayed the same weakness to the weapon as all the other demons. Like the cyberdemon and hell guards though, she was made of sterner stuff and wouldn't go down with one shot, he'd at least grant her that.**

**While she was stunned, Jaune closed and started shooting at the brain with his super shotgun, the pellets tearing into the soft flesh and causing it to bleed heavily.**

**Backing off once Cinder managed to shake off the stun and open fire on him with laser projectors mounted on the spider chassis. The red-hot beams scored the ground and walls as the legs flailed about, creating an impossible to predict pattern.**

**Getting hit by the lasers several times, it burned wherever the beams touched but Jaune shrugged it off. Pain of this level was nothing new, he'd gone through worse and likely would continue to do so in his campaign against hell.**

**When Cinder switched back to her electric attack. Jaune clambered back up onto one of the pillars that remained intact and deployed the mobile turret, once more sending a stream of death into Cinder's unarmoured brain.**

**The spider mastermind's screams of pain were music to his ears.**

"So… still think you're on the winning side?" Qrow smirked as Cinder just glared at him, Salem's agent unable to come up with a good comeback with all the evidence pointing to the contrary.

Her two minions exchanged an unsure glance, wondering what all this meant for their future. Emerald remained undyingly loyal to Cinder but Mercury doubts were growing. Idly he wondered if he should try running away, there was always a demand for assassins in Mistral's underworld, he should be able to disappear there.

**As the damage started to pile up, the spider mastermind's mechanical legs started to fail as well and it was reduced to crawling at times. The originally pinkish brain was now blood red from all the lacerations and puncture wounds.**

**With a final volley of rockets, Cinder's legs gave out entirely and the brain spider collapsed to the floor in a daze. Jaune approached with the BFG drawn, oh he could have ended it at range no problem. But after everything Cinder had done, that wasn't happening.**

**Oh no, no easy deaths today. They weren't here in person but Jaune knew this little fight was currently being viewed by every demon lord in hell who thought they were worth the salt. It was time to make an example of Cinder, prove to hell that their worst nightmare had returned and was eager to make up for lost time.**

**Grabbing one of Cinder's fangs and using his feet as a brace, Jaune forced her mouth open as he jammed the BFG into her mouth. He left it there long enough for Cinder to realise what was about to happen, relishing in the fear and panic in the demon's eyes just before he pulled the trigger.**

**The emerald blast took off half of Cinder's head and splattered brain matter everywhere as a trench was excavated right down the centre of the brain. The now worthless remains crumpled to the floor as Jaune removed the BFG and stepped back to admire his handiwork. It was a wonderful work of art if he did say so himself.**

"One hell of a message to send." Ironwood muttered upon seeing the brutal execution.

"The demons will know humanity has a new protector. That should give them pause before they try this again." Winter said.

"Portal's closed, bitch is dead, all's well that ends well right?" Qrow chuckled only to freeze when Blank coughed.

"Yeah… about that…"

**Electricity zapped Jaune as the tether activated, Ironwood pulling him back at last. When the white light faded, he was back in the UAC mars facility. Only, unlike the previous times he'd returned, the electric field didn't fade away, holding him in place as the tether didn't deactivate.**

"**You've won. It's over. You've stopped the invasion and closed the portal. But it's come at a price." Ironwood stepped out of the shadows and approached Jaune.**

"**Argent, Penny, this entire operation. You see I've watched you work, come to understand your motivations." Ironwood leaned in close and Jaune regretted his inability to spit at the machine for his unexpected but inevitable betrayal.**

"**You think the only way is to kill them all. Leave nothing behind. And you may be right. But we can't just shut it all down. Without argent energy, it will be worse. I don't expect you to agree." Ironwood reached out and grabbed the crucible, tearing it away from Jaune as the Doom Slayer struggled in his bindings.**

"**But with this, we can continue our work. I am not the villain in this story, I do what I do because there is no choice." Ironwood defended his betrayal as an announcement indicating the tether coordinates had been rerouted was made.**

"**Our time is up. I can't kill you, but I won't have you standing in our way." Ironwood shook the crucible once and a scarlet energy blade materialised.**

"**Until we see each other again." Ironwood turned and walked off as the tether activated again, transporting Jaune to destination unknown. Heavy metal started playing again as the short came to an end.**

"You're kidding, after all that, I still decide to restart the project?" Ironwood whispered out.

"As I said, you believe that desperate times call for desperate measures. And that version of you is desperate enough to risk another demonic invasion because you see a chance of extinction far preferable to a guaranteed extinction in the near future. I won't tell you what to think or believe, I just ask that you not let your paranoia and fears rule you." Blank answered, leaving the general to stew in his own thoughts.

"Everything goes bad again doesn't it?" Weiss asked with a sigh.

"Indeed, the demons invade again and Jaune returns to slaughter them. Perhaps I'll cover it in the future. For now, feel free to refresh yourselves, next viewing will be ready shortly." Blank said.

* * *

Author's notes: In the beginning, I just wanted to adapt the final mission, but then after going through it, there wasn't enough content. It'd have been a 3k words chapter or something, so I adapted the whole game. Hope you've enjoyed this chapter, and for those who celebrate it, happy lunar new year.

Ninja edit, so Doom Slayer's misspelling has been corrected. Transcribing lines of dialogue from the game without subtitles and not double checking afterwards was a bad idea in hindsight.

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as The Doom Slayer

James Ironwood as Dr Samuel Hayden

Cinder Fall as Dr Olivia Pierce

Penny Polendina as Vega


	19. Chapter 18: A better world

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

Note: The start of this chapter takes place in an AU version of vol 7, some minor spoilers may be inside. Not a lot of action in this one.

**Chapter 18: A better world**

**Inspiration: Justice League**

"Welcome back, next viewing is ready." Blank said once his audience had taken their seats again.

"So what are we watching this time? More demon killing?" Ruby asked.

"No, this time it's two possible futures set in a timeline where the fall of Beacon happened." Blank answered.

"Oh." The mood in the theatre tanked instantly save for Cinder who started smiling again, knowing that her plans had succeeded.

"Wait, two possible futures?" Weiss asked in confusion.

"Indeed, due to a deliberate mishap involving large quantities of gravity dust and magic, the two futures intersected, you'll just have to see."

"And I win in both, excellent." Cinder said.

"You win the battle and lost the war shortly after. It does not end well for either of your future counterparts." Blank said before his audience could start rioting and attempting to break through the barrier again.

"What? But if I succeeded at Beacon, than I must have the full power of the maiden. Losing, isn't possible with that kind of power." Cinder argued.

"In a straight fight perhaps, but your enemies will never give you one in those futures. Least of all Jaune Arc." Blank said.

"Hmmph, so far I've seen three different versions of that boy, but they're all from different universes. The one in mine is a joke of a huntsman, killing him will hardly be a problem." Cinder smirked as she recalled browsing through the files of all the Beacon students, Jaune Arc rated so low even a dog would have a greater chance of messing up her plans.

"Keep talking. Just keep talking." Ren growled out, his anger rising even with his semblance suppressing his negative emotions.

"I've already said it before I think, but you do have a habit of creating your own worst enemies Cinder Fall. It's just a question of how far you're going to drive them to fight against you and your master." Blank said.

"Is there even such a thing as too far? Salem is a monster that needs to be stopped no matter the cost." Ironwood said.

"I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions. Now, on with the show." Blank said and flickered, the lights dimmed and the screen came to life afterwards.

"**Their numbers are endless!" Harriet swore as she put down another sabyr attacking her. Mantle was burning as the Grimm hordes continued pouring through the breach in the walls, swarming into the vulnerable city. The ace ops plus Nora and Ren were doing their best to stall the Grimm while civilians evacuated to the safety of Atlas.**

Metal crunched as Ironwood tightened his grip on his armrest hard enough to deform it. "That's Mantle and the ace ops, what the hell's going on!?"

"Salem's forces are trying to claim the relic and the power of the winter maiden, this is part of their plans." Blank answered.

"Well, well, well, looks like Atlas will be joining Beacon as nothing more than a memory soon. Do you get the hopelessness of the situation now?" Cinder laughed as the good guys were powerless to do anything but watch.

**As a new wave of Grimm surged towards the huntsmen, green lasers started raining from the sky and a burst of rose petals tore through the Grimm lines, reducing them to dust. Penny and Ruby regrouped with the rest of them and received several thankful nods for the reprieve.**

"**Ruby! Have you seen Jaune anywhere?" Ren asked as the scarlet reaper approached.**

"**What? No, I haven't." Ruby replied mid swing as the sabyr disintegrated after being bisected by Crescent Rose.**

"**Damnit, Jaune has the lamp, he said he was getting it to safety, but there's no way to tell if he made it with all these Grimm around. We can't reach his scroll either." Ren said, visibly struggling between the need to stay and protect the evacuation efforts and trying to find his missing teammate.**

**Ruby blinked in confusion, unable to comprehend Ren's words. Hesitantly reaching behind her, she pulled out the relic of knowledge. "What? But… but he can't have the relic, the lamp is with me."**

"Relic… that's one of those things that gave archer Jaune his power, right?" Ruby asked, recalling the last time she heard that term.

"Indeed, that lamp is the relic of knowledge, it houses a spirit that can answer any three questions accurately as long as it doesn't involve the future." Blank said.

"That's classified info." Ironwood frowned at Blank's casual revealing of one of Remnant's best kept secrets.

"So they brought it to Atlas, I assume Lionheart tried handing it to Salem and failed?" Ozpin asked.

"Indeed."

"One of the relics out in the open, how foolish, you might as well just hand it over to me, it's faster that way." Cinder smirked, expecting to see herself swoop in and steal the relic from them.

"Grrr… wait. If Ruby has the relic, why did Jaune say he had it and run off?" Yang asked.

"Bait." Blank replied succinctly.

**Jaune huffed as he sheathed Crocea Mors, the Grimm corpses already disintegrating around him. Sucking in a deep breath to ease his burning lungs, he wiped away the sheen of sweat on his forehead.**

**His scroll buzzed again but Jaune ignored it, probably his team wondering if he got the relic to safety. Glancing around at the deserted warehouses and ruined streets, this was about as safe as he'd get in the middle of a Grimm invasion.**

**Not that he intended for things to stay that way for very long.**

**The undamaged lamp hanging at his side clinked as he rose to his full height suddenly. Jaune's face became void of emotions as he felt a shift in the air, the scent of ashes growing stronger all of a sudden.**

"He cut his hair? It's… not a bad look actually." Yang admitted with a shrug.

"He has a lamp as well, how? Did someone make a second relic?" Pyrrha asked.

"That's impossible, you can't just make a copy of a relic like that. It has to be a fake of some sort." Ironwood said.

"Correct." Blank confirmed.

**Jaune exhaled slowly, releasing the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. The sound of clapping reached his ears as he turned around to face the newcomer.**

"**A little far from home aren't you little huntsmen. Hand over the relic and your death will be swift." Cinder raised a hand in expectation as Jaune glared at her.**

"**No. I don't think I will." Jaune said as he lifted his lamp into the air for all to see.**

"**You intend to fight me for it? Hahahhahahah! Still the same fool with a death wish. Haven't we been through this song and dance already, don't you learn? You're so far out of your league it'd be hilarious if it wasn't so pathetic." Cinder mocked, several balls of fire spawning into existence courtesy of her magic.**

"If he already knows what I'm capable of and still insists on standing in my way, then he's an idiot." Cinder said, trying not to think about why her future self was now wearing an eyepatch.

"Grrr… just you wait, fearless leader is gonna kick your ass." Nora growled out.

"And there I was thinking it was just Arc who was delusional, evidently it runs in his team." Cinder smirked as she watched Ren and Pyrrha struggle to keep Nora from trying to tear her seat from the ground and hurl it at her.

"**And you're so predictable it'd be hilarious if it wasn't so pathetic." Jaune fired back without missing a beat.**

"What?" Cinder blinked, not expecting the comeback.

"**If it's not the maiden's powers you're after, it's the relics. You're so one dimensional I'm not sure whether to laugh at you or pity you." Jaune let the lamp fall to the ground with a thud.**

"**You. Dare?" Cinder growled out, her fingers twitched, itching to send the fireballs towards the impertinent fool before her and burn him to ashes.**

"**Oh I more than dare, your presence here just proves my point. All I needed to do was announce I had the relic for you to come running, some praise is in order, I think. Good dog." Dark laughter emanated from Jaune as he raised his foot up and stomped downwards, smashing the lamp to pieces.**

"**What!? You! That's… a fake!?" Cinder sputtered as she saw the replica shatter and be ground to dust under Jaune's heel.**

"**Oh no, you're retarded too. Did you get your brain power burnt off with your face or were you always this stupid? Did you really think I'd run off to the middle of a fucking warehouse district with a relic in the middle of a Grimm invasion?" Jaune returned the slow clap Cinder gave him earlier as he mocked the irate maiden.**

"**Did it never occur to you that maybe, just maybe I'm using it as bait to lure you out? No of course not, you don't have enough braincells to process that."**

"Ha! You fell for it completely!" Ruby crowed happily and pointed at a scowling Cinder.

"So I did." Cinder grimaced as she had to admit that point, then her smirk returned.

"And now your friend is all alone without anyone to save him. What do you think I'm going to do now?" Cinder asked and Ruby's grin faded into a frown.

"Come on Jaune, you must have some kind of a plan." Ruby muttered under her breath.

"**You think you're funny don't you? In the end you're nothing more than a failure with a death wish." Cinder said.**

"**I am a licensed huntsman now. As to being funny… you know, one of my missions here in Mantle was to act as a crossing guard for children, see them safely to school. Even got to sit in on some of their lessons, one of them happened to be arts and crafts. That fake you chased me all the way here for? Barely an hour's worth of work. So yes, I do think it's funny." Jaune's glare sharpened as he deployed his shield and used it to block the incoming fireballs.**

"**I. Am going to kill you slowly. First Nikos and now you, I suppose I'll be paying the last two members of your team a visit after this." Cinder threatened as she backflipped over a gravity blast Jaune released from his shield.**

"**You, will not be getting anywhere near them! I'll kill you here and that's a promise." Jaune roared and dashed forwards with Crocea Mors at the ready.**

"**And who's going to stop me? You? A pathetic waste of space? I killed your partner at Beacon, then I showed you the difference between our levels at Haven, you think that just because this is Mantle that's going to change? You're nothing more than an insect." Cinder mocked as she fired wave after wave of magic attacks at Jaune.**

**Jaune did his best to parry or block the incoming attacks but was slowly forced back by the power of the maiden. When one of Cinder's attacks dematerialised inches from his shield only to reform inside his guard, Jaune was sent tumbling back as it detonated with incredible force, his sword and shield sent clattering across the floor.**

**Coughing in pain as he struggled to rise again, Cinder formed a glass spear and prepared to launch it at the down huntsman. "End of line for you. Die."**

**As the spear fired, Jaune's grin widened. "Bet."**

**A black aura surrounded his fallen shield and it shot towards the glass spear with incredible speed, striking it and shattering it into countless obsidian shards.**

"What!?" Cinder's cry mirrored her on screen counterpart, neither able to believe their coup de grace was stopped just like that.

"That's… my semblance… how?" Pyrrha asked but got no reply as Blank chose to remain silent.

"**What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost." Jaune rose to his feet and stared at Cinder, one formerly sapphire eye now a blazing emerald green. **

"**This is impossible." Cinder narrowed her eyes, trying to figure out what kind of a stunt Jaune was trying to pull.**

"**One last gift to me from a dear friend." Jaune smiled sadly as he reached up to scratch at his glowing eye. That expression quickly faded away, replaced by one of murderous hate scorching enough to get Cinder to take an involuntary step backwards.**

**Raising his hands, Jaune recalled his sword and shield, plucking both out of the air with ease. The ground rumbled and the sound of metal warping and tearing could be heard as Jaune used his polarity to start ripping at everything made of metal in the area. The roofs of the warehouses, the random metal debris lying about, and even the metal foundations holding the buildings in place, piece by piece metal was torn free and started circling him, forming a barrier between him and Cinder.**

"**So, you somehow managed to gain Nikos's semblance, do you really think it's going to make a difference? It didn't save her from her destiny." Cinder's smirk was wiped away when an iron nail shot past her face fast enough to go through her aura and tear open her cheek, the follow up sonic boom nearly deafened her as well.**

"**Gah!" She screamed in a mix of shock and pain as she reached up to clutch her bloody cheek.**

"**I am not my partner. I will admit, I don't have nearly as much control over polarity as I would like, I only figured this out a few days ago when I was practicing extending my aura. But, I found out mixing it with my own aura amplification means I'm a walking cannon, if you get hit… well you already know what happens." Jaune bared his teeth and started firing metal fragments at Cinder, effectively forcing the fall maiden to dance or be killed.**

**When Cinder tried counterattacking with a blast of flames or glass weapons, the wall of metal floating around Jaune simply closed in to form a veritable fortress.**

"**You can't keep this up forever boy. I can tell, you're barely able to control this power and your accuracy is abysmal. Sooner or later you'll slip up and then you'll die." Cinder said as several metal bullets went wide, not even requiring her to dodge them.**

"**Maybe so, but I've said it before. If I die buying my friends time, then it's worth it. They're the ones that matter. I lured you here to kill you, and I don't mind not returning if I succeed at that. They'll understand eventually." Jaune admitted freely, even with his new power, fighting and beating a full powered maiden in a one on one battle was anything but easy.**

"Damnit Jaune, you can't seriously believe that." Ren muttered and clenched his fists.

"He intends to sacrifice himself?" Ozpin asked with a frown.

"If that is what it takes. As he sees it, a one for one trade to remove a maiden from Salem's clutches is an unbelievably good deal." Blank said.

"There's no way we'd let him throw away his life like that right?" Ruby pleaded, hoping that their future selves had nothing to do with Jaune's plan.

"You wouldn't, and you'd probably be able to talk him out of it as well." Blank said.

"So that's why he's not answering his scroll, he's already committed to it. Damn fool, and what do you think your death would do to your friends?" Roman said, muttering the last bit too softly for anyone except Neo to hear.

**As the fight wore on, both combatants started taking more and more damage. Several of Jaune's improvised missiles piercing through Cinder's legs to cripple her movement while the maiden returned the favour by slipping several glass daggers into his chest when there was a gap in the slowly depleting wall of metal.**

"**This cannot be happening, I am a maiden! You're just a nobody!" Cinder roared as another shard of metal punched straight through her thigh, bringing her to her knees.**

"**My magic should be destroying you!" A blast of fire was blocked as a metal door was hurled into its path, melting away into a pile of molten slag and leaving Jaune unharmed.**

"**Yours? Not yours, never yours. You stole something you had no right to, and now I'm going to tear it from your cold lifeless corpse." Jaune said as his breath came in ragged gasps, constant usage of two semblances burning through even his sizable aura reserves rapidly.**

"**Magic didn't save the previous fall maiden from you, it will not save you from me."**

"**NO! My destiny was promised to me! You will not! Get! In! MY! WAY!" Cinder yelled and fired another glass spear towards Jaune. When Jaune tried to block it, she had the glass spear shatter mid-flight into countless smaller fragments, some getting blocked by the floating shields, others making it past and slamming into Jaune with the force of a bullet.**

**Jaune's aura shattered under the strain of protecting himself from the attack and keeping up his defences. Tossed backwards by the attack, he rolled several times and came to a stop. When he tried to rise again, his chest plate was dented and pockmarked from all the impacts it stopped, blood ran freely from his arms and legs where the glass fragments had struck true.**

**Several wet coughs tore their way free from Jaune and when he reached up to wipe his mouth, his hand came away bloody. Glaring at Cinder who was getting back up onto her feet, Jaune struggled to do the same.**

"**Any last words? Suicidal fool, you should have known how this would have ended." Cinder growled out as she prepared to kill her opponent.**

"**Hahahaha…. HahahaHAHAHAHAH!" Jaune burst out laughing upon hearing her words.**

"**Yeah, I figured even with Pyr's semblance it might not be enough to beat you. Did you think I wouldn't have taken that into account? Look around you, do you know where you're standing in right now?" Jaune swept his hands outwards, gesturing to the ruined warehouse district.**

"It's just a… wait I recognise those warehouses. That's Atlas's mainland dust storage!" Winter said, paling rapidly as she pieced Jaune's plan together.

"Dust stor-oh no. That'll wipe out everything in a two mile radius at least." Ironwood whispered.

"What? What's he planning?" Nora asked.

"Taking you with me huh… shit, kid doesn't do things by half." Qrow commented.

"**All these warehouses? They contain dust for the Amity project. One little spark and boom. You set up the breach, didn't you? I thought I'd return the favour." Jaune said, getting Cinder to pause in her tracks.**

"**That'll kill you as well, and everyone else in the area. You don't have the guts to do that." Cinder called his bluff, and Jaune just smiled tiredly.**

"**Hahahahah… we're the only ones here, everyone else has already been evacuated thanks to the Grimm. I promised I'd kill you, an Arc **_**never**_** goes back on his words." Jaune flicked his right arm, revealing a detonator in his hand.**

"**No. Stop!" Cinder's last ditch attempt to shoot the detonator out of his hands failed when a shard of steel launched off the ground and struck her in the back of her knees, bringing her down again.**

"**Pawn. Takes. Queen. Checkmate!" Jaune slammed his thumb down on the switch, triggering every bomb he'd planted in the warehouses earlier in the invasion. In the instant before the dust explosion would have wiped the area clean, his expression of triumph morphed into one of shock when a burst of red petals caught his eyes, Ruby had somehow tracked him down to this place and was now in the blast zone.**

"**Jaune!"**

"**Ruby! No! Get away!" Jaune made it two steps before the stockpile of gravity dust stored away inside the warehouse combusted all at once, and the world was consumed by an all-encompassing violet light.**

"…D-did he just kill all three of us?" Ruby asked in a small voice, not expecting her future self to be caught up in the blast as well.

"No! Both of them!? What kind of ending is that!?" Yang roared, her eyes crimson and hair leaking embers into the air from her rage fuelled semblance.

"Easy dear, it's not over yet I think. Our host did say we'd be seeing two futures intersecting, this must be the cause of it." Summer said, getting her daughters to calm down while assuaging her own fears. Taiyang sat by her side and said nothing, simply giving her hand a comforting squeeze.

"Cinder, are you okay?" Emerald asked as her boss started shaking in her seat from barely suppressed anger, ignoring Mercury's rapid slashes across his throat to get her to read the mood.

"I'm. Fine." Cinder growled out, thoroughly displeased with seeing her future self get taken out by a suicidal play of all things. Hook, line and sinker, and the problem was, with a relic as bait and a lack of competent help, she'd probably fall for the trap nine times out of ten. Frustrating didn't even begin to cover it.

**Jaune's body was wracked with pain and he hurt in places he didn't even know existed. 'If I'm dead, why does everything hurt so much?'**

**Forcing his eyes open through sheer willpower, spots danced in his eyes as he tried to focus, and blink away the blurriness. The first thing he noticed was Cinder's prone form lying some distance away from him, rage blossomed in his heart as he noticed the rise and fall of her chest.**

**The power of hate granted him the strength to crawl to his knees and slowly make his way towards the one person he hated above all else. Crocea Mors had been destroyed in the blast and only a jagged edge remained attached to its blackened hilt, he grit his teeth as he tightened his grip on the destroyed weapon, it would be enough to carve out Cinder's cold blackened heart.**

**His pursuit of vengeance was halted when a cough came from the side. Turning his head to identify the source of the coughing, Jaune's eyes widened when he noticed Ruby lying off to the side in a slowly expanding pool of red.**

"**Ruby!" Sparing Cinder one last hateful glare, Jaune started crawling towards the fallen form of his friend instead. His aura was still heavily in the red but he didn't have time to worry about it for now, if he could get to her and start the aura transfer, it could save Ruby's life.**

**Leaving a bloody trail of his own as he crawled over to Ruby, he placed his hands over her and started pumping what little aura he had left into her, as the soft white yellow glow covered her, Ruby's laboured breathing started to ease up as her conditions stabilised.**

"**You're gonna be okay, I won't lose anyone else, you're not dying on my watch." Jaune whispered to himself as he dug deep and pulled out every thing he had and put it towards healing Ruby.**

**His vision blurred again when he stripped away the little bit of aura left keeping him conscious. Forcing himself to stay up until Ruby's breathing returned to normal and her wounds were completely closed, he heaved a sigh as the darkness rushed to claim him.**

**Collapsing next to Ruby, he swore he saw the darnedest thing right before he fell unconscious. There in the distance stood two giant statues, one of Pyrrha and the other of Ruby.**

"Whew… they're fine, they're both fine." Yang slumped in her seat after seeing both Jaune and Ruby survive the explosion.

"What's with the statues though? What kind of a future is this?" Weiss asked.

"You had the statues commissioned after taking over as head of the SDC. You had them constructed as a memorial." Blank answered.

"Memorial? Oh no…" Blake's ears flattened against the side of her head as the implications of a Ruby statue sunk in.

"Tch, they survived, how lucky can you get?" Cinder folded her arms in anger as both Jaune and Ruby had survived the blast while her own fate was still up in the air.

"**Kuh… my head… gha! It feels like there's a beringel dancing around inside." Jaune groaned as he came to. The grogginess was quickly replaced by confusion and a bit of panic when he found his arms and legs chained in place to some contraption. He was locked up inside a cell, three steel-grey walls and a hardlight barrier between him and freedom. **

"**Hey! What gives!?" Struggling against his bonds, there was a flash of purple light before vertigo hit him hard and his strength drained away, leaving him to slump in place and try to avoid emptying his stomach on the spot.**

"**Please do not struggle against your bonds. It might cause your wounds to reopen." A placid voice informed and Jaune noted the bandages on him before looking up. He froze in place when he noticed a bull faunus standing there, red hair and SDC brand out in the open for all to see, allowing Jaune to recognise the man from Blake and Yang's reports.**

"**Adam Taurus."**

"What's he doing here!?" Blake hissed upon seeing her old mentor.

"Heh, so much for safety, looks like the white fang have your friends… too bad." Cinder said, smiling at the unexpected turn of events.

"Something's wrong with him… he doesn't look all there to me." Roman said, Adam's one good eye had a far off look in them that didn't sit well with him.

'They did something to his mind. No one's home.' Neo displayed her scroll for Roman to see and the master thief just stared at the faunus on screen, shivering when Neo's explanation just happened to fit.

"Before you start panicking, relax, your friends are not in the hands of the white fang, in fact in this timeline, the white fang no longer exists as an organisation." Blank said.

"Adam's there, there's no way the white fang is gone." Blake denied.

"It is gone. Most white fang members have already been executed by firing squad for their actions during the fall of Beacon." Blank said, stunning the entire audience.

"W-what? By who? How? And what about Adam then?" Blake finally found her voice and started firing off questions at a rapid pace.

"You all happened. In this timeline, you successfully convinced the councils to declare the white fang traitors to all living things for handing Vale to the Grimm. Subsequently, a kill on sight order was placed on every member of the white fang, those who surrender are executed on the spot. As for Adam Taurus and the rest of the white fang leadership, they were captured and lobotomised, their subsequent 'service' an example to all future would be rebels." Blank answered.

Silence filled the theatre before Ruby broke it with a quiet 'why'.

"To set an example. Everlasting peace, by any means necessary."

"**What are you doing here!? You're dead! Guh, let me go!" Jaune started struggling in his bonds and the purple light flashed again, causing another wave of vertigo to strip him of his senses. This time, he did void his stomach, shaking in his bonds until the light subsided.**

"**You won't get away with this." Jaune glared at the faunus and spat in his direction.**

**For his part, Adam barely reacted to Jaune's outburst other than to reiterate the advice that Jaune not struggle against his bonds with a small headshake. "Please, relax. You are confused, it will pass soon. Lady Schnee will be here with the captain soon, they will explain everything."**

**Adam gave a small bow before turning around and leaving.**

"**Lady Schnee? Wait, come back! Where the hell is Ruby!? What have you bastards done to her!?" Jaune roared and started struggling again, leading to him getting hit by a third wave of nausea that nearly sent him back to dreamland.**

"Lady Schnee? That's… so… wrong. Adam would die before he addressed any Schnee with that kind of respect." Blake squirmed in her seat, on the one hand, Adam had been dealt with and paid for his crimes, on the other… this was plain disturbing to watch.

**Jaune stewed in silence for several minutes before the sound of heels clacking on metal steps drew his attention. Raising his head, he was greeted with the sight of Weiss standing beyond the hardlight barrier.**

"**Weiss? What's going on? Where's Ruby? Is she alright?" Jaune asked, and a sense of disquiet grew in him when Weiss remained silent.**

"**Weiss, where's Ruby? She's not…"**

"**Ruby Rose is fine, she's in the cell next to yours actually but she hasn't regained consciousness yet. Allow me." Weiss pulled out her scroll and keyed several commands into it, there was a short burst of mechanical whirring as one of the walls sank into the ground to be replaced with a second hardlight barrier.**

**Beyond it, he could see Ruby strapped into the same contraption as he was, and despite the strangeness of the situation, Jaune couldn't help but sigh in relief as he noticed that Ruby was safe and sound. "Ruby… thank god she's safe."**

"Okay they're both fine… but Weiss-cream what's the big idea locking them up like that?" Yang turned to Weiss with a frown.

"I… how would I know? I'm not that Weiss." The heiress replied.

"Precautionary measures I think. If Ms Rose is dead as I suspect in this timeline, having her suddenly appear would raise questions, as well as the possibility of a second Mr Arc running around." Goodwitch said.

"That is a possibility, I'd probably want to know what's going on if a second me suddenly showed up one day. As to the lock up… safety measures, no telling if it's one of her tricks." Qrow acknowledged, slightly displeased with having to agree to the logic of locking up his own niece.

"…**You really are Jaune Arc." Weiss said with a complicated expression on her face.**

"**Of course I'm Jaune, what's going on anyways? Why are we locked up here, what happened to the Grimm… invasion… Cinder! Where's the bitch!?" Jaune's eyes widened when he recalled that Cinder hadn't died in the explosion he caused.**

"**Grimm invasion? No, never mind. Fall is currently being held in a separate maximum-security facility while we figure out what to do with her, rest assured she will **_**not**_** be escaping any time soon." Weiss informed.**

"**Okay… so why am I locked up again?"**

"**Your presence here… complicates things."**

"**I don't understand." Jaune said, still trying and failing to make sense of the situation. He received his answer shortly when a new set of footsteps approached, and a second Jaune Arc appeared in front of him.**

"**What? H-how is this possible?" Jaune asked, the shock evident in his tone.**

"**You're asking the wrong guy. Even Jinn doesn't have an answer for us. Although, your Jinn has been most helpful with trying to solve this little mystery." The other Jaune replied.**

"**Our Jinn? What?" Jaune was thoroughly confused.**

"**I suppose we should introduce ourselves, I'm Captain Jaune Arc, an Atlas specialist. You've already met, but this is Weiss Schnee, current head of the SDC." Weiss gave a small curtsy at the introduction.**

"**SDC… isn't Jacques-"**

"**My **_**father **_**lost his head a while back, I've taken over the SDC in his absence since sister is still with the military and Whitley has no intention of leaving his position of head of R&D." Weiss corrected.**

"**I'm sorry?"**

"**Don't be, I executed him myself when I found evidence of him trying to sell out Atlas and Mantle to Arthur Watts." Jaune recoiled at the sheer nonchalance in Weiss's admission of patricide.**

"I did what!? He did what!?" Weiss was starting to hyperventilate when her sister moved over to her and started rubbing circles into her back to calm her down.

"Calm down Weiss, I'm sure there's an explanation for that… right?" Winter directed the question to Blank with a glare.

"In an attempt to secure more power, Jacques Schnee attempted to run for a council seat, but to say that he isn't popular among the masses is an understatement. He attempted to cheat by working with Arthur Watts to hack the votes and shift them in his favour. The Weiss of that timeline found proof of the treachery, had him arrested mid council meeting and publicly executed him for high treason a few days later." Blank said.

"**Ahem, to get things back on track. We've checked with Jinn, you attempted to kill Cinder Fall by luring her into a trap and detonating a massive stockpile of dust did you not?" Captain Arc asked.**

"**Yeah… but she survived even that." Jaune growled out.**

"**Technically, you did too. We're not a hundred percent sure yet but our current hypothesis is that the relic of knowledge's close proximity to so much gravity dust going off at the same time tore a hole between worlds instead of just exploding. Which led to the three of you being dumped in the middle of one of Mantle's parks." Captain Arc replied.**

"**I see… so what happens now?" Jaune asked and Weiss raised an eyebrow at his quick acceptance.**

"**You're taking this awfully well."**

"**In the last year, I've found out magic is real, met two people who can turn into birds and found a boy with my dead headmaster in his head. Then I found out Atlas's floating is once again due to magic. At this point, I've learnt to just roll with it, besides, unless this is some kind of incredibly detailed illusion, I am literally talking to myself right now." Jaune did his best to shrug in his bonds before giving up, not wanting to be hit by the prisoner containment measures again.**

'So I'm dead and have already reincarnated.' Ozpin thought to himself and heaved a small sigh when none of his students appeared to catch the slip.

"**Hahahah… when you put it that way. In any case, we can't let you walk around in public right now. That would cause a bunch of unnecessary headaches. Once things have calmed down a little more, you'll both be free to go, I'll even give you a tour of this place, and you can see how different things are from your world. I'll release you from your bonds but I must insist you remain here, it'll be good for when… when Ruby wakes up." A bitter expression crossed the captain's face momentarily before he wiped it away.**

"**I… I saw the statues. What happened to your Ruby?"**

"**Don't, ask a question you don't want an answer to." Weiss replied and keyed several more commands into her scroll, there was a small hiss and the shackles unlocked, allowing Jaune to move his limbs freely again.**

"**We have work to be done so we'll be leaving now. Nora and Ren will probably drop by to visit soon, Yang and Blake are in Vacuo on a diplomatic mission so I'm afraid they won't be joining us." Weiss said.**

"**And please try not to escape, we won't be here but your statuses are being monitored, you've already felt it, but the gravity dust inhibitors installed in the walls will stop any escape attempt, they were designed to hold Hazel until his execution after all, and I've made a few tweaks just for you." Captain Arc said.**

"**You say that like you've thought of everything."**

"**Just everything you'll ever think of. We're not your enemies, we just have to sort out having three interdimensional travellers suddenly drop in." The captain replied, a black aura surrounding the now empty shackles and raising them for a bit to prove a point. **

**Jaune kept the frown from his face as he saw that his copy had Pyrrha's semblance as well, so much for the idea of using it as a trump card if it came down to a fight. After contemplating trying to break out anyway for a few seconds, he sighed and plopped himself against the wall to rest and regain his strength.**

"**Fine, I know when I'm beat." Jaune closed his eyes as the alternate Jaune and Weiss nodded and left him to stew.**

"He's just going to give up? That's not like Jaune." Pyrrha said.

"There's not much he can do right now, not with Ruby also in custody and his trump cards already accounted for." Blake replied.

"Why do they feel so… cold?" Ruby squirmed in her seat, hate filled Jaune was bad enough and these two versions of her friends were somehow even more disturbing than that.

"The death of Pyrrha Nikos hit your teams hard, then you died at the battle of Haven. The survivors snapped and came to the conclusion that your methods weren't working, too many monsters deserving of death in Remnant for non-lethal methods to work. Then, if the only path to peace and prosperity is over a mountain of corpses, you might as well climb that mountain with a smile on your faces. After Beacon and Haven, it really wasn't hard to convince General Ironwood to back your plans of ramping up the war effort." Blank said.

"Oh." Ruby sank lower in her seat and was immediately scooped up into a hug by Summer.

"Did it work?" Ironwood asked.

"James!" Goodwitch scolded.

"The no compromise stance did weed out Salem's agents and eliminate the white fang, all it cost was turning the entire world into a police state. Any dissension is stomped out immediately to ensure Salem's agents do not get a foothold. It's a future not too different from the ones where Mantle wins the great war." Blank said.

"The people would never stand for that. The councils have too much power as it is." Roman argued.

"The people don't have a choice. Not after Beacon and Haven, not after the revelation of the existence of Salem and her machinations. They gladly sacrifice their freedom to gain security from the queen of the Grimm and her monsters. It's a new world order." Blank replied, silencing the entire audience with the implication of his words.

**A small groan came from Ruby as she finally woke up as well. When she noticed her bonds, she was about to start struggling in them before Jaune's voice stymied the attempt. "Don't, struggling will just cause you to hurt yourself."**

"**Jaune? What's going on, why are we locked up? Do you have a plan to get out?" Ruby asked.**

"**We're… in a parallel universe now, supposedly something to do with the relic of knowledge… how that's possible I don't know since I didn't have the lamp."**

"**Oh. Erm… I might have been carrying the lamp with me when I found you-what were you thinking!? You tried to blow yourself up!" Ruby accused as the fog in her mind receded and the memories cleared up.**

"**I was trying to eliminate Cinder. You weren't supposed to be there, none of you were." Jaune said.**

"**What!? Jaune… you were trying to kill yourself. Why?"**

"**Cinder needed to be stopped, she won't stop coming after us for the relic, and she wants you dead. My death for hers was a worthwhile trade in my opinion, I won't allow her to take anyone else." Jaune admitted.**

"…**You can't really believe that." Ruby managed to squeak out.**

"**It is what it is, but the point is moot now. Cinder still lives and we're all stuck in prison in a different world." Jaune sighed and closed his eyes again.**

"**Different world? No, do you have a plan to escape?"**

"**No, I don't."**

"**Don't have one yet or-"**

"**I mean I'm not going to have one. The other me… he has the same abilities I do, the same line of thoughts… I can feel it, anything I can think of has probably already crossed his mind. And I… don't think you're alive in this world… not anymore."**

"**So what do we do then? Wait?" Ruby rattled her shackles to emphasise her point.**

"**Not much else we can do. Ren and Nora are supposedly going to drop by in a bit, our conditions are being monitored anyways. We try anything and they'll know, and it's not going to end well." Jaune pointed at the pile of vomit on the floor from his earlier struggles.**

"This stinks, we should all be on the same side." Nora threw her arms up in the air in frustration.

"Betrayed by your own friends, how deliciously unexpected." Cinder grinned at seeing the two stuck in jail.

"You're captured as well, I do wonder what they're doing to you right now since you're responsible for the deaths of two of our friends here." Ren fired back, shutting Cinder up instantly.

**Ren nodded to the guards of the prison complex as he entered, a small smile on his face. Jaune had already filled him in on the situation and he'd be lying if he wasn't excited to see a dead comrade again, even if it was one from another universe. A second Jaune would be… weird, but he could deal with it.**

**He chuckled when he wondered how they would deal with Nora's idea of a welcome, his partner was busy raiding every snack shop in the city to prepare a feast for their new guests at the moment while he went ahead to meet them first.**

**The smile was wiped off his face when an alarm beeped on his scroll. Pulling it out, his eyes widened when he checked the feed from the cell block cameras, Ruby was hanging limply in her restraints and her vitals had flatlined.**

"**Ruby, no!" Ren put the scroll away and started sprinting down the hallways. When he reached the holding cells, the other Jaune just gave him a dead look as he dashed past and unlocked Ruby's cell.**

"**Nononononono." Ren swiped his scroll and unlocked Ruby's restraints, preparing to carry her off to the medical ward. Before he could do anything though, a small fist had already socked him in the face before he could get his aura up, the force of the blow sending him backwards, unconscious before he hit the ground.**

"**Sorry Ren. But I'm not staying here any longer." Ruby rubbed her wrists before grabbing the unconscious Ren and locking him in place with her old restraints. Grabbing his scroll, she moved over to Jaune's cell and unlocked the door for him.**

"Ehm… sorry?" Ruby ventured with a sheepish gaze as Ren and Nora turned to look at her.

"**How?" Jaune asked.**

"**I used my semblance to transform my heart into rose petals, made it looked like I didn't have a heartbeat anymore. If… I really am dead in this world, then maybe they'd come and check and I could escape." Ruby shrugged as she reactivated the cell doors, sealing Ren in.**

"**Transform your heart? I didn't know you could do that."**

"**Neither did I, but I had to think of something since you weren't going to. So what now?" Ruby replied.**

"Your semblance can do that?" Yang turned to her sister with a questioning look.

"I don't know, I always thought it just speeds me up." Ruby said.

"Maybe your semblance isn't as clear cut as we thought." Blake said.

"Hmm, time for more practice then. No more slacking Ruby." Weiss instructed, getting Ruby to sigh in response.

"**Now, we have two problems. Cinder is still here somewhere and needs to be dealt with. Then, they also have our relic since it's not on you." Jaune took Ren's scroll from Ruby and started running through the files inside, hoping to find anything that could lead them to either of their objectives.**

"**I'll go after Cinder the- we are not arguing on this Jaune, your perspective on her is warped and I'm not going to let you kill yourself. I'm going." Ruby cut off Jaune's protests before he could open his mouth.**

"…**Fine. I have their locations. The lamp is at the SDC HQ while Cinder is being held inside a maximum security prison on Mantle." Jaune displayed the scroll to Ruby who memorised the location on it and prepared to speed off.**

"Why would something that important be at the SDC?" Goodwitch asked, unable to wrap her head around the fact the relic was at the SDC instead of say locked up in a vault.

"It's at the SDC since there's an abundance of dust and usually at least one Schnee present at all times. In a sudden emergency, this allows for multiple questions to be asked in short order." Blank said.

"That's impossible. The relic only gives three answers every hundred years." Ozpin said, even if the relic still had two questions left, that was still only two, no way to have multiple questions in a short time.

"True, that's where the SDC and Schnees come in. With large amounts of gravity dust, they've created a zone where time is distorted and flows far faster than normal. With a Schnee and Jaune Arc present to boost their semblance, using haste on the relic speeds time up even faster, so a hundred years can literally pass in the blink of an eye, resetting the relic's limit."

"Holy. Fucking. Shit." Qrow said and slotted some lien into Ruby's swear jar, his sentiment shared among all of Ozpin's group. Cinder and company paled instantly as that meant that potentially any plan they could come up with in the future would be instantly exposed.

**As Jaune snuck into the SDC headquarters, he gave thanks for the full-face helm Atlas soldiers wore, his stolen disguise easily allowing him to hide his features and the pass codes he swiped from Ren's scroll took care of the rest.**

**Taking a monorail to his destination was an eye-opening experience. If he thought the military presence in his own world's Mantle was suffocating, it had nothing on this version of **_**Atlas**_**. Cameras lined every street corner and AKs were stationed everywhere with heavy weapons instead of the standard fare. Jaune could swear he saw several carrying cannons that wouldn't look out of place on a Paladin. And the people of Atlas itself, he couldn't feel any fear or rage from them, just a deep-seated resignation to the reality of the world.**

'**The greatest kingdom huh… something is very wrong with this place.' Pushing aside his worries for the flying city and the rest of the world, Jaune slipped through to the SDC HQ's inner chambers, leaving behind several unconscious guards who wouldn't let him past without a challenge.**

**Descending into the lower levels, Jaune found the relic sitting on a pedestal surrounding by high tech machinery. Flicking the switches to disable them and unlock the doors, Jaune stepped through and reached for the lamp.**

**Removing it from its pedestal, he cradled it in his hands, indecision warred within him over whether or not to try and ask a question. Eventually, he decided to go ahead with it, lack of information about the new Atlas they were in could prove fatal later on.**

"**Jinn." As soon as Jaune said the name, time came to a stop and the sound of machinery humming in the background ceased, leaving a world of silence. The lamp started glowing softly and rose into the air, blue mist leaking from it and eventually forming into a humanoid shape.**

"**Wonderful, tell me, what knowledge do you seek?" The spirit of the lamp asked and Jaune sighed in relief that the lamp still had at least one question left.**

"**I want to know, what happened in this world, where… where did our timelines diverge?" Jaune asked and Jinn acquiesced, pulling him into a vision to show him the divergence point.**

**And he saw it, he saw it all. Everything began and ended with the attack on Haven.**

**Unlike his own timeline where Adam Taurus had attempted to level Haven using multiple bombs, in this one he'd elected to use a single super powered one to kill everyone inside instead. Disarming it had proved impossible with the time limit and in the end this world's Ruby pushed her semblance past its limit to spirit the bomb away where it could detonate safely.**

**She never returned.**

"He's dead, I don't care what anyone says, he's dead." Yang grit her teeth and spat out, damning Adam's name to the nine hells.

"I'll help you put him down. He's… the man I once I knew is long gone." Blake said, placing a comforting hand on Yang's shoulder, it wasn't enough for the white fang and Taurus to be responsible for the fall of Beacon, he had to go and try for a repeat performance with Haven. And in one possible future cause the death of her team leader, it wouldn't stand, not if she had anything to say about it.

Blank coughed in response with it sounding suspiciously like 'you do'.

**After that, things only got worse for Remnant. The goal had shifted from simply stopping Salem's minions and safeguarding the relics to hunting them down and exacting vengeance on them. Ironwood had been easy enough to convince with the general already favouring a tougher approach from the very beginning. **

**Experimentation had led to the time trick with the lamp being discovered and from there it was just a matter of abusing it to identify every enemy of humanity and where they were hiding. With all knowledge in the world at their disposal, the white fang never stood a chance, most died when Atlas forces blitzed them when they were least expecting it. Taurus himself was captured and had his mind shattered, his fate publicised across Remnant to show that justice for Vale had been exacted.**

**Subsequently, the world moved towards being a police state, all dissension eradicated by the revelation of Salem and the existence of magic. The queen of the Grimm's plans foiled by having it all laid bare by the relic, Watts and Tyrian only made it into Mantle as part of a setup to draw out any treacherous elements within such as Jacques Schnee to give an excuse for even more restriction of freedoms.**

**As for Cinder herself, once her location was ascertained, concentrated artillery fire drove her out into the open where she was subsequently hit with poison gas, bringing her down and allowing for her capture. After her Grimm modifications were discovered, plans for her execution was shelved and by Ironwood's executive order, she was shifted to the labs for experimentation, lasting several months before finally expiring.**

"What!?" Cinder whispered out in a hoarse tone, unable to believe the fate the befell her future self, her underlings shifted uncomfortably besides her. Their fates hadn't been mentioned and neither of them were able to tell if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

"I did say that some of your fates end with you being experimented on. I wasn't lying." Blank said.

"Grafting of Grimm parts to serve as replacement limbs? How very interesting." Ironwood mused aloud and turned to look at Cinder, the villainess flinching from the cold calculating look in his eyes.

"James…" Goodwitch cautioned.

"If she's part Grimm, human rights don't apply to her anymore. Any findings that come from experimenting on her will go a long way to making up for her crimes." Ironwood said.

"There are lines we don't cross James." Ozpin chided.

"We will agree to disagree on that point Oz, I will do whatever it takes to safeguard the world from Salem. If that future is anything to go by, it works." Ironwood said.

"Yeah, but what did it cost everyone else?" Roman asked, receiving silence as his answer.

**As the vision faded and Jinn returned to the lamp, Jaune was left holding it with his mind in turmoil. He was quickly snapped out of it when he heard the door open behind him with a hiss.**

"**I knew you'd come here, especially once I got word of Ruby boarding a flight bound for Mantle. It's what I would I have done." Captain Arc said, one hand resting near the pommel of Crocea Mors, ready to draw in the event Jaune decided to attack.**

"**This really isn't necessary you know. We're not your enemies."**

"**But you ain't my friend either. Jinn showed me everything you've all done." Jaune shook his head and returned the relic to its pedestal, freeing up his hands.**

"**And? We brought peace to this world." **

"**You brought tyranny."**

"**We brought security. Because of our efforts, Salem no longer has a foothold in any of the kingdoms, and eventually, we'll bring her down too."**

"**And the people? I saw the people of Atlas on my way here, do they even have hope anymore?"**

"**Hope is unnecessary in this new world. Individual freedoms have to be sacrificed for peace and prosperity, the councils were too lax, Ozpin was too lax, Cinder, Torchwick, the white fang, a cancer growing right under our noses and they just ignored it. Too afraid to escalate things and rock the boat, well that world died with the fall. Cinder proved one thing with her actions, the game has changed, playing by the old rules will only get us all killed, so we changed as well." The specialist admitted.**

"**Eighty years ago, the great war was fought over freedom for the people. Our great great grandfather fought in that very war to uphold that freedom. You've spat in the face of everything he ever stood for." Jaune said.**

"**That was then, this is now. Back then we had four kingdoms, now we have three and a half, it was damn nearly cut down to two. I saw your world thanks to Jinn, so similar to my own except you didn't push enough, and your Atlas is on the verge of falling because of it. Salem wants the relic, the relic keeps Atlas in the sky, what do you think is going to happen to Solitas if she gets it?" Captain Arc rebutted.**

"If Atlas falls out of the sky, it'll wipe out the entire continent… possibly the entire world." Ironwood said softly, those who heard him swallowed hard.

"That… would be bad." Winter said after a while.

"You have a knack for understatements ice queen." Qrow muttered and started chugging hard from his flask, trying to wash away the image of a falling city wiping out everything.

'Death by falling city… not what I signed up for.' Mercury shook his head and hid his doubts, if Cinder's boss had that kind of endgame… he should probably be searching for safer employment, like being live Grimm bait. At the very least he could fight off the Grimm, how the heck was he supposed to survive a falling city?

"**Even so, there must be another way." Jaune protested.**

"**No, there really isn't. We checked with Jinn. This is the optimal solution. With this system in place, we can stomp any threat before it grows large enough to become a problem."**

"**And you're not even going to try anything else?"**

"**We can't afford to. Too much hangs in the balance, this system is the only way to ensure humanity has a future. People forget, in time even the fall and everyone we lost there will be nothing more than a history lesson to future generations. Peace breeds complacency, and Salem can easily wait another century or two before trying again when we're all too dead to stop her. But as long as the system stands, Salem will never again be able to insert her agents. Criminals, terrorists, traitors, there'll be no one left for her to recruit because we'll have killed them all." Captain Arc said.**

"He has a point." Ren quietly admitted.

"You agree with him?" Nora asked, a complicated expression on her face.

"I'm just saying he has a point. With constant surveillance everywhere and armed forces ready to react at a moment's notice. Crime will be a thing of the past, and… Kuroyuri might never happen again. If they can see the Grimm coming, they can be destroyed before they reach civilians or the people evacuated early." Ren said.

"**I… see your point, but I cannot condone your actions. I'm taking my relic back, then Ruby and I will be finding our way home." Jaune said, slowly reaching for his stolen rifle slung across his back.**

"**I'm not going to fight you, and please there's no point in trying to fool me. You and I both know you'll use polarity to short out the lights and then try to bury me with metal once I'm blinded by the darkness." Captain Arc said, holding his hands up and gesture of peace.**

"**If you want the relic back so badly you can have it, the one you used is this world's version though, your relic is another wing of this facility. You want to go back, we'll help you on that. Heck, we'll even supply you with new weapons and gear for your own fight against Salem. I just ask that you please not cause us anymore trouble."**

"**You're really just going to hand the relic over like that?" Jaune raised an eyebrow.**

"**Yes. We already have our own relic of knowledge and infinite questions to boot, one more relic is really nothing more than an additional security risk. And security is our greatest concern, it's really not that bad, just think about it, a world without crime, victims or pain."**

"**A world without freedom or choice. Who elected you to install this system anyways?" **

"**No one. The problem with democracy is it doesn't keep you very safe. We saw that when the Vale council swept the Breach under the rug and proceeded with the Vytal festival despite all the warning signs. We elected them to lead us, keep us safe, we did not elect them to sign our death warrants." Captain Arc fired back.**

"**So you grabbed power instead. The councils may still be in charge of the kingdoms but the Atlas military is the de facto ruler of the entire world now since you paralysed humanity with fear of Salem." Jaune said with some resignation in his voice.**

"**And with that power, we made a world where no one will ever have to lose their partner because of some **_**bitch**_** with a god complex." Jaune's eyes widened upon hearing those words before his expression became downcast.**

**Grabbing his baton, he tossed it to the floor with a clang.**

"**You win."**

"Oh that's a low blow." Roman commented with a wince.

"Is it though? They're the same person, both lost their partners, one lost another friend on top of that." Qrow replied, he wouldn't lie, if another version of himself showed up one day and pulled the Summer card like that, he'd fold as well.

Pyrrha sunk into her seat, depressed at seeing her death drive not one but two Jaunes to believing that preventing their tragedy from happening to anyone else ever again was worth crossing so many lines. Only a shoulder bump and a smile from Nora got her to raise her mood slightly.

"**I can't believe this is Mantle." Jaune said as he drove in an SDC provided car. Both Jaune Arcs had left Atlas and descended to Mantle to collect Ruby and stop her from fighting Weiss.**

"**Where's the litter? The graffiti?" Jaune asked as he stared out at the streets, it was far cry from the Mantle he was used to patrolling back home.**

"**If you want people to respect the big laws, you have to enforce the small ones." Captain Arc replied.**

**Jaune simply nodded and pulled to a stop when the lights turned red.**

"**What are you doing?" The specialist turned to his counterpart in confusion.**

"**The small laws remember?" Jaune replied.**

**As they waited for the lights to switch again, a commotion from a nearby café drew their attention. An argument was brewing between a dissatisfied customer and the wait staff.**

"**I'm not paying for this! Crappy food, lousy service and you got the check wrong! Five and five make fifteen!? Who taught you how to count!?" The irate customer yelled at the waiter who to his credit remained perfectly calm.**

"**Sir, you're disturbing the other customers."**

"**Hah! You think I give a-" The customer's swear was cut short when two uniformed policemen walked up to him and put him in cuffs before he even noticed them approaching.**

"**You're coming with us." One of them said.**

"**Get your hands o- I… I didn't mean it." The customer's face fell and the rest of the patrons averted their eyes.**

"**I'm sorry! I'll pay whatever it is! And the food, it was good!" His ineffectual protests and apologies were ignored as the cops bundled him away into their squad car. Once it was gone, the remaining patrons and workers returned to their roles, as though nothing had happened, no one wanting to bring any more trouble on themselves.**

"That's a little overboard." Ironwood said, disturbed by the display.

"A little? You're kidding right?" Roman muttered.

"But, but he was just complaining! That's enough to be arrested?" Ruby protested.

"Disturbing the peace, threatening behaviour, when I said police state it wasn't hyperbole. All dissension is stamped out quickly, all of it." Blank said.

"**She'd love it here don't you think?" Jaune said turning away from the sorry sight to look the specialist in the eye.**

"**Who?"**

"**Pyrrha of course. She'd be so proud of you." There was silence between the two Jaune's before the specialist looked away first.**

"**Just drive."**

"I really wouldn't actually." Pyrrha felt the need to speak up.

"I think we all get that bit." Yang said drily.

"I can see where they're coming from, but this is going too far." Blake followed up.

**Sparks flew as a giant spectral sword slashed through a row of monitors, Weiss Arma Gigas retracted its blade as Ruby's petals swirled past the sword and reformed beyond it. Weiss growled when Ruby prepared to start running again. "Stop it Ruby, you don't even have Crescent Rose I don't want to fight you!"**

"**You're not very convincing!" Ruby shouted before petal bursting away from a slow glyph that appeared under her. Reforming elsewhere, she ran out the door and down the hallway of the prison complex.**

**Weiss had anticipated her arrival here and was already lying in wait before she even entered the front door. Negotiations had broken down when the Schnee refused to grant her access to Cinder, Ruby had simply shot past her with her semblance after that.**

**As far as Ruby was concerned, Cinder had to be secured before Jaune got it into his head to try another suicidal attack on her. What she would do after finding the fall maiden… she'd cross that bridge when it came to it, for now, dodging the summons and glyphs Weiss was throwing her way was the pressing issue.**

**Ducking under a boarbatusk summon that went sailing overhead. Ruby continued running until she eventually burst through to the medical wards, and her flight came to a screeching halt.**

"What did they do to me!?" Cinder said in horrified voice.

"**Cinder?" The fall maiden lay on a bed in front of her, hooked up to several machines and out cold. But that wasn't what drew Ruby's attention, no, it was Cinder's limbs. Or more accurately, lack thereof.**

**Her arms and legs were missing, fresh bandages indicated this was a relatively new development. Ruby took a small step back, then another, and another until she was out of the room, unable to comprehend the sight before her.**

"**Ruby! You shouldn't-ah, you already saw it. This is why I didn't want you to see her." Weiss said once she caught up and noticed Ruby's expression.**

"**W-what happened to her?" Ruby turned to Weiss with a haunted look.**

"**We checked with Jinn, this Cinder is just as much of a monster as our own was. We're still deciding on what to do with her, but no matter the outcome of that choice, she wasn't going to need her arms and legs anymore so Jaune cut them off and cauterised the stumps." Weiss said.**

"**W-why!?"**

"**What do you mean why? She's a clear and present danger, so to neutralise the threat, we took her limbs and lobotomised her. She won't be hurting anyone else ever again, I made sure of it personally." Weiss said in a matter of fact tone that was more scary than calming.**

"You can be real terrifying you know Weiss?" Yang said, her mouth feeling dry all of a sudden.

"If it means anything, that me scares me as well." Weiss said.

"They cut of her limbs and lobotomised her, you're telling me, that was done before they even decided what they were going to do with her?" Ozpin looked to Blank.

"Indeed. It's a debate between experimentation and execution, the biggest question facing them is what would happen to the power of the maiden if she dies in a world that isn't her own." Blank said.

"W-what about mercy? Being the better person or something?" Emerald asked seeing that her boss was borderline catatonic now.

"The surviving members of RWBY and JNPR ran out of mercy at Haven, then they convinced the rest of the world that the word mercy has no place in a cruel world like Remnant. It's a race to the bottom in an effort to find a way to beat Salem." Blank replied.

"**You two made quite a big mess." Captain Arc's voice broke the staring contest between Ruby and Weiss.**

"**Jaune! And… Jaune?" Ruby blinked before rubbing her eyes, but the two Jaunes were still there when she opened them again.**

"**Hello Rubes, snow angel." Both Jaunes said in unison.**

"**Please don't do that, it's giving me a headache. But if you're both here then I assume the situation is resolved?" Weiss rubbed her temples as the Jaunes exchanged a glance.**

"**You could say that." The specialist shrugged.**

"**Jaune, Cinder, they..." Ruby trailed off, unable to do much more than point to the medical ward she just left.**

"**I know, I heard. Nothing to be done now, it really couldn't have happened to a more deserving monster than her." Jaune said, he stemmed Ruby's protests by raising his hand.**

"**Enough fighting. They'll be helping us find a way home, hopefully we'll be able to bring something back to help with the situation in our own Atlas."**

"**Help… us… and what about this Atlas then? Have you seen what it's like out there!? We can't just… leave things like this!" Ruby protested.**

"**Haaah… I don't expect you to understand, but this is all for the betterment of mankind." Captain Arc sighed out, he sighed again when Jaune directed one raised eyebrow at him.**

"**But. I suppose we can look into making the system more humane, make sure only the guilty gets it, try to make a better world for everyone."**

"**Jaune?" Weiss folded her arms and awaited an explanation for his words.**

"**Later. I guess I… got a reminder about what matters most."**

With that, the screen went blank and the lights came back on.

"And that's that." Blank said.

"What!? That can't be it! What happens next!? You can't just leave us hanging like that!" Blake shouted.

"Eh, after that, Jaune Arc and Ruby Rose find a way to return to their own timeline by way of their relic's connection to their world. They bring some new tech and strategies from this world to help their own and continue their fight against the forces of darkness. That's about it really." Blank said.

"And this world? What happens to it?" Winter asked.

"It remains a police state because despite everything, the powers that be still feel that this is the best way to secure humanity's future. There are some changes made to make it less oppressive, but the system is there to stay." Blank answered.

"Damn. Just… damn." Roman grunted out.

"And Cinder Fall, what happens to her?" Ozpin asked.

"Sent back to their world as well. It was judged that killing her in the other timeline held too many unknown variables and it'd be safer to send her back to face justice in her own world."

"Justice?" Mercury asked.

"Karma really. When a new suitable maiden candidate was found, Cinder Fall was awakened and shown her picture before her throat was slit, transferring the power on death."

"And how is that justice?" Cinder spat out.

"You stole the power, so it was stolen from you in return. That's just how it is, at least your death in that universe is a lot more merciful than the ones you normally get." Blank said.

"Well, that's all for now, go refresh yourselves. I won't tell you what to believe, make up your own minds on whether or not security justified such measures." Blank flickered away and his audience left to go freshen themselves up, whispering among themselves as they did.

* * *

Author's notes: Done, I wrote this because I was wondering what would happen to them if they lost Ruby after losing Pyrrha. You could argue that Ruby was the glue that held her team together, and definitely served that role for RNJR, so the idea of them losing their direction after she's gone wouldn't be too far-fetched, I think.

If Ruby dies Yang and Weiss are almost guaranteed to lose it instantly, Jaune will break down from losing someone close to him again and Ren will be pushed towards agreeing with hard-line tactics even more. Blake and Nora will be pulled along for the ride, Qrow will shut down completely, Ozpin will probably be blamed for it again and they'll buy into Ironwood's plan, creating an echo chamber that just makes things worse.

* * *

Inspiration list:

Jaune Arc as Batman

Ruby Rose as Flash


	20. Chapter 19: Ninjas of Love

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 19: Ninjas of love**

**Inspiration: Naruto**

"Welcome back, this time, something a little less heavy. This world should be familiar to at least one of you." Blank said as his audience returned.

"Familiar? How is that possible? Unless… this is another one set in the past?" Goodwitch asked.

"Not quite. The events of this viewing take place in a separate universe entirely, but, those events have already been recorded in your world as literature." Blank answered.

"So… it's a storybook?" Ruby furrowed her brows and tried to wrap her head around the idea of another world already recorded in their own.

"Sort of, technically. Consider this the film of the book if you must."

"Hmm, if it's a book than I guess Blake would know of the story?" Weiss turned to regard her teammate with a questioning glance.

"I guess, but I've read a lot of books, there's no way to tell if I'll remember this one." Blake simply shrugged her shoulders in response.

"Oh you'll know, you'll know. But first, since we're no longer on a darker world." Blank flickered once and Jaune appeared with a flash of light.

"I'm back!" Jaune gave a small wave before immediately being pulled into a bear hug by Nora, the ginger busy shaking down her leader for more goodies.

"Gimme gimme gimme!"

"Gah! Hold on Nora, if you don't let me go I can't give you the blueprints." Jaune said and the pressure immediately eased up as Nora let him go and started bouncing in place.

"Here you go, I found this among the things for the Doom Slayer universe. It's the lightning gun, as in it's a gun that shoots actual lightning, how cool is that?" Jaune held out the data pad and blinked when it vanished from his hands.

"Oooh… very nice…" Nora was salivating as she poured over the information inside, she could barely wait to return and start tinkering. First the gravity hammer and then the lightning gun, the goodies just kept on coming in this place.

"Is that wise?" Ren asked Jaune, his mind filled with horrible images of Nora laughing as she zapped her opponents indiscriminately. He could already hear the screaming.

"Sure it is…" Jaune trailed off as Nora started cackling madly.

"Maybe?" He amended after a pause. Jaune didn't have time to say anything more when Yang snuck up behind him and pulled him back into the seat, plopping herself down on his lap afterwards.

"Enough, hugs. Now." Yang ordered and Jaune complied, wrapping his arms around her waist. She grinned proudly and gave a thumbs up, ignoring the frustrated growling from Pyrrha and Taiyang.

"Dear, behave." Summer admonished as Taiyang looked to start up his overprotective dad mode again. By their side, Qrow was already brandishing a bottle, ready to give his teammate a quick nap on command.

"Fine. But if his hands go any lower…" Taiyang grumbled and folded his arms unhappily.

"Ahem, we're ready to begin." Blank said, getting the mumbles to die down as the movie started playing.

**Storm clouds blanketed the battlefield, lightning flashed intermittently followed by the crack of thunder. But there was no rain yet, the heavens held back their tears while two armies faced off below, the clash hadn't begun yet.**

"Well, we're off to a good start." Roman's voice was dripping with sarcasm as the 'less heavy' world wouldn't have looked too out of place in a war film.

"Eh, this story is lighter but that world remains a screwed up one." Blank clarified.

"Hmm… those uniforms… they are familiar…" Blake wracked her brain trying to recall where she'd seen them before. And the formation displayed, one homogeneous set matched against a coalition, she'd seen it somewhere before.

**Pyrrha's mouth set in a grim line as she gripped her xiphos and shield tightly, surveying the enemy army arrayed against them. Exhaling slowly, she gathered her strength and braced for the oncoming storm, this would not be easy, not even for her. Their forces were outnumbered four to one and there were three enemy maidens among the opposition, to say the situation was bad would be a severe understatement.**

"Explain? Please." Ozpin said as his grip on his mug tightened.

"An overlap of sorts, unlike your world where there are four maidens of equal strength, in that world there are nine of them in total and each with a different amount of power." Blank said.

"Ho? So the wizard split the power into more pieces and made them uneven? That just makes collecting them and draining them easier." A face splitting grin crossed Cinder's face at the idea.

"You're… not wrong on that point, although those maidens are not the same as your world's. Putting the powers of the maidens back together there means the end of the world."

"What?" Ironwood blinked, not expecting that answer. As far as anyone in the know had theorised, putting the powers of all the maidens into a single individual would just create some kind of super maiden, not bring about extinction.

"In that world, the maiden's powers did not originate from the 'wizard' but the 'witch'. Putting it all back together breaks the seal on her and leaves her free to slaughter everyone. I won't go too heavily into details but I'll just say that there are forces at work trying to make that a reality, and they've been manipulating the entire world to keep it at war, this is just another one of their machinations." Blank said.

"Oh." Ozpin said and put down his mug before he could squeeze it hard enough to break the handle. Despite the differences, it was still eerily similar to the way Salem operated, keeping humanity divided and unable to oppose her plans.

"**Ma'am, can we win this?" Pyrrha turned to face a nervous soldier, she was acutely aware of the pervading hopelessness spreading through the ranks as the enemy numbers continued to swell, reinforcements still pouring in by the boatload.**

**She smiled bitterly as she recalled the failed mission to push back the invaders at the beaches. The unexpected arrival of enemy maidens had decimated their initial counter push when she was tied up elsewhere on the frontlines, and the enemy beachhead was secure.**

**Pushing aside her own doubts and regrets, she put on a confident smile with practiced ease. "Of course we can, we just have to hold here long enough for reinforcements to arrive. I've received word the Hokage himself is on his way."**

"Hoka…ge? No… way…" Blake breathed out, undisguised awe in her tone.

"Ah? You know which story it is now?" Weiss asked.

"Oh yes." Blake whispered, there was a small flash of light and a hardcover book dropped into her arms. She caressed the book lovingly before handing it over to Weiss.

"Hmm? Ninjas of Love… wait, isn't this your smut!?" Weiss looked up at Blake with wide eyes.

"For the last time, it's not smut! It's adult literature!" Blake corrected angrily.

"Whoa, hold up, we're watching porn now!? Hell yeah!" Mercury cheered before getting swatted on the back of his head by Emerald.

"Uncultured swine. You wouldn't know a good story if it bit you in the ass."

"And what would you know about it eh?" Mercury challenged.

"No comment." Emerald deigned not to reply as she averted her eyes, there was no way in hell she was admitting her tastes in literature to Mercury of all people.

"Filth? Filth! Filth!" Ruby declared, jumping up and pointing at the screen.

"Ahem, before you all panic, I assure you this is most definitely not porn." Blank said.

"Blake?" Yang looked over to her partner for confirmation.

"Yeah, if this follows the plot correctly, there's no sm-adult stuff at all. It doesn't happen in this book." Blake said.

"That's a relief." Taiyang heaved a small sigh.

**A bolt of lightning split the sky and the rain began pouring down in earnest. Taking that as the signal, the larger army started charging, war cries blending in with the sound of thunder and the howling winds to create a maddening cacophony.**

**Pyrrha held firm with the rest of the army, waiting for the enemy to close the gap and enter their range. While the others readied their own attacks, she kept a firm lookout for the enemy maidens. It irked her that she couldn't help with the main mass of the enemy but her responsibility was to hold off the other maidens. If even one of them made it past her, they would wreck the defensive line beyond repair and open up a path to the capital.**

"**W-will reinforcements make it in time Ma'am?" The same nervous soldier from earlier asked.**

"**They will." Pyrrha detected the tell-tale sign of the maiden's powers activating, easily spotting the three glows in the distance through the rain. **

**Taking a deep breath, she activated her own powers, a crimson cloak surrounded her and her eyes glowed scarlet. Exhaling softly, she kicked off the ground, shooting straight towards the centre glow with blinding speed and causing the enemy lines to buckle on contact.**

**Her xiphos reflected the distant flashes of lightning as she carved a path towards the enemy maidens, leaving a trail of blood and bodies in her wake. All around her, weapons and elemental jutsus were flying everywhere and the world descended into madness.**

"Magic? Bu-but they can't all be maidens! How can they all use magic!?" Cinder sputtered in disbelief as more than a few of the 'spells' on screen were frankly beyond anything she could do at the present.

"Again, it's a different world, different rules. Instead of aura and semblances, they have chakra and ninjutsu." Blank said.

"Ya know, for ninjas, they aren't very good at the whole being a ninja bit. What part of this fits the stealthy ninja image?" Roman commented snidely getting Neo to chuckle silently.

"Oh they can be stealthy, but right now they just want either the total eradication of the other side or a clear shot to the capital city as fast as possible. Pitched battle is the fastest way to achieve those goals since the defenders don't really have a choice. Try to fight like actual ninjas and it's a delaying action at best as the bulk of the enemy will make it to the capital, and if that happens the war is over." Blank said.

"I can see that. With that kind of firepower, no city will be able to remain standing for long once the enemy has breached the gates." Winter said.

"I… thought this was supposed to be lighter… I'm killing a lot of people here." Pyrrha said unsurely, the words spilling from her mouth sounded strange even to her own ears.

"It'll be fine Pyr. It's just a movie." Jaune offered a reassuring smile before grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze.

**Pyrrha flinched as she detected a huge build up of energy approaching her. Drawing from her reserve of power, she threw up a wall of red energy around her to protect herself. A lance of orange light struck the barrier dead on and detonated, engulfing the entire area in an almighty explosion.**

**When the dust settled and Pyrrha could see again, her eyes narrowed as she saw the giant blast crater she was standing in the centre of. The enemy ninjas that had been surrounding her were gone, not even ashes left to mark their passing.**

"**Hard to kill as ever, but today that changes. End of the road Nikos." Cinder strode into view, flames coated her hands as her own maiden powers were on display. A look of annoyance was plastered across her face as though all the deaths caused by friendly fire was just that, an annoyance.**

**That complete indifference only served to anger Pyrrha as she glared at the monster in human form. "Fall. You murdered your own men and all you're concerned with is fighting me?"**

"**Soft, just like the rest of you tree huggers. Everyone is expandable if it brings victory, shame you lot never figured that out. I only regret they weren't enough to distract you enough for me to end you with that attack." Cinder smirked as Pyrrha grew incensed as expected, her long red hair already waving in the wind as her aura increased in strength.**

"**Fine, you want to kill me so badly, come and get it." Pyrrha slid into a combat stance as she felt the other two maidens approaching from the sides.**

"**Hahhaahha… if you say so." Cinder's smirk grew in size as her allies arrived and the three maidens began a joint assault on Pyrrha.**

"Oh come on, three on one! That's cheating! Fight fair!" Nora yelled as she watched the on screen Pyrrha struggle against her opponents.

"Naïve, winning is the only thing that matters, ah so I get to watch myself bring down another maiden, this brings back memories." Cinder laughed as she recalled the last time she 'fought' three on one against a maiden, she would have succeeded too if Qrow hadn't jumped in at the last minute.

"Not quite." Blank said simply.

**Pyrrha leapt backwards from another energy blast that levelled the area she just vacated before charging back in. Ramming the edge of her shield into Cinder's throat, there was enough force behind the strike to get her to start choking even through the aura cloak.**

**Spinning back to roundhouse kick one of the other maidens trying to sneak up behind her, Pyrrha growled and dug deep, countless golden chains made out of her power shot out from her back, wrapping around the enemy maidens and smashing them to the ground repeatedly.**

"I… there are chains coming out of me, why are there chains coming out of me?" Pyrrha stared at the screen in disbelief.

"It's something of a special ability that some members of your bloodline have, you could say it's similar to the Schnee's glyph semblance but it's not exactly the same thing." Blank answered.

"Kinky, I could think of a few uses for those chains." Yang giggled and waggled her eyebrows suggestively at Jaune and Pyrrha, getting them both to blush and avert their eyes.

"Blake?" Weiss looked over for confirmation or hopefully denial. She just sighed when Blake started looking everywhere but her, unable to meet her eyes.

"**Annoying pest, just die already!" Cinder shoved aside her fellow maiden when Pyrrha tossed the woman straight at her with her chains. Massive amounts of energy built up between Cinder's hands, coalescing into a ball of destruction as she readied her ultimate.**

**Releasing a soundless yell, she fired as soon as the third maiden had Pyrrha locked down and unable to react to her attack. If both maidens died… well, acceptable losses really, it wasn't as though they were from the same nation at all, might as well eliminate a potential future threat before the inevitable betrayal.**

**Cinder's face fell when her attack failed to connect. Right before it would have landed and reduced her targets to ash, there was a flash of yellow light and her attack simply vanished. The sound of a distant explosion drowning out the noise of the storm and the battlefield coming from the direction of their supply lines indicated where her attack had gone.**

**There was a momentary lull in the battle as both sides tried to figure out what was going on. All eyes turned to where the maidens were fighting and the solitary blonde standing between all four of them.**

**Jaune Arc had arrived on the battlefield. The rain beat down on him and his hair was plastered to his skin, when lightning flashed overhead, it illuminated his eerily calm face and his eyes appeared to glow with a supernatural radiance, coupled with his white cloak billowing in the wind, he made for an imposing figure.**

"Woah." That one word was the only thing Jaune could manage as he stared at his other self.

"Woo! Fearless leader is here to save the day! Suck it evil old lady!" Nora cheered and booed Cinder.

"W-wha!? W-who you calling old!" Cinder sputtered in surprise, not expecting such an insult to be thrown her way.

"Well, you know how-" Mercury's mouth snapped shut when Cinder turned to glare at him with eyes promising eternal torment if he said another word.

"Ah… so Jaune's the yellow flash then." Blake said, nodding to herself.

"What's that?" Ruby asked.

"His title, he got it during this battle if I recall, when he pretty much singlehandedly ended the war." Blake replied.

"Hmmph, I hardly believe just one man can do that. They're so badly outnumbered and outgunned it's a wonder they haven't already surrendered." Cinder rolled her eyes, unable to see how just one newcomer would be able to turn the tide.

"Uh, Cinder? He um, he's kinda among the strongest shinobi to ever exist." Emerald pipped up, before shifting in her seat uncomfortably when she found herself the subject of an intense glare.

"And you know this how?"

"I um… no reason?"

"**You alright Pyr?" Jaune asked as he kept his focus on Cinder.**

"**Yeah, showing up at the last minute again? It's becoming a habit." Pyrrha jested before rising back to her feet.**

"**Hahaha… sorry, my bad. I did make it in time though." Jaune chuckled before sliding a tri-pronged kunai into each hand, his eyes flicking between the maidens and the enemy army that had mostly finished regrouping by this point.**

"**I'm sorry to ask but, can you-"**

"**I'll hold the maidens here, you deal with the army." Pyrrha cut him off mid-sentence, easily able to tell what he wanted.**

"**Right, thanks. I'll end this in a flash and then come back to help." Jaune gave Pyrrha a curt nod before vanishing in a yellow flash of light.**

**Pyrrha shook her head with a rueful smile her mood lifted just by Jaune's arrival. 'When did you get this reliable? You used to be so flaky.'**

"Oh." Jaune lowered his head at the sniggers that came flying from Pyrrha's comment.

"Ah cheer up lover boy, she said you used to, that means you're clearly not anymore." Yang flicked Jaune on the nose to get him out of his funk.

"I'm sure the other me didn't mean anything by it." Pyrrha consoled and ruffled his hair.

**As Pyrrha charged towards Cinder, a soft smile played across her lips as she recalled their meeting so long ago.**

**A much younger Pyrrha stood in front of the classroom, she glanced around nervously as the teacher introduced her to the class at the shinobi academy. Having just immigrated to Konoha, she was a stranger in a strange land, her friends weren't here and unfamiliar faces stared back at her.**

"**Hello again, I'm Pyrrha Nikos, nice to meet you all?" She offered quietly once the teacher motioned for her to step forwards.**

**There was a moment of silence before laughter burst out from the students and the teacher failed to calm them down. She took a step back in shock before lowering her head as the mocking words registered, all of them laughing at her red hair.**

"Grrr… just lemme at em…" Nora growled out, thoroughly ticked off by what she was seeing. Ren and Jaune had matching angry expressions but surprisingly, Pyrrha herself was fine with it, having put up with worse slander during her days in the tournament circuit.

"What's… wrong with my hair?" She asked in confusion.

"Red hair is exceedingly rare over there so it's an easy point to pick on." Blank answered.

"So just because she's different, it's fine to pick on her?" Jaune said through gritted teeth.

"That's just how it is isn't it? People don't like those who are different from them. Pretty much any faunus will tell you as much." Blake said in a tired voice.

"It's still wrong." Jaune argued back.

"Maybe, but it happens anyway. Relax, she'll be fine."

**Pyrrha's eyes were shrouded by her bangs as her classmates continued to mock her even at recess. It wasn't enough to laugh at her, no they were now busy calling her names, trying to find one that stuck, and the current leading suggestion was 'tomato'.**

**Her teeth gnashed together in frustration as her temper built to a boiling point. Finally, once one of them had the audacity to start poking at her, she snapped, ramming a solid fist into his face for his trouble.**

**Roaring in anger, she went to town on the bullies surrounding her, demolishing them in a one versus all match with unparalleled fury. As she laid the smackdown and reduced more than a few of them to tears, she caught sight of a blonde seated several rows away.**

**Unlike the fear filled visages of the other students, he simply watched her rampage with a calm expression. She'd give him points for not being afraid, but that long messy hair that left him looking a little girly took those away and left him in the negative. Ah well, it wasn't important, she had people to finish beating up first.**

"Okay… not getting P-money angry would definitely improve your odds of survival." Yang commented.

"My hair isn't that bad!" Jaune protested.

"It's… an acquired taste." Ren snickered and Jaune shot him a look of betrayal.

"Hmmph, while I'm glad Ms Nikos can stand for herself, surely such blatant violence won't be without repercussions." Goodwitch said disapprovingly.

"They're fine with it actually." Blank corrected.

"Pardon?" Goodwitch turned to stare at the ball of light.

"It's a ninja academy, violence isn't just par for the course, it's encouraged. As long as no one is crippled or killed, occasional unsanctioned fights just helps to keep the students on their toes, to learn to expect an attack at any time."

"That's… one way to do things." Qrow said with a sneer, recalling his time in the Branwen tribe and their old 'training' methods.

**Pyrrha spat out a glob of blood and watched as the Genin ran off with his tail tucked between his legs. She'd been here for several months now but the insults never ceased no matter how many beatings she dished out.**

**Eventually, they got the hint that they simply weren't strong enough to beat her and one of her regulars had the bright idea to call in his older brother to try and beat her. It was a hard fight but she succeeded in serving up a double knuckle sandwich for both of them.**

**A chill wind blew through the area, causing the cherry blossoms to sway in the wind. Turning back and craning her head to look up, she found Jaune standing on one of the branches, once more looking at her with that same calm expression he had the first time she noticed him.**

"**What!? Just watching again? You're not going to help because I'm a foreigner?" Pyrrha shouted at Jaune. Watching, always watching, he never joined in with the rest of them picking on her, but he never exactly lifted a hand to help either.**

"**What? No! I just got… here." Jaune raised a hand before slowly lowering it, Pyrrha had already run off before he could finish his sentence. He sighed and cursed his social awkwardness for the millionth time.**

"I just… stand by and watch? I don't even try to help?" Jaune squirmed uncomfortably in his seat.

"Eh, the fatal flaw of that version of you is your belief that others can handle things just fine on their own. And most of the time you're correct, it's just not very polite." Blank said.

"…Do I make up for it at least?" Jaune asked.

"You do, in style." Blake confirmed, her eyes glued to the screen.

**Pyrrha sighed as she kicked off her sandals and stepped into her house, the place feeling more and more like a prison every day. To think she'd been in the village for a year already, she huffed as she recalled exactly what she had to show for it.**

**Maiden powers she never asked for and had to keep secret, guards that shadowed her around the clock to keep her safe and a grand total of zero friends. **

"**Come to Konoha they said, it'll be great they said, nobody mentioned this." She complained bitterly and walked down the silent hallways. Sliding open the doors to her living room, she was hit with the stench of blood and death instantly.**

**Eyes widening in shock, she stared at the bodies of her guards lying on the floor. Several figures stepped out of the shadows and she backed away in fear.**

"**Ack!" There was a pinprick on the back of her neck and when she reached up to scratch it, a small needle coated in purple liquid fell into her palm. Already, the sedative was coursing her veins and her vision was starting to swim, her focus was shattered and she wasn't able to draw on her power to fight back before being captured.**

"What are they trying to pull?" Ironwood frowned at the kidnapping attempt.

"Can't you tell? It's so much easier to take down a maiden and drain her power while she's still weak and inexperienced." Cinder replied with a small shake of her head, unable to believe Ironwood of all people needed something that obvious pointed out.

"Why you-" Ironwood started by Ozpin interrupted him.

"Then it's a good thing the attempt fails isn't it? Since there's already confirmation that Ms Nikos is a maiden in the future." He said and sipped from his mug, Ironwood let out a small 'ahh' before settling back down, mollified somewhat by that fact.

**Pyrrha fought back the encroaching darkness, she could hear the alarms ringing in the distance, the next shift of guards must have discovered the bodies and found her missing. If they could find the trail she'd been leaving, there was a chance of rescue yet.**

**Wincing as she ripped out several more strands of hair and let them fall to the ground, marking out the path for her rescuers. Her hands were bound behind her back and she was being carried like a sack of potatoes, but fortunately her hair was still long enough that she could reach up and pluck it.**

**Night had fallen and worry was building in her as another lock of hair fell to the ground. The same darkness that kept her kidnappers from noticing her ploy would be hindering her own allies as well, if they didn't notice her red hair in the dark…**

**She shook her head to wipe away the thoughts and fight off another bout of dizziness. When Pyrrha opened her eyes again, it took her a few seconds to notice the oddity. The ninja bringing up the rear of the formation was missing. He'd been following the procession through the tree tops and keeping a look out, and now he wasn't.**

"How?" Roman asked.

"Ninjas being ninjas." Blake answered succinctly.

**Pyrrha blinked again, her blurry vision just barely making out another of the rear guard being dragged off into the shadows. When it happened again, she was sure it wasn't her tired eyes playing tricks on her.**

**Hidden in the foliage above, Jaune waited for the struggling and gurgling to cease before ripping the kunai out of the kidnapper's throat, leaving the body to rest on the branches. He exhaled softly and waited for another opportunity to present itself, four targets remained including the one carrying Pyrrha. One last one in the trees and three on the ground in a loose triangle formation.**

**Despite the crappy situation, he'd gotten lucky. The Kumo shinobi didn't have a sensor among them and this was his neck of the woods where he practiced often. Finding the trail of scarlet hair on his way back from training was sheer coincidence. With the enemy ninjas going slow and running silent to avoid detection, catching up to them was a piece of cake.**

**Taking an alternate route to intercept them up ahead, Jaune hid in the shadows until the lone Kumo nin on the trees passed his position as predicted. Arms shooting out of the darkness, his left hand wrapped around the man's mouth and his right jammed the kunai into his jugular.**

**The fatally wounded shinobi's eyes bulged from the sudden attack and his body spasmed briefly before going limp and Jaune slowly rested it against the tree trunk. "Three to go. Now… how do we go about this…"**

"Efficient… if a little brutal." Winter said, she could appreciate the tactics and their flawless execution, but the whole assassinating from shadows bit didn't sit right with her.

"They are ninjas, that makes them assassins too sister. It is to be expected." Weiss said, hiding her own disquiet.

"He should have called in reinforcements instead of trying to save her himself." Ironwood commented, getting Qrow to shake his head in disagreement.

"Yeah, that's not gonna work Jimmy. Call in backup and you might turn this into a hostage situation. Something tells me if they get caught, they're the kind of people to dispose of the hostage if only to deny their enemy an asset. And that's assuming reinforcements get there in time before they're home free."

"Correct." Blank confirmed.

**Pyrrha blinked in surprise when one of the kidnappers when down with a scream, a kunai lodged in the back of his neck. She grunted in pain when the ninja carrying her dropped her without warning as he drew his weapons and turned to see his downed comrade.**

**There was another gasp and the loud crack of bones breaking, another ninja fell to the ground, his neck bent at a sick angle. As the body hit the ground with a thud, she caught a flash of yellow out of the corner of her eyes escaping back into the treetops.**

**The lone kidnapper remaining was now on high alert, his eyes darting every which way as he searched for the invisible assailant and prepared for an attack on any front… any front except his collapsed kidnapping target.**

**He let out a shocked cry when Pyrrha kicked him in the back of his left knee, bringing him down to one knee. He growled and snapped his head towards Pyrrha, a fatal mistake. Jaune dropped in behind him and reached around his neck with another kunai, a split second later and his flak jacket was stained crimson.**

**Pyrrha struggled to stand up but her legs held no more strength. She growled in frustration as Jaune knelt down to support her. "Are you alright? I came here to rescue you."**

"**How did you find me?" She asked as Jaune shifted her into a more comfortable position before picking her up in a bridal carry.**

"**I noticed the trail of hair you left." Jaune said as he started making his way back to the village, leaping through the tree tops.**

"**I thought no one would notice in the darkness." Pyrrha admitted while allowing herself to relax for the first time since the ordeal began.**

"**Heh, there's no way I could miss your hair, it's beautiful after all."**

"**R-really?"**

"**Yep. I noticed it the first time I saw you." Jaune looked down at Pyrrha and gave her a bright smile at the same time he burst through the treeline, leaving him framed against the moon.**

**Pyrrha was left speechless as Jaune continued beaming at her. A luminescent blush coloured her cheeks as she averted her eyes unable to meet the brilliant blue ones staring back at her. Warmth suffused her being as an unknown feeling blossomed inside, but right now, all she cared about was that being carried by Jaune was surprisingly comfortable. Her eyes closed as she fell asleep with a smile on her face.**

"Damn, that was smooth lover boy." Yang whistled before craning her head upwards to stare at Jaune's embarrassed expression.

"So, do you think my hair is beautiful?" Pyrrha turned to Jaune with an expectant look on her face.

"Of course I do, what kind of question is tha-" Jaune descended into nonsensical babbling as Pyrrha grabbed his face and crushed her lips against his.

"Thank you." She giggled as she pulled away from the mess she left the boy in.

**Back in the present, Pyrrha was the image of a goddess of war. Her chains and hair whipped around in the rain as she kept all three maidens focused on her and away from the frontlines. Their battle had dragged all four of them deep behind the coalition lines and away from Konoha troops just as she intended.**

**Dodging an energy blast, the beam went sailing for a cadre of Iwa nin in the distance and obliterated them before they even knew what hit them. Pyrrha retaliated with her own powers, sowing even more chaos among the enemy, buying Jaune more time to complete his plans.**

"**Give up! You cannot win this! It's obvious by now!" Cinder roared in frustration, Pyrrha was good but nowhere near good enough to take on three maidens at once and win. All of them could see that, but at the same time, she wasn't going down easily.**

"**I don't have to win, I just have to stall long enough for your army to be crushed." Pyrrha fired back, sending her chains forwards to try and spear Cinder through her cold blackened heart.**

**Cinder snarled and somersaulted over the offending chains, blasting away those that came close with fire from her hands. "You are insane, you're hopelessly outnumbered, Konoha cannot win this, it's over!"**

"**Outnumbered? That just means more targets, I hope you have enough coffins for your men." Pyrrha said with supreme confidence.**

"How is he going to turn the tide anyways? There's just one of him and a lot of enemies." Taiyang asked.

"He's an army killer. Those special kunai of his are teleportation markers, he can warp to them and instantly kill anyone nearby before warping to the next one and the one after that." Blake answered.

"So being near one of those things is an immediate death sentence huh? Damn… I'm not sure which is scarier, the magic those maidens are throwing around or this." Roman shrugged, just happy that he didn't have to put up with anything like that on Remnant.

"A scalpel and a sledgehammer, I suppose." Ozpin commented.

**Jaune stared at the mass of bodies in front of him. Konoha's lines were still holding for now, but it was just a matter of time before they broke under the strain, already it was buckling in places. Sucking in a deep breath and wiping the rain out of his eyes, he gave the signal.**

**The shinobi he handed out the tri-pronged kunai to hurled them into the air and started weaving a series of hand signs. As the kunai came down, there were countless pops and the few dozen became a few hundred courtesy of the kunai shadow clone jutsu.**

**With the howling wind, the kunais dispersed over the battlefield and landed among the enemy in an uneven spread. There were several screams when the kunai were lucky enough to find their mark in flesh but that wasn't the point of the attack.**

**Jaune closed his eyes and exhaled, mentally syncing up with every marker on the field, plotting out the course to inflict maximum damage. Once he was done, his eyes snapped open and he vanished in a burst of light.**

**Yellow streaks of light marked his path as he scythed through the defenceless shinobi. All over the battlefield, hundreds were dropping dead as soon as the flash appeared near them, their throats opened up or a stab wound appearing where their hearts should be.**

**The coalition shinobi didn't even have the time to start panicking before nearly the entire army was wiped out, hundreds dead in a matter of seconds.**

**Jaune reappeared in another flash of golden light in the centre of the battlefield, calmly surveying the survivors he wasn't able to reach due to his kunai being blown off course and leaving the enemy with 'safe' zones. But the enemy didn't need to know that.**

"**This is your one chance to get the hell out of my home! I suggest you retreat before you're all exterminated." Jaune shouted out, using a jutsu to amplify his voice to be heard over the storm. Even if he couldn't reach them with his technique, there was always the old fashioned way, since Konoha now outnumbered the survivors ten to one, it'd be a one sided slaughter with everyone out for revenge.**

**Jaune grinned when the enemy shinobi broke and ran for it. Ignoring the cheers of victory that came from his comrades, Jaune flashed away again.**

"My god." Goodwitch breathed out in shock at the raw carnage inflicted in the blink of an eye.

"That's more than just super speed or teleportation." Winter said.

"It's… some kind of spacetime technique. The book never went too much into detail about it but the leading theory is that he's folding his own spacetime on top of the teleportation, it's how he can attack that fast and still be accurate." Blake said.

**Cinder paused in her attack as a signal flare shot up into the sky from the direction of her HQ. "What!? What do you mean retreat!? We're winning!"**

**Pyrrha grinned and wiped away the blood from a cut above her eye. "Sounds like we've won and you've lost again."**

**A familiar flash of gold light marked Jaune's return to her side. "It's done then?"**

"**It is, took out most of them, the survivors are on a full-scale retreat now." Jaune confirmed, bringing a smile to Pyrrha's face.**

"**No! It can't end here! I won't allow it! Nikos dies here!" Cinder roared and shoved away her fellow maiden when she tried convincing her to follow the retreat order.**

"**Too bad, that choice isn't yours to make." Jaune pulled out a roll of explosive notes and ignited all of them before tossing it towards Cinder. Grabbing Pyrrha and pulling her into a bridal carry, he gave a brilliant smile before flashing away with his passenger.**

"**ARC!" Cinder roared as the roll of explosives detonated, causing the area to vanish in a blinding explosion. When the smoke cleared, she was left bleeding from multiple wounds and her eardrums had ruptured with her quarry nowhere to be found.**

**She howled to the heavens as the reality of the situation sank in, she'd lost. The alliance had lost and Konoha remained standing despite everything.**

"Whooo! Way to kick ass Jaune-Jaune!" Nora cheered before turning to boo Cinder again. The fall maiden merely grinded her teeth and remained silent as yet another version of herself had lost.

"Any chance we could replicate that technique on Remnant?" Ironwood asked Blank.

"Slim to none I'm afraid. Even in that world, replicating it was impossible, it's one of a kind. But, there is always the possibility that someone will manifest a semblance with that kind of ability." Blank answered.

"I see… pity. Something like that would make Grimm extermination a cakewalk when we can't bring our heavier weapons to bear." Ironwood sighed.

**Jaune reappeared in the centre of the Konoha camp and was immediately greeted by cheering and clapping from the people there.**

"**You certainly made an impression." Pyrrha said, making no move to leave Jaune's arms.**

"**Eh, I did? I was just trying to end the war." Jaune admitted.**

"**Pretty sure you did with the bulk of their armies gone. Here, a reward for the great hero." Pyrrha reached up and pulled Jaune down into a kiss that he reciprocated immediately. And all around them the cheering and catcalling grew louder.**

"HELL YEAH!" Blake and Emerald shouted, cheering along with them as the screen faded to black and the lights came back on.

"Emerald!" Cinder hissed out as her mint haired underling instantly regretted her faux pas and shut up quick. Mercury snickered silently in the corner until Emerald reached over and smacked him on the back of his head.

"You're awfully excited about this." Weiss commented as unlike Emerald, Blake showed no signs of calming down.

"Are you kidding!? Do you have any idea how long I've waited to have the Ninjas of Love series get a live action adaptation?" Blake regarded Weiss with a manic look that disturbed the heiress slightly.

"Oh… um… good for you?"

"That's it for this viewing feel free to go freshen yourselves up." Blank said as his audience dispersed.

* * *

Author's notes: A little late, but here's the V Day chapter. Schedule is all out of whack now thanks to classes. Hope you enjoyed this one.

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as Minato Namikaze

Pyrrha Nikos as Kushina Uzumaki

Cinder Fall as random enemy Jinchūriki


	21. Chapter 20: Ultimatum

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

Note: A small chapter based on a one-shot idea I had. A V7 ending AU where Ironwood can get to the relic without the need of a maiden to open the vault. Just Ironwood and Salem having a little chat before the end of the world.

**Chapter 20: Ultimatum**

**Inspiration: Halo**

"Oh… this universe…" Blank muttered to himself, getting the audience to look at him quizzically.

"Something wrong with this world?" Qrow asked.

"No, no, nothing wrong. Just different from all the other viewings so far, this one is going to be a short one. And unlike all the other worlds, Jaune Arc will not be appearing in this one, in fact most of you won't." Blank answered.

"Oh? So who are we watching then?" Ozpin pipped up.

"Just two people having a conversation this time, James Ironwood and Salem." Blank said.

"What!? What could I ever have to say to that monster!?" Ironwood growled out.

"You deliver an ultimatum." Blank said.

"Hmmph, like that will go over well. You don't order her around, no one does." Cinder rolled her eyes, convinced she was about to watch some kind of elaborate suicide attempt.

"He does it anyway. I'll just start the viewing now." Blank flickered and the screen came to life.

**Salem smirked as yet another wave of flying Grimm surged towards the Atlessian air fleet, explosions in the distance marking the ships sinking one by one. Standing atop her giant flying whale Grimm, she had a front row seat to watch the city burn, it wouldn't be long now before the last defensive lines broke before her onslaught.**

"NO!" Ironwood thundered as he watched his city and army burn. Winter and Weiss weren't much better off, seeing their home in flames hurt the soul.

"Bloody hell… that's a lot of Grimm." Roman paled considerably.

"She's leading the assault personally? She's never done that before…" Ozpin murmured under his breath.

"She's tired of her subordinates' failures causing her setbacks and is following the old adage, if you want something done right, do it yourself." Blank said.

"So Tyrian and Watts messed up too much eh, I knew they couldn't be trusted." Cinder chuckled and hoped that meant her mistress had finally decided to off those two imbeciles.

"All of you failed her, she's more annoyed with you than them actually." Blank's response deflated her mood somewhat.

"Tch, no matter, Atlas is about to be destroyed, what kind of ultimatum could the general deliver in a situation like this? Salem holds all the cards, it's over."

"Yes, it is. In this timeline, humanity is about to lose." The Beacon students exchanged worried glances at Blank's words while the adults just started growling angrily.

"And that's what gives Ironwood the power to force Salem to bow."

"What? That… makes absolutely no sense." Emerald stared at the orb of light in confusion, her thoughts echoed by most of the audience.

"Humanity is a few moves from checkmate, but the game isn't over yet." Blank said.

"And? It's not like there's anything that can be done to change the inevitable now. It's on the screen, unless Atlas has some kind of superweapon hidden up their sleeves, it's already over." Cinder glared at Blank.

"Oh but they do. Exactly one card left to play, Salem hasn't won yet and that gives General Ironwood the opportunity to sweep the board clean, wipe away all the pieces so no one wins."

"What!? That's what a sore loser does!" Cinder shot back.

"You could see it that way I suppose, doesn't make it any less of an option."

"**SALEM! Face me!" Ironwood roared at the Grimm horde from the roof of Atlas academy. His uniform was ragged from constant battle and his flesh and blood arm remained in a sling. A long object wrapped in cloth was strapped to his back.**

**A seer floated over to his position and he held fire, lowering his pistol as black mist emanated from it, coalescing into a hologram of Salem.**

"**Good evening James. How do you like the show so far?" Salem chuckled as Ironwood gnashed his teeth in anger.**

"**You bitch!"**

"**Temper, temper James." Salem spoke in a mild tone, as though placating an insolent child.**

"**You have only yourself to blame for all this you know. All I wanted was the staff and the lamp, if you had just handed it over, none of this would have been necessary." She shook her head in mock disappointment.**

"Hahahahahah! And that's why you'd all better comply when someone's asking nicely, lest the gloves come off and then you'll have only yourself to blame." Cinder gave them the slow clap as she continued laughing.

"What the hell is wrong with you!? Innocent people are dying and you find it funny!?" Jaune yelled at her, receiving an eye roll in response.

"It is isn't it? All those little insects scurrying about waiting to be crushed… and that's entirely your fault, if you'd just handed the relics over none of this would have been necessary. Just like with the fall maiden, if you'd just left her alone Beacon wouldn't need to be destroyed but no… you just couldn't leave well enough alone could you?"

"Salem will never suffer the kingdoms to stand, at the very most we sped up the timetable that's all. There's no need to lie and try to guilt us, you're not nearly good enough of a manipulator to do so." Ozpin said calmly and sipped from his mug, not even sparing Cinder a glance.

"**You won't win, I won't let you." Ironwood declared.**

"**Oh? And how do you intend to stop me? Your army is almost gone, and soon your precious city will follow." Salem said, leaning in closer to tower over Ironwood, to her surprise, Ironwood just returned her smirk.**

"**Yes. It will." He agreed, a mad gleam dancing in his eyes as he started to laugh like a man possessed.**

"**I fail to see what you find amusing about this or have you finally taken leave of your senses?" Salem asked, unable to fathom what was running through the general's mind.**

"**On the contrary, I've never been surer of anything. Here's what's going to happen Salem, you are going to take your army and return to whatever dark pit you crawled out of and you're going to stay there or else."**

**Silence reigned as Salem was too shocked to formulate a reply, it ended when she burst out laughing. "Oh my dear James, what could you possibly have that would make me do that? Your kingdom is burning down around you and you have the audacity to give **_**me**_** orders? Or is this some desperate ploy to buy time hmmm? Hoping for Oz to save you again?"**

"**Desperate? You brought an army to **_**my**_** shores, you slaughter **_**my**_** people, you talk about an end to suffering and then you terrorise humanity for fun. You have made me **_**very**_** desperate, and you might not be glad you did." Ironwood fired back.**

"Is it just me or has the general gone cuckoo?" Roman asked, getting several angry glares from the Atlessians present.

"Hate to say it Jimmy, but you do have a plan right? Because pissing off the Grimm queen really isn't the best idea you've ever had." Qrow muttered.

"I… don't know. This… isn't a contingency I've ever had to plan for, I don't know what that version of me is thinking." Ironwood admitted.

"**And what can you do? You're out of options… no, you never had any to begin with, not when you turned down my generous offer to spare your kingdom in exchange for the relics." Salem tutted with a small headshake.**

"**You expect me to believe those lies? I really hate people like you." Ironwood growled.**

"**There is no one like me."**

"**There will **_**always**_** be people like you. Oz believes he can keep you in check, keep this little shadow war at a stalemate. I've come to disagree with that."**

"**It's a little too late to switch sides isn't it? But I suppose I could always-"**

"**Ahahahahah! Join you? Join you!? And end up disposed of like that treacherous coward? I will die before I join you." Ironwood cut her off with mocking laughter.**

"**Pity. If you seek death so badly, far be it for me to keep you from it."**

"**You're a sore winner Salem. Dragging this out when you could have won ages ago… thank you for that, it's given me enough time to do what I needed to do." Ironwood grinned and reached for the object on his back.**

"**You want the staff so badly? Come and get it." Ironwood unwrapped the cloth, revealing the relic of creation for all to see.**

"What the hell James!? Why would you bring it to her!?" Qrow shot the general a disbelieving look.

"I… I don't know." Ironwood sputtered.

"Is… is he trying to trade the staff for the safety of Atlas?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know about that, that's the look of someone about to spring a prank… the haha I know something you don't look." Yang said.

"…**What are you playing at James? You've fought me at every step and now you bring the relic here?" Salem glanced at the general and mentally ran through all the information Watts and her Grimm had supplied her, trying to find Ironwood's angle.**

"**Hahahahahha! No tricks. Atlas is kept in the air with the power of the staff, but now the staff is here. So tell me, what's keeping this city flying?" Ironwood tossed the staff to the ground and gestured to the city around him.**

"…"

"**The answer? It's gravity dust. The city is currently burning through its entire supply of dust to keep afloat but since there's so much mass it's burning at a very fast pace."**

"**And? I fail to see where this is going."**

"**And when all the dust is gone, Atlas will fall. Oh, there are some safeguards in place, anti-gravity generators to slow the descent should the city be unable to remain airborne. Put in place decades ago to avert a worst case scenario… too bad I've disabled all of them."**

"**You would destroy your own city? Just to stop me? Hahahahah! I'm immortal, even if you trap me inside the falling city, I won't die. I'll just come back again and you'll be down a kingdom." Salem laughed.**

"**Destroy my own city? I'll do a lot more than that, I'm giving you exactly what you want. You want the staff? It's right here. You want humanity destroyed? I'll do that for you as well." Ironwood smiled as the confusion spread across Salem's face.**

"…**What?"**

That sentiment was echoed by the audience.

"Okay? So to fight someone trying to end humanity, the solution is to… end humanity first?" The words made no sense to Roman even as he said them aloud, the master thief exchanged a glance with Neo and both shrugged.

"How… is this supposed to work exactly?" Cinder stared blankly at the general who was at a complete loss over his counterpart's actions.

"Again… I have no idea." Ironwood muttered.

"**You've been trying to destroy humanity for thousands of years, haven't you? Yet you haven't succeeded after all this time despite the fact that you should have won ages ago. Surrounding yourself with people like Cinder Fall, Arthur Watts, Tyrian Callows… you need help to win evidently, so please let me help you with that." Ironwood droned on sardonically.**

"…"

"**You see, I didn't just disable the safeguards, I inverted them. Instead of slowing the city, as soon as Atlas starts to fall, they'll increase the gravity several million times, speeding up the city. By the time Atlas hit's the ground, it'll be moving faster than a bullet." Ironwood grinned and started laughing like a mad man again.**

"You cannot be serious… why would I ever do something like that!?" Ironwood paled and gripped his armrests tightly.

"Umm… how bad would it be?" Ruby asked timidly.

"If Atlas just falls out of the sky, Solitas is gone. If Atlas hits the ground faster than a bullet… there won't be a world left." Ironwood said softly.

"**What are you trying to pull?" Salem finally said after several minutes of Ironwood's mad laughter.**

"**Trying? It's not what I'm trying to do, it's what I've done. Unless the relic is returned to power the generators, Atlas will fall and when it does, the impact will crack the planet in half. Everything will die… except… you. Hahahahahahahah!"**

"**You'd kill everyone on Remnant. You don't have the guts to do that."**

"**Don't I? It's already done. The relic is right here. Go on, take it. I won't stop you. Twenty-four hours until the end of the world."**

"**You're bluffing." Salem said.**

"**Am I? Go on then, call my bluff. Take the staff, kill me. When I die, I take the only chance of stopping the fall with me, there is no one left who can interfere. Not even that bastard Watts can stop this. It's fine, I'll just be going on ahead of everyone else by a day." Ironwood held his hands in the air, waiting for Salem to strike him down with magic or send a Grimm to do it for her.**

"**What is the point of this? What do you hope to accomplish by doing this?" Salem asked.**

"**The point? There is no point. I know your history, I heard all about it. And I've come to the conclusion that you and I? We're not that different, we're all assholes willing set the entire world on fire to spite our enemies. You hate Oz and I hate you. You want to destroy humanity to break him… guess what? I intend to do the same to you." Ironwood's glare intensified.**

"**You think this is going to affect me? You're just making my task easier." Salem replied placidly.**

"**Yes I am. I'm not going to let you win. I will see this entire world destroyed and everyone in it dead before I let you win. Time was your ally Salem, but now it has abandoned you."**

"**I'm immortal. Time has always been on my side, always will be." Salem rolled her eyes at Ironwood's words.**

"**Is that so? Tyrian believes you to be a goddess and your magic has certainly gone to your head. But I know your past. Once upon a time, there was a girl locked up in a tower, too **_**weak**_** to leave under her own power, needing to be saved by a knight in shining armour that should honestly have left you to rot in your prison. The world would have been a much better place if he had."**

Ozpin sighed heavily and drained his mug in one go. So that Ironwood found out the truth and his mistakes were haunting him again. Some days he truly wondered what life would have been like if he never went on that quest to save Salem so long ago.

"Salem… weak? Those words do not go together." Cinder muttered.

"It's all about perspective. In a world where everyone is super, no one is." Blank replied.

**Ironwood pressed on as Salem lost her calm for the first time, her visage contorting into an ugly snarl. "What's the matter, can't handle the truth? I'm not done though, oh no, your weakness didn't end there. You couldn't save the knight from his illness and you got humanity wiped out when you were stupid enough to challenge the gods and lose."**

"**YOU DARE!?" Salem roared in anger, the air itself quaking from her rage but Ironwood didn't even flinch.**

"**I more than dare. All of this? It's on your head, not mine! How long did it take hmm? How long did it take for humanity to return to Remnant? Decades? Centuries? Millenia? How long did you spend wondering the world alone with only the animals and your **_**precious**_** Grimm for company?" Ironwood mocked, reminding Salem of the eons of solitude the gods had cursed her to. **

"**You see, I've come to understand you. You hate humanity because we have what you threw away so long ago. We have the ability to die, we have the ability to love, you can't die even if you want to and the one person you loved? Oh that's right, he hates you to the core too. That's why humanity still exists despite your ability to do all **_**this**_** long ago." Ironwood gestured to the Grimm besieging Atlas.**

"**You don't want humanity gone, you want us to suffer. Misery loves company am I right? And then you'll rule over everything like some kind of god. No. I won't allow that to happen. If the only options left to humanity are slavery to you or extinction… then I choose extinction." Ironwood said.**

"**Who gave you the right to decide that for humanity!?" Salem roared.**

"**Who gave you the right to decide that for humanity?" Ironwood parroted, continuing to mock the queen of the Grimm.**

"**I have the power, I was here before any of you, this world is mine by birth right!"**

"**You **_**had**_** the power, now it's mine. I have the biggest stick and might makes right, doesn't it? This world is about to end, and this time, humanity will not be coming back. I will see everything you've built reduced to ashes, and unlike before, it won't be just humanity that's destroyed. There'll be nothing left, no more plants, no more animals, I dare say no more Grimm. Just a bunch of rubble floating in space. And you I guess, but you're inconsequential. Once again, you're too weak to do anything to avoid the inevitable, how does it feel, to have all your power taken from you, how does it feel to be reduced to a pathetic weakling? Huh!?" Ironwood raised his own voice before falling back to insane laughter.**

"**Tick tock Salem, less than a day until the end of the world. And then, you'll be all alone again. Just a little girl trapped in a tower all by yourself, this time, there'll be no one to come and save you, whatever's left of Remnant will be your prison forevermore. Just imagine, a world full of nothing where you're only being alive in it for all eternity. I condemn thee." Ironwood grinned madly as Salem's face fell, the full ramifications of his actions sinking in.**

"Talk about a life sentence eh? No takers?" Taiyang's joke fell flat and failed to lift the mood.

"Not… really the time for it dear." Summer chided.

"That's… actually insanely cruel. Not really sure what the whole deal on the immortality bit is but hell, that's basically solitary confinement forever if she ends up stuck on one rock in space." Roman said.

"Huh… it's like that King Arc version where he shot Salem into space… only this one ends with all of us dead." Goodwitch muttered.

"And what happens to us in that scenario?" Emerald asked.

"Didn't you hear? We're all dead when Atlas falls since the whole world is gonna be gone. Unless you can breathe in space and never bothered to tell us Em." Mercury threw his arms up in frustration. His deal with Cinder was looking rawer every passing viewing.

"**Hnnrrggh… haaaa… what do you want?" Salem bitterly spat out at last.**

"**Hmm? Weren't you paying attention? I want you to suffer. And I don't really care how I go about doing it anymore. You have two options now, take the staff and wait for everyone to die, or fuck off with your army and never show your face again. You leave and I return the staff, Remnant continues to exist for a little while longer. You stay… and it won't matter anyways." Ironwood shrugged nonchalantly, he was beyond caring at this point, no matter what Salem chose to do, he won either way.**

"**You expect me to just leave!?"**

"**I expect you to suffer no matter what. How it happens really doesn't matter to me. And before you think of trying to use magic to force me to fix my sabotage, I have a cyanide pill ready to go, there is no version of this where you come out victorious."**

"**Hmmph! I wonder how long your confidence will last when the people find out about this."**

"**When? Again, it doesn't matter. Who are they going to believe? Me or one of your agents? It isn't like there's anything that can be done even if they know, thanks to Oz, he and I are the only ones who know how to work the machinery any more. Try anything, Atlas drops, remove the relic later, Atlas drops. My death won't change anything, it's already set in stone. Please don't underestimate my willingness to die to spite you." Ironwood fired back, uncaring of her threat. **

**Salem would never be able to get the staff without the world ending shortly after she succeeded, not even if she tried again in a thousand years. As long as Atlas remained in the air, it would forever be the one thing between Salem and her victory.**

"**Fine. You win this one. I'll leave and take my Grimm with me." Salem spat out, her hands clenched into fists tightly enough that her nails were drawing blood.**

"**This isn't over, not by a long shot. I'll be back, count on it."**

"**Whatever you say, it won't matter how many of your agents you send, I've already seen to it that my sabotage is impossible to fix. I'm not even going to lock the vault, come collect the staff whenever you feel like it, it's yours for the taking." Ironwood taunted and gave a mock bow.**

"**Mark my words, you will pay for this James." Salem glared as her hologram started to disperse, already the Grimm were retreating from Atlas airspace.**

"**James, is what my friends call me, to you, it's General." Ironwood drew his pistol and shot the seer, destroying it and causing Salem's hologram to dissipate completely.**

The screen faded to black and the lights came back on.

"She retreated, she actually retreated?" Goodwitch sought confirmation.

"She did. She's only concerned with winning, Atlas falling would have rendered the 'game' unwinnable."

"Interesting…" Ironwood muttered and knit his fingers together, deep in thought.

"General Ironwood sir? Are… are we enacting that plan back in Atlas?" Winter asked unsurely.

"It's a possibility." Ironwood said noncommittally.

"Whoa, whoa wait a minute, you're not seriously considering that are you?" Qrow asked.

"I am. You saw that army of Grimm, we don't have anything that can stand up to that, having Atlas rigged to destroy the world is a desperate gambit yes, but it's also one that worked."

"But we can't just destroy the world!" Ruby protested.

"Yeah, what about everyone else in it?" Nora added on.

"We might not have a choice. If Salem wins, that's it for humanity. Since she's immortal…" Ironwood said that and glared at Ozpin for leaving out that tidbit, the other headmaster averting his eyes in exchange.

"There's no such thing as waiting for her to die of old age. Her reign of tyranny will never end. That kind of a future is unacceptable."

"Oi, speak for yourself! I like living thank you very much, even if it means having to bow to people I don't particularly like. And most people would agree, where do you get off deciding all of us has to die like dogs for no reason." Roman fired back.

"Hear hear!" Mercury echoed.

"She's queen of the Grimm, what kind of a world do you think you'll be living in if she's in charge? Endless suffering everywhere, where there's no hope of things ever getting better. Death is preferable, you can't even hide it out, where are you supposed to go that the Grimm can't find you?" Ironwood explained and Roman was forced to concede the point.

"Umm… can we maybe focus on trying to beat Salem first and talk about end of the world scenarios never? If she can be stopped, then the drop Atlas and kill everyone plan never needs to be used." Jaune said, trying to keep the argument from getting any bigger.

"Of course, destroying the world is always an absolute last resort. Finding a way to beat Salem takes priority. Still, I do think the system has merit since it will pretty much never be used. Salem can't get the relic without killing everyone and denying herself her own victory, while she's trying to find a way around the system, it buys us time to deal with her or find other measures to keep her in check." Ironwood agreed.

"It will have to do." Ozpin sighed and lowered his mug.

"That's it for the viewing anyways, go freshen up, the next viewing will start soon." Blank said and his audience dispersed.

* * *

Author's notes: Yeah, this one came to me out of nowhere. Working title for this chapter was 'Eviler than thou'. Inspired by the Forerunners final solution against the Flood, stop attacking or we kill everyone and damn you all with us. The flood called the bluff and lost, the Halos fired and everything died, this one is sort of a 'what if' the Flood actually did back down.


	22. Chapter 21: All guns blazing

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 21: All guns blazing**

**Inspiration: Gundam Seed**

"Hmm, this viewing… ah it ought to be interesting. This one has multiple 'main characters' if that means anything." Blank said as he prepared the next universe for viewing.

"What's it about? Don't tell me there's more end of the world stuff in there." Qrow muttered.

"Uh… about that… if it's any consolation, this one is about averting the worst-case scenario. It's another universe with Gundams although separate from the previous viewing." Blank answered.

"Oh… so are the white fang the bad guys again?" Ruby asked and Blake's ears started drooping instantly.

"Not exactly, complicated is the word to describe the state of this universe. There are plenty of issues contributing to the mess and thanks to the chain of command, it's effectively evil versus evil."

"We're the bad guys!?" Nora burst out in shock.

"To some people yes I'm afraid. This takes place at the end of the first Bloody Valentine War, your people are a third faction in a war of extermination, trying to end the hostilities for good." Blank said.

"Wait… if we're trying to end the war, why are we the bad guys?" Weiss asked, a frown marring her face.

"Because some people want the war to continue until the other side is completely exterminated of course." Cinder replied with an indignant huff.

"Correct." Blank confirmed.

"What would drive people to that extent?" Ren asked.

"Many things, intolerance, greed, and plain old hatred. The lust for revenge is a driving force of conflict in more places than you can imagine. They hurt us, so we hurt them, a never-ending cycle until there's no one left to do the fighting. Naturally, each side believes they'll be the one left standing at the end, regardless of the losses they've already taken."

"Hang on, you mentioned the chain of command being an issue… and what do you mean the first war?" Ironwood looked to the ball of light for clarification.

"The problem with the chain of command is it's rigid, and when all your moderates have been killed in action and the only ones left are fanatics hell bent on genocide, it becomes a problem. Even with the end of the war, enough of those remain in power to spark a new one not too long after the end of this, but that's for another time." Blank said, Ironwood's face fell as he contemplated the words.

"So it's all for nothing then?" Yang threw her arms into the air in frustration.

"No, tragic as a second war is, halting the loss of lives in the interim isn't nothing. Especially if the alternative is the war just continuing without end." Goodwitch replied.

"Indeed. Humanity was on the brink of extinction, averting that isn't nothing. I'll just start it now." Blank said and the lights dimmed, the screen coming on afterwards.

**The vast expanse of space played host to two fleets duking it out. Explosions, beams and missiles filled the vacuum as both sides committed everything they had to the battle. The Earth Alliance's lunar fleets had begun their attack on the White Fang stronghold of Boaz, the start of their final push towards Menagerie.**

**Several Strike Daggers exploded when a sniper nailed them through the cockpits with his beam cannon. The GINN came to a halt as the pilot paused to survey his kill.**

"**Heh, not with a toy like that." The White Fang pilot smirked, fully convinced in the superiority of their own mobile suits compared with the Alliance's newly developed mobile suit corps.**

**His gloating was abruptly ended when another Strike Dagger got behind him and shot him in the back, avenging his fallen comrades.**

"Moron, save the gloating for when you're back home safe, not in the middle of battle. And don't go tempting fate, it never ends well." Qrow rolled his eyes and drained his bottle of whiskey.

"The fleets look about even in strength, what are the Alliance forces up to? Taking a fortified location is damn near impossible without some kind of advantage." Ironwood mused.

"They're not planning on taking it." Blank answered.

"Come again? If they don't want to take it, why are they attacking?" Torchwick asked.

"They're going to destroy it and everyone inside, aren't they?" Cinder said, thus far it seemed like mostly pointless carnage but it was entertaining if nothing else.

"Indeed. The Earth forces have no need of this base so they plan to steamroll it and move on." Blank confirmed.

"Okay… unless the scale is off, that's a really big rock. How are they going to blow it up?" Torchwick stared at the screen in confusion.

"With a nightmare that should have been left well enough alone."

"**Enough bickering, the lunar fleet's attack on Boaz has been expected for some time now, there's no need to panic." Ghira Belladonna said to calm down the rest of the frenzied White Fang leadership.**

"**Keep all other military units on alert, and give me a report on the situation. God damned humans." He swore as a screen unfolded, displaying tactical data of the battle of Boaz.**

"Dad?" Blake's eyes widened in surprise at seeing her father appear on the screen, the first time she'd seen him in ages.

"W-why is he with the Fang?"

"In this world, he never left, for the faunus, he's the main driving force pushing for the extinction of humanity." Blank said.

"Why!? He's always pushed for more peaceful methods!" Blake shouted in denial.

"In your world yes, but in this one, things are different. After the death of his wife during the first strike of the war, he went mad with grief, over time, that grief turned into all-consuming hate." Blank answered, leaving Blake to slump into her seat.

She mumbled her thanks when the rest of her team went over and pulled her into a group hug for comfort.

"**But, I must wonder about their strategy." A voice called up from the back and Adam Taurus stepped into the light.**

"**What is it Taurus?" Ghira looked to the man and frowned, lately all Taurus had been bringing him was bad news.**

"**I'm sure the Alliance knows Boaz won't go down easily. I can't imagine they'd open fire if they thought there was no chance of succeeding. I'd like to know the reasoning behind their sudden confidence." Taurus said.**

"**I assume they'd send their mobile suit corps against us, maybe those three new units of theirs. I guess they thought they could beat us with that." Sienna Khan huffed, still firmly convinced in the White Fang's military superiority.**

"**Let's just hope that's the case." Adam said with a small shrug.**

"**What the hell are you suggesting Taurus?" Ghira growled out.**

"**No, no, nothing at all. It's just, they've had those units for a while, so why only attack now? And with the recent developments… Freedom, Justice, Schnee."**

"**What the hell are you suggesting Taurus, you're not saying those damned humans have **_**that**_** again are you!?" Ghira grinded his teeth in anger at the reminder of those accursed weapons that tore his world apart.**

"**No, no. I'm just… thinking, that's all." Taurus said.**

"Grrr… why does he make me want to punch him in the face?" Nora's fists clenched in anger.

"He feels so… slimy? Bastardy? It's just… wrong." Jaune said.

"Hold up, what was that about the Schnees?" Weiss asked.

"He's referring to you, since you handed over the Freedom Gundam to a known enemy of the Fang. Ah right, the Schnees are all faunus in this universe and your father is actually a good guy in this one."

"I uh… huh, what happened to him then?" Weiss continued.

"Summary execution."

"E-excuse me!?"

"A power play, your actions were taken as high treason on his orders and he was gunned down before he could defend himself. With him gone, the moderates in Menagerie were effectively gutted, leaving no one to oppose ramping up the war efforts." Blank said.

"I… I…" Weiss was at a loss on what to think, she was snapped out of her funk when Winter rested a hand on her shoulder.

"It wasn't you."

"I… thank you sister."

"**Oho? They're not doing too badly after all, and I've been hearing nothing but complaints since their first sortie." Watts sat in his chair and twiddled his moustache, grinning as he watched more White Fang ships explode under the assault of his aces.**

**Raider, Calamity, Forbidden and their pilots, Harriet, Elm and Vine. After a string of losses and failures thanks to those thrice blasted White Fang machines, it was nice to see them succeed at their mission for once.**

"Watts… what is that bastard doing here?" Cinder growled out, the Atlessian scientist as insufferable as she remembered him to be.

"And what the hell is he doing commanding my soldiers!?" Ironwood's grip started deforming his armrest in anger once more.

"He's director Watts here, technically a civilian, but functionally the commander in chief for the human forces." Blank said.

"Bullshit! How the hell did that happen!?" Ironwood roared.

"As I said, all the moderates on both sides are effectively gone, either KIA, defected or side-lined completely, there's no one left to oppose him, not when his supporters make up nearly the entire Alliance high command. Oh, and he's also personally responsible for starting the war by ordering the first shot fired."

"DAMN IT!"

"**Incoming message from the Doolittle." Penny called out as she transferred the call to the main viewing screen and Cordovin's face appeared.**

"**Looks like the way is clear. We're sending out the Peacemaker corps now."**

"**Understood." Watts grinned and reclined in his seat to enjoy the show.**

**In the captain's seat, Ren grit his teeth and looked away in a mix of disgust and anger.**

"There's Penny and Ren! Are… are they the bad guys too!?" Ruby paled before turning to look at the members of JNPR. Nora had wrapped Ren up in a death hug while Jaune and Pyrrha were both besides themselves.

"Unfortunately, they're on the wrong side of this conflict due to events beyond their control." Blank said.

"So what happens to us?" Ren asked, Blank's answering silence did their mood no favours.

**The four Agamemnon class carriers at the rear of the formation started launching Moebius units carrying a single large missile each.**

**Falling into formation as they headed towards Boaz with their payload, the path ahead was already cleared by the Ace Ops. Other White Fang units were tied up fighting in other sectors while the few that noticed them were quickly taken out by the Gundams before they could interrupt the procession.**

"**Safeties off, trigger activated." One of the Peacemaker pilots called out and his targeting computer beeped when it secured a firing solution that would let the missile penetrate into the base.**

"**Good. Say your prayers you space abominations, for the preservation of our pure and blue world!" The pilot roared and depressed the trigger, sending the missile on to its final destination. He was followed shortly after by the rest of the Moebius units.**

**With most of the station's defences in their way already destroyed and the Boaz defence fleet tied up elsewhere, there wasn't anything left to stop them. The asteroid base was engulfed in white light as nuclear fire gutted the station from the inside, destroying everything in its path.**

**Inside the command centre itself, the place was shuddering under the onslaught of nukes. "What the hell is this heat source… no. It's nuclear!"**

"**What!?"**

**The rest of the command staff had a split second to process the man's words before the entire command centre was wiped away in a blinding flash.**

"**Magnificent, truly magnificent. It's falling so quickly, even the Fang's mighty fortress is no match for the power of our nukes." Watts clapped his hands excitedly as the glare faded, revealing a tiny asteroid field where the base used to be.**

"**Director Watts, I get that they're our enemies, but don't you feel **_**any**_** remorse at all for using nuclear weapons?" Ren asked.**

"**What a strange question, I never thought I'd hear that from a soldier. I think I'm a lot more merciful compared to someone who sends out their men to die in an unwinnable battle." Watts replied nonchalantly, as though the decision to use weapons of mass destruction was a decision less difficult to make than what to have for dinner.**

**Ren grit his teeth and looked away, unable to stand the sight of the man. In his opinion, this entire battle was unnecessary, if it wasn't for men like him, this pointless war wouldn't be happening at all.**

"**Well, we're done here, next target, their homeland. Once we destroy that and every single faunus is space dust, the war will finally be over." Watts said as he stared at the hourglass space colonies in the distance, already imagining each of them disappearing in a flash. At the start of this war, he blew one of them up with a nuke, it was only fitting he returned to personally finish the job.**

"What the hell was that? What kind of weapon could do that much damage!?" Ironwood blinked and rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"That was a nuke. One of the most powerful weapons ever developed by mankind, one was used to start the war by blowing up an innocent space colony and everyone in it. The White Fang countered with N-Jammers that prevented nuclear fission, but now the alliance has the N-Jammer Cancellers, so their stockpile of superweapons are available for use against Menagerie again. For numerous reasons, this is one of the weapons I will not be allowing you to get your hands on." Blank said.

"What is wrong with him!? How can he speak of genocide so easily!?" Blake yelled in anger.

"Some people are just evil. He doesn't have any tragic backstory to attempt to justify his actions, he's just a monster who can't stand someone else being better than him." Blank said.

"What has that got to do with eradicating an entire race of people!?" Yang growled out, her eyes a burning crimson.

"As you know, faunus do have traits that are superior to humans, be they in the form of extra senses, extra abilities or simply a tougher constitution. In that world, faunus are not naturally occurring, they were born from genetic manipulation to be superior to baseline humans." Blank said.

"Hahehahha! Oh isn't jealousy a wonderful thing? Watts never could stand someone else upstaging him. It must have _really_ pissed him off to know that there's an entire race of people superior to him just by being born." Cinder clapped her hands as she figured it out.

"And everyone else is down for the ride too, aren't they? They hate the faunus because they're better than them, but instead of trying to take power themselves, they just try to kill everyone. Oh sure, most of them are too cowardly to do anything on their own, but then comes Watts, and everyone just falls in line like sheep. It's why he's in charge isn't it?"

"There are other reasons as well, but yes, that is a pretty accurate statement." Blank replied.

"**Those damned humans! They dare!?" Ghira stared at the screen as Boaz disappeared from the tactical map and it showed the surviving White Fang forces in full retreat as the Alliance pushed deeper into their territory.**

"**Set up a defence line, do not allow those nukes anywhere near Menagerie! Taurus!"**

"**Yes sir!" Adam snapped to attention as Ghira said the words he'd been waiting to hear.**

"**I'm headed to Jachin Due, we'll counter with the Genesis." Ghira said as he stormed towards the exit.**

"**Yes sir." Adam replied with a barely suppressed smirk.**

"What's his stake in this? Unless I'm reading this wrong, the White Fang has taken a major blow, so why is he smiling?" Winter asked.

"This version of him holds no loyalty to the Fang. He's with them only as a way to advance his own goals." Blank said.

"And those goals are?" Ozpin prompted.

"The total extinction of mankind. Not just humans but faunus too."

"He's a traitor?" Blake whispered in shock.

"Indeed. He's fully convinced humanity is beyond saving and it's best to wipe everything away with the flames of war. He's the one who handed the ability to use nuclear weapons to the Alliance in the first place. Everything he's done, he's done to push mankind onwards along the path to total destruction. In his own twisted worldview, everything that's happening is the inevitable destiny of mankind." Blank said.

"How is it inevitable when he's the one making it possible?" Jaune pointed out.

"That's just how it is to him. He handed out the guns yes, but he didn't make anyone pull the trigger, just gave them the opportunity to do so."

"And if they do start shooting, then he's vindicated by humanity's own darkness. How deplorable." Ozpin muttered and sipped from his mug.

"**You're kidding, the Alliance used nukes? What were they thinking!?" Jaune cursed and buried his head in his hands as the reports came through.**

"**Not surprising, this is after Josh-A after all." Pyrrha shrugged as Jaune slumped further into the captain's seat.**

"Josh-A? What's that?" Pyrrha asked, unsure what her counterpart was referring to.

"That was the battle that got you all to defect from the alliance. High command received word about an impending attack on the base and used it and all of you as bait. An unwinnable battle that would have seen White Fang forces crush the defenders through weight of numbers alone, and once the last defence lines have been breached and the bulk of the enemy is in the base itself. The self-destruct system activates, destroying everything in the area indiscriminately."

"How barbaric." Ironwood sneered at the callous disregard for the lives of their own men.

"It was supposed to be an attempt to wipe out any 'troublesome' elements in the army like your crew and galvanise the public to further support the war effort. You all survived because that Pyrrha Nikos found out about the trap and got a warning off in time." Blank said.

"Why us? What did we do?" Jaune asked.

"Your ship the Archangel pulled off repeated impossible victories and blitzed a path through White Fang held territory to reach allied territory. It should have been a great propaganda piece, but there's the issue that you only made it that far because Ruby Rose was piloting one of the prototype Gundams." Blank answered.

"And what's wrong with that!?" Taiyang growled out.

"She's a faunus here. Humanity only wins with a faunus on their side? Faunus actually willing to help humans? That's a PR disaster and unacceptable for the narrative."

"And lemme guess, after that failure to kill em all off, it's a case of they know too much and need to be silenced." Torchwick chimed in.

"Indeed."

"**But that bastard…" Pyrrha snarled as she recalled her last encounter with Adam inside the ruined Mendel colony.**

"**The final door is about to open! I'm the one going to open it! And this world will end, this world of endless ambition will be destroyed." Taurus words still haunted her and she slammed a fist into the side of the chair.**

"**So this is what he meant. Menagerie won't stay silent after this, and we already know they have N-Jammer cancellers of their own…"**

"**You think the White Fang will counter with nuclear weapons of their own?" Jaune asked, already dreading the answer.**

"**Who knows what's going on over there."**

"**Shiiit… damnit all, with Boaz gone, the lunar fleet now has a direct path to Menagerie. If even one of those missiles hit, any chance for peace dies screaming." Jaune's command terminal pinged, a message from the Kusanagi and Eternal indicating both were ready to launch.**

"What exactly is their plan here? They're not planning to fight both armies. are they?" Mercury asked.

"As a matter of fact, they are. Their goal is to prevent even a single nuke from hitting the colonies and buying enough time for remaining Schnee allies in Menagerie to make a push for a ceasefire." Blank answered.

**Weiss sighed as she stared at the battle taking place in the distance from the Eternal's bridge. Earth forces had already engaged the main defence fleet and she was under no illusions that they wouldn't use their nukes against the faunus home land.**

"**We may not make it in time, but even so we have to try." She said as their own pilots started launching.**

"**Ruby Rose, Freedom, taking off."**

"**Blake Belladonna, Justice, launching."**

"**Pyrrha Nikos, Strike, heading out."**

"**Mercury Black, Buster, here I go."**

"**Meteor's lift off." Klein said as he triggered the release of the support units for the Freedom and Justice Gundams.**

**Weiss watched on as the two nuclear powered Gundams docked with the Meteor units and synced up. "We declare our intentions for peace with weapons in hand. The choice we're making may also be evil, but may this give us the power to put an end to the battles that have no end in sight."**

"Buster? So I'm piloting a Gundam this time instead of fighting one?" Mercury perked up upon hearing his name come up again.

"An artillery, heavy bombardment unit, and no, since every side has Gundams, you'll still be fighting them." Blank answered.

"Tch, why does he get to pilot one." Emerald complained, annoyed that Mercury got another mech to play with.

"**GO DOWN!" Harriet roared as she sent a spiked flail into an enemy mobile suit, crushing it and causing it to explode. Nearby, Calamity and Forbidden were tearing a bloody path through the White Fang defence lines, clearing the way forwards for the Peacemakers.**

"**Aahrhgh! It's those guys again! Shit!" Emerald swore as she pushed forwards in the Duel Gundam, leaving her unit behind to try and stem the Ace Ops offensive.**

**Firing a full salvo of missiles, beams and rail gun shots towards the Raider, she cursed when Harriet started spinning the flail around in a circle, using it as a shield to ward off the attack. At the very least it bought time for several of her comrades to retreat from the enemy ace.**

"Oh hell yes! I got me a Gundam!" Emerald cheered.

"Yeah, but you're getting your butt kicked Em." Mercury commented.

"Shut up Mercury. No one asked for your opinion." She hissed at him and chucked at handful of popcorn his way.

"**What the hell are these guys?" Emerald spat out as she failed to land any kind of deciding blow on the Ace Ops. **

**A flickering light at the edge of her view screen drew her attention, thumbing the magnification option, she paled when she noticed it was a flight of Moebius units, all carrying giant missiles.**

"**Fuck! Those are… nuclear missiles…" She trailed off with a horrified whisper. A cursory glance at her tactical map indicated her worst fears, a gap in the defence line had already opened up in this sector thanks to the relentless blitz of the Ace Ops, nothing stood between the Peacemakers and Menagerie now.**

"**SHOOT DOWN THOSE MISSILES, DON'T LET THEM GET ANY CLOSER TO MENAGERIE!" She yelled on a universal channel, ignoring regulations to call out to every ship and mobile suit in the area. She swore again when incoming reinforcements were promptly destroyed by the Ace Ops.**

"**You can't do that, it's too pretty to destroy." Vine said as Forbidden curved another plasma beam into the White Fang, destroying their machines before they could threaten the Peacemaker squadrons.**

"Come on, come on, come on, we've got to make it in time." Ruby chanted under her breath.

**Ruby's targeting computer lit up and beeping filled the Freedom's cockpit as her weapons locked on to the missiles. Once she'd reached full target saturation, she pulled the trigger and fired every weapon she had. A split second later, Blake did the same in the Justice.**

**A barrage of missiles and beams surged towards the nukes, intercepting them before they could harm the colonies. A shocked silence descended upon the battlefield as the area lit up with the nuclear flares, the White Fang forces in disbelief that they were minutes away from having their homeland extinguished and the Alliance troops unable to comprehend that their sure win strategy had been foiled.**

"**That's… Justice… Blake?" Emerald stared at the two mobile suits responsible for shooting down the nukes as they sped past.**

"Whew… looks like we made it after all." Ruby heaved a sigh of relief.

"Do I know them here?" Emerald asked, not expecting her other self to know Blake.

"You used to be on a team with Mercury and Blake plus one more, the two of them defected though and you were promoted to another unit by virtue of being the only one left." Blank said.

"I… huh… not sure how to feel about that honestly." Emerald admitted.

"So the WMD attack is stopped, we good then?" Blake asked cautiously.

"Of course not. You stopped the alliance so now it's the White Fang's turn to exact retribution… probably with whatever that Genesis thing is." Cinder replied.

"**Soldiers of the Earth Alliance, cease your attack immediately." Weiss's voice came through a transmission on a universal frequency, reaching both sides of the battlefield.**

"**That voice…" A White Fang pilot said.**

"**Lady Schnee?" Another continued.**

"**Are you even aware of what it is you're trying to do? Are you trying to restart the nightmare? I ask again, cease your attack at once, soldiers of the Earth Alliance." Weiss continued.**

"**Huh? Who the hell is this?" Watts frowned and stared at the view screen displaying the three approaching ships, a twinge of frustration going through him as he recognised the Dominion's sister ship in the formation.**

"**Ah well, it doesn't matter, anyone trying to get in our way is an enemy to be shot down. Time for that accursed ship to lose the title of unsinkable. It's been a thorn in my side for long enough, we'll destroy them all along with those fucking hourglasses."**

**Inside Jachin Due's command centre, Ghira's brow twitched as he received word from the front lines of Weiss's attempt to end hostilities. "She's doing what? Never mind. Leave them alone, our preparations are already complete, it's too late for her to do anything to stop it now."**

**Adam smirked as Ghira continued giving orders and Genesis prepared to fire. "Sienna, have our troops clear the firing line, it's time to show those worthless humans our true power."**

"Neither side is backing down. This will not end well." Roman muttered.

"Will they seriously not be satisfied until everything is destroyed?" Yang said and shook her head.

"That's just how it is sometimes." Ozpin replied, thinking back to all the monsters in human skin he ever encountered in his past lives. Salem was the biggest threat, but hardly the only one.

"**Priority one message, retreat from zone… Genesis!?" Emerald read the message from headquarters and her eyes widened to the size of saucers.**

"**Oh shit, Blake! Get out of there now! Genesis is about to fire!" Emerald fired off a warning to her old comrade before following the lead of the other White Fang members and hastily retreated from the battlefield.**

"**The White Fang is retreating? I… wait, what the hell is that?" Jaune stared as a massive object faded into view behind another one of the White Fang asteroid bases.**

"**Mirage Colloid cloaking, and Phase Shift armour? You're kidding, the amount energy needed to cover something that size." Jaune did the mental math and paled instantly, whatever it was, that thing was bad news.**

**Ghira glared at the human fleets in the distance. "This will teach you bastards. May this shot be the light that marks the beginning of a new world for faunus. Fire!"**

**A beam of crimson light shot from the barrel of Genesis, striking the conical mirror block in front of it and bouncing back onto the array, charging it up. At full charge, the massive cannon fired.**

**The beam of destruction lanced outwards towards the Alliance fleets, obliterating everything in its path. Mobile suits, battleships, everything was consumed by the giant laser and erased.**

**Ren stared at the devastation the Dominion was fortunate enough to be spared open mouthed for several seconds before barking out orders. "Hard to port! We're retreating from this area! Send out the signal flares, all surviving ships, retreat immediately!"**

"Holy shit." Ironwood said, unable to find a better term to describe what they just saw.

"That, is a big fucking gun." Mercury added, just as stunned as the general.

"How's anyone supposed to beat that!? All those lives snuffed out in an instant." Goodwitch said in a horrified tone.

"Is there any way to defend against that monstrosity?" Roman asked.

"No. If it fires, everything in its path is dead. The beam cannot be deflected, it cannot be intercepted, it cannot be blocked. The only options are to dodge out of the way before it fires, but given the size of the beam, that's not easy to do if you don't see it coming." Blank said.

"W-well, what about staying out of its range?" Jaune asked.

"That was sixty percent of its power, there is no staying out of its range. At maximum, it will hit the planet and wipe out nearly all life on it." Silence greeted Blank's words.

**Ghira smiled as the reports started flooding in. Thus far it looked like the enemy forces were down to half strength after Genesis's first shot. And the surviving half were too busy dealing with their wounded to continue their nuclear assault.**

"**Truly an amazing display of power Chairman Belladonna." Adam greeted with his usual half smile.**

"**Of course, there's no point in fighting a war if you're not going to win it right?" Ghira replied.**

"**What next?" Adam asked.**

"**Now we wait for the mirror block to be replaced. Then we shoot again, if those humans continue to resist after their lunar base is wiped out, we'll fire one more time and that'll be the end of it." Ghira shrugged, no matter what the humans chose to do, as long as Genesis remained operational, the faunus had already won.**

**Rising to his feet to address the staff in the command centre and fully aware that his speech would be broadcasted to the rest of the White Fang forces, Ghira began to speak.**

"**Courageous soldiers of the White Fang, we can no longer allow the use of violence by these arrogant human scum. They fired nuclear missiles at Menagerie, this is no longer a war. It's genocide! We can no longer forgive these human bastards for thinking nothing of these atrocities. A new future, the light to a new world is with us! This will be historical moment, marking the beginning of a promising new world for the new mankind, us!" He ended the speech and was met with thunderous applause from the assembled soldiers.**

"Damnit all, what kind of a future can you possibly build on a mountain of corpses?" Blake cursed in frustration.

"Heh, you'd be surprised honestly. History is written by the victor, to people like that, it honestly doesn't matter whose bodies they're climbing over, just as long as they reach the top." Torchwick chimed in.

Blake hissed at him in response before scratching at her head in anger. It sucked seeing her father go down the same path Adam did.

"**Gah! This is all your fault! Letting the war drag on this long!" Watts was screaming into the phone as the Alliance high command on the other end tried to pacify the director.**

"**Captain, message from the Churchill, they're requesting support, their medical bay got hit and they have casualties on board." Ren nodded in acknowledgement and cursed their situation.**

"**Got it, inform them support is on the way."**

"**Oi! Don't be an idiot, they want backup? Why the hell does this ship have to provide it!?" Watts got off the call and started shouting immediately.**

"**Director Watts, we have to-" Ren began but the incensed director cut him off.**

"**What we need to do is have every surviving ship continue the offensive at once! Right now, what we need to focus on is resupply and maintenance until our forces can get back out there!" He roared in anger.**

"**Sir, that's insane! You know what kind of damage we've sustained. We can't continue to attack!" Ren got out of his seat and protested.**

"**Reinforcements will be here from lunar HQ soon. How the hell can you even speak of retreat right now!? You're the one who doesn't understand the situation! We cannot afford to leave that thing out there!" Watts pointed to Genesis hanging behind Jachin Due in the distance.**

"**The hell do they mean humans and their barbaric nuclear warheads!? They can destroy Earth from that distance!" Watts fell back into his chair and pulled up the schematics for the superweapon Adam had indirectly handed over to them. He'd overlooked it earlier in his eagerness to get the nukes online and he was sorely regretting that decision now.**

"**That unbelievable weapon of theirs is even more barbarous! And we have no idea when they'll decide to point that thing at Earth! It'll be too late to act after they've fired it! It's all you military types' fault, you're the ones who gave those monsters enough time to build that thing!" Watts shot Ren an irate glare before returning his attention to the superweapon in the distance.**

"**Reckless as it is, that thing needs to be destroyed no matter the cost. That and Menagerie, before they fire at Earth!"**

**Ren cursed internally before returning to the captain's seat. As much as he detested it, the director had a point. They had to destroy Genesis or die trying, there was no other option left to them, any chance for peace had passed the instant the first nukes were fired at Boaz.**

"They're not even going to try to sue for peace?" Pyrrha shook her head in disbelief.

"The time for that is over, neither side will accept any kind of resolution other than outright victory at this point." Ironwood said in resignation.

"Why? Why can't they even try?" Ruby asked.

"Because both sides have what is essentially a kill switch for the other party, and they've both already proven willing to use it. How can you have peace when you're constantly wondering when the other side is going to push the button?" Qrow answered.

"Indeed, those weapons were always meant to be deterrents, mutually assured destruction. Problem with that is when someone actually willing to use them comes along. Either because they're insane or because they think they can get around the mutual part with a quick and clean kill before anyone can react." Blank said.

**On the Eternal's bridge, all of them were gathered to discuss the latest developments in the war, the mood was grim and falling fast as Dr Polendina explained his analysis of the Genesis.**

"**It's basically a giant gamma ray laser. If it's fired at Earth, the energy would burn the surface to a crisp, wiping out almost all life on the surface." The doctor explained before the feed cut out, leaving them to stew.**

"**Do you think they'll fire it? At Earth?" Jaune asked in a small voice.**

"**I don't know. Such weapons were always meant to be deterrents, not used for real. But now that both sides have fired… I don't know anymore." Klein sighed out in response.**

"**At this point, I can't see either side hesitating to use them anymore. Haah… the first time I shot someone in battle, I shivered. But then someone told me I'd get used to it… eventually, I did."**

"**So you're saying it's the same then, with those nuclear weapons?" Jaune asked.**

"**Isn't it? The guns are bigger now, but the principle remains the same, kill them before they kill you. People adapt, eventually they get used to killing one another like it's nothing." Klein answered.**

"**Is it the weapons that give rise to wars? Or is it the darkness inside the hearts of humanity?" Weiss questioned.**

"**It doesn't matter. Whether it's missiles or that light, we can't let them shoot at each other with them. Earth or Menagerie, if either gets hit, it'll be too late to do anything." Ruby said, her wolf ears twitching.**

"**Yeah." Blake agreed after a moment of silence, speaking for the rest of them.**

"How hopelessly optimistic, if they want to kill one another, they'll do so, with or without their superweapons." Cinder spoke up, rolling her eyes at the naivety on display.

"So what? Let them kill one another then?" Ren glared at her.

"Why not? It's what they want, why not give it to them?" Cinder shrugged nonchalantly.

"Innocent people will die, people who never wanted anything to do with the war, that's enough reason to try and stop them." Jaune argued.

"Hmmph! No one's innocent, complicit in their silence. If they won't speak up when others are burning the world down around them, they can burn with it." Cinder replied.

**Alarms blared throughout the Eternal as sensors picked up the Earth Alliance's forces beginning to move towards Menagerie again. The pilots sat in their mobile suits, getting ready to launch at a moment's notice, while the ships got underway, steaming towards the frontline.**

**Pyrrha sat inside the Strike, performing last minute tune ups before a beeping on her monitor indicated there was someone outside the cockpit. Chuckling lightly, she pulled off her helmet and hit the hatch release.**

"**Thought I wasn't going to make it in time." Jaune gave a small smile as Pyrrha exited the mobile suit to meet him.**

"**What are you talking about silly? Don't worry about it, I'll be back soon. With victory in hand of course." Pyrrha said to reassure the captain.**

"**I'll hold you to that." Jaune said and pulled her in for a kiss that the ace pilot gladly returned.**

"Uh oh." Blake muttered under her breath.

"Something wrong?" Ruby looked over curiously.

"Nothing, just a bad feeling." Blake left out the fact that her death flag senses were tingling again.

**Ghira smiled as the mirror block replacement was complete. "Target coordinates, lunar surface, Ptolemaios crater, Earth Alliance lunar HQ."**

"**Adam, where are the human's reinforcements now?"**

"**In the firing line sir." Adam replied.**

"**Excellent. We've won then." Ghira's brow twitched when several reports of Alliance forces breaching through the White Fang defence lines through sheer weight of numbers alone reached him.**

"**We're almost there, just hold them a while longer."**

"**In that case, shall I go as well?" Adam offered.**

"**Yes. Taurus, I won't forgive any more of your blunders at this stage. The least you can do for failing to destroy the Eternal would be to stop them from attacking Menagerie with it." Ghira said and Adam turned back to look at the man.**

"**Even if that means killing Blake?" The bull faunus queried, Ghira's eyes widened considerably before he looked away.**

"**Even then."**

"Father of the year right there people." Torchwick clapped sarcastically.

"Shut up Torchwick!" Blake snarled at the ex-criminal.

"Hey, just saying." Roman held up his hands in surrender.

"Heh, at least he feels bad somewhat. There are plenty of worse _fathers_ out there, trust me on that." Mercury said.

"He's completely consumed by revenge, it's tragic." Summer whispered sadly.

**Adam waved the technicians off as he entered his new suit. As the thing booted up, he could barely supress his glee, after so much planning and manipulating, things were finally approaching the final act. This new machine… a more apt one for the conductor of the end did not exist.**

"**Adam Taurus, Providence, launching."**

**As the Gundam shot out of the airlock, he heard Ghira give the command to fire the Genesis and bore witness to the superweapon activating. As the beam surged towards the moon, he started laughing maniacally, with this it was too late for anyone to stop the end.**

**The humans would not relent and commit everything they had, eventually, they'd break through somewhere and the nukes would hit Menagerie and Genesis would fire a third and final time. Mankind's death kneel had already sounded. **

**Genesis's beam tore through the vacuum of space, blasting through the reinforcements from the moon and subsequently impacting the base itself. The humans caught in the blast barely had time to scream before they popped like balloons as Genesis obliterated the entire base and everyone in it.**

"Oh god what the hell was that!?" Taiyang bit back a curse at the sight of people popping like blood filled balloons.

"Disgusting is what it is." Qrow said and offered Taiyang a bottle, his brother in law accepted it and started chugging immediately.

"The beam boiled the blood and other liquids inside their bodies, causing them to expand and pop. Messy way to go." Blank said.

'Ya don't say.' Neo rolled her eyes and held up her scroll to display her words.

"**Message from the reinforcement fleets, over half of them have been destroyed by that shot." The report was met with several horrified gasps inside the Dominion's bridge.**

"**What!? Was that part of their plan?" Ren muttered and cursed the White Fang for having such an absurdly powerful weapon.**

**Watts grabbed the phone and hailed Cordovin's ship, as soon as the admiral came on, he started barking orders. "What are you waiting for!? Send out the Peacemakers now! Target Menagerie directly! We'll destroy every one of those annoying hourglasses at once! Bring the Ace Ops back now and have them escort the nukes!"**

"**Director Watts! That's not going to remove the threat to Earth! Our focus has to be destroying that weapon!" Ren protested.**

"**Gimme a break! Do you have to be so annoying all the time!?" Watts yelled and pulled out his sidearm, aiming it directly at Ren's head.**

"**What are you doing director, pointing that thing at me? Are you trying to take over the ship?" Ren asked calmly, not allowing the stress to get to him.**

"**Trying? I've been in charge from the beginning! Your job is to follow **_**my**_** orders! Yet you keep questioning me!" Watts roared and kept his gun trained on Ren.**

"**Message from the Doolittle, Peacemaker squads are ready to launch." A nervous member of the bridge crew reported trying to diffuse the situation.**

"**Then have them set off! Have Raider, Calamity and Forbidden fall back to escort them at once!"**

"**Y-yes sir!"**

"**That thing will no longer be a threat if we end this war by destroying Menagerie. Simply put, all faunus are a threat to humanity, and our mission here is to exterminate them all." Watts spat out.**

"Naïve, that's assuming the White Fang won't just pull the trigger anyways out of revenge." Ironwood growled and itched to just punch Watts in the face for personally screwing the entire situation to hell.

"People believe what they want to believe." Ozpin sighed.

"He always was too full of himself, nothing but an insect in the end." Cinder shrugged, waiting for the inevitable squashing.

"**The lunar base is completely gone. The Alliance cannot continue after that, damnit Ren, retreat already!" Jaune murmured as the Archangel shuddered under enemy fire.**

"**Target Laurasia class, Gottfried fire!" Jaune ordered and the Archangel's main guns fired, four beams piercing through the enemy battleship and sending it up in flames.**

"**Captain! The Dominion and four Agamemnon class carriers are on the move!" Jaune blinked and brought up the map, staring at the arrows indicating the ships in question and mentally calculating their projected route.**

"**That must be the nuclear unit… you're kidding, even with that thing there, they're still headed for Menagerie!?" Jaune slammed a fist on the arm rest and sent a transmission to the Eternal and the Kusanagi.**

"**Klein, the Archangel will go after the Dominion and those nukes. Eternal and Kusanagi push on to Genesis, we'll rendezvous with you later."**

"Oh… is this… is this the part where we fight?" Jaune asked quietly.

"Sadly so." Blank said.

Ren said nothing and simply closed his eyes with a sigh, Nora grabbed onto his arm and tightened her grip.

"**But that's-" Ren's protests were interrupted once more by the director.**

"**Minimise losses and maximise enemy casualties. That's how wars are fought! So do your god damned job and follow orders!"**

**Ren cursed internally as he recalled the last conversation he had with Jaune before his transfer to the Dominion. And their dissenting opinions on military regulations then.**

"**The military must be strictly regulated. It should consist of soldiers who promptly follow the orders of their superiors, and a commander with the full picture who can make the appropriate decisions. Otherwise battles cannot be won no matter how many troops or ships you have." He had said then. And those words were now back to haunt him in force.**

**Jaune's only response was to smile back and reaffirm his faith in him. "I'm sure you'll make an excellent captain one day."**

"**Archangel approaching, distance nine thousand." One of the bridge crew reported as the stare off between Watts and Ren continued.**

"**Now that you understand what I'm saying, get back to work. Today we sink that ship of traitors once and for all." Watts continued, a mad smile peeking through his moustache.**

**Ren grit his teeth and returned to his seat, turning his focus back to the battle. 'Some captain I turned out to be.'**

"Heh, so he's just another tin soldier too eh?" Qrow grimaced and shifted in his seat.

"Uncle Qrow! You can't say that!" Ruby scolded but Qrow just shook his head.

"Maybe it's the gun, maybe it's his loyalty, the point is he knows his orders are wrong, and he's still carrying them out anyway."

"Soldiers follow orders." Ironwood said, slightly ill at having to vocalise those words in this context.

"Yeah? And I'm sure if you were a private and a general ordered you to shoot a bunch of babies you'd do it in a heartbeat because 'just following orders' right?" Qrow sighed and started chugging from his bottle.

"That's different, some orders are blatantly illegal." Ironwood said.

"Yeah? Sure about that? Instead of attacking the superweapon, they're gonna blow up civilians in their own homes. Sure, I guess if you can't see the babies you're killing, it doesn't matter right? Just push a button, just give the order, hell it's Mount Glenn all over again." Torchwick commented snidely.

**Emerald frowned as her deployment orders came in, as expected the Alliance were launching nukes again and she was to intercept them before they could threaten the motherland. "They're coming, Sustrai squadron, scatter. Do not allow a single one of those missiles through!"**

"**Yes Ma'am!" Came the replies of her squad. Emerald growled as several familiar signatures appeared on radar.**

"**Those three again." She gunned the Duel's thrusters and shot forwards to engage the Ace Ops, her men would deal with the missiles while she kept the enemy aces occupied.**

"Go me." Emerald cheered for herself quietly, ignoring the heavy atmosphere elsewhere.

"**How can you people do something like this with no remorse?" Ruby questioned angrily as the Freedom sped towards the Peacemakers. **

**Locking onto as many missiles as she could, she unloaded the Meteor's entire arsenal to shoot down the nukes and Blake did the same in the Justice. Countless nuclear flares erupted as the nukes exploded, bathing everything in its cursed brilliance.**

**Emerald heave a small sigh of relief upon spotting the explosions and the Freedom and Justice engaging the Peacemakers. With them dealing with the main threat, she could focus more on the Ace Ops.**

**Dodging and returning fire as best she could, the three on one fight was one of the hardest she'd ever encountered. Their machines being more advanced models than her Duel did not help matters.**

"**Gah!" Emerald grunted as her machine took a hit from behind when Raider managed to get by her defences.**

"**That's it! DIE!" Harriet laughed as she started charging the Raider's plasma cannon, intending to wipe the Duel away in one hit. She never got the chance when the Raider's back exploded from taking a hit, cancelling her attack.**

"**What?" Emerald looked about for her saviour and noticed the Buster hanging off nearby.**

"**Mercury?"**

"Heh, looks like someone needs saving huh? Go Mercury instead." Mercury poked Emerald in the side and was rewarded with a swat to the head.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be annoying?" Emerald growled out, annoyed that her counterpart had to be saved by Mercury of all people.

"**Ready Gottfrieds and Valiants, target, Earth forces Agamemnon class at the front." Jaune gave the order as the Alliance fleet came within range of the Archangel's main guns. They were too late to stop the initial wave of Peacemakers from launching, but by sinking the Agamemnons, they would ensure the Peacemakers wouldn't be able to resupply again.**

"**Captain, the Dominion is moving to intercept us!" Jaune frowned at the report and stared at the viewscreen. The other Archangel class shifting in position to block the Agamemnons from being fired upon.**

"**FIRE!" Jaune and Ren gave the order at the same time. **

**Emerald lasers flashed across the void and landed mirroring blows on their targets. The Archangel class ships rumbled from the damage inflicted as both of them lost one of their gun turrets.**

"**Ren… damnit all! Keep firing! We can't let them launch those nukes again." Jaune commanded, a bitter pang shot through his heart at having to shoot at his friend.**

**On board the Dominion, Ren was just as enthused as Jaune was about having to fight, a brittle smile plastered itself across his face as he stared at the smoking Archangel still shooting back. "Heh, sorry, but I can't allow them to fire that weapon again. If this is the only way to do it, so be it."**

"**Missiles incoming! Shit we can't evade in time!" The Archangel's helmsmen cried as the ship rumbled from the hits.**

"**Damage report!" Jaune shouted and grit his teeth when he found out Valiant number two had been destroyed by a lucky missile the CIWS had failed to shoot down.**

"**Return fire!" The Archangel's sole remaining Gottfried fired, the emerald beams striking the dominions own and destroying it instantly.**

**Ren grunted as a series of explosions ran through the Dominion from the direct hit. A quick survey indicated engine output was down to seventy percent after several key systems had been damaged by the strike. Watts was leaning against the back wall, mad laughter occasionally leaving the panicking director.**

'**Can we end this? Yes… this will all end if we can destroy Menagerie completely.' Ren thought to himself, before another memory of his last meeting with Jaune popped up.**

"**A lot has come between us, but I'm grateful for your help. Whatever your new post, I'm sure you'll do just as well there."**

**Ren flinched and clenched his fist. 'If that was true why do I feel like this!?'**

"Friends fighting friends… it's cruel." Summer shook her head in sadness.

"And neither of them is backing down… this will end in tears." Taiyang said grimly.

**Klein frowned as the White Fang ships continued obstructing their progress towards Genesis. Picking up the phone, he sent a transmission through to the captain of the Kusanagi, Hazel. "We're breaking through their right flank, Kusanagi!"**

"**Got it, ready Lohengrin, target enemy Nazcar class. Fire at will!" Hazel ordered and the Kusanagi's positron cannon fired, the red beam punching through the enemy ship's armour and piercing all the way through to the other side, sinking it instantly.**

**Hazel's triumphant grin was wiped away quickly when several blue dots vanished from his tactical map. The Astrays they represented blown away by enemy Strike Daggers.**

"**Damnit, we can't keep losing men like this. Our escort is thinning as it is." Hazel growled as he watched the Strike Rouge exact vengeance for the fallen.**

"**And please try to stay safe princess." The giant of a man groaned as Yang continued fighting against the Alliance forces trying to escort the Peacemaker units past her sector.**

"Princess!? I'm a princess!? Aww yes!" Yang cheered.

"You were adopted into the ruling family of a nation so yes." Blank said.

"Adopted? Then… what happened to… umm us?" Taiyang asked.

"You were the one who adopted her actually. That version of Ruby and Yang wound up adopted by different people due to… extenuating circumstances regarding their biological father in that world." Blank replied.

"And who was that?" Summer asked.

"Merlot. A man dedicated enough to science to use his own daughter for his experiments in an attempt to create the ultimate faunus. And that was after being responsible for the creation of that world's Adam Taurus as well."

Insanely high levels of killing intent started leaking from the family as they processed Blank's words and what it implied.

"Ahem, before you all get too angry, I will mention that fortunately for all involved, the project succeeded and Ruby became far stronger than would have been possible otherwise and there were no adverse side effects for her. Also, he wounded up assassinated a little while later so no more experiments from him." Blank explained further.

"What was that about creating Adam Taurus anyways?" Winter asked to change the subject.

"Truth is a little complicated, but suffice to say, he's a clone and grew up with a front row seat to the darkness lurking in the human soul. Thanks to imperfections in the cloning process, he's also living on a time limit and his greatest desire is to see mankind drive itself to extinction before his own demise." Blank said.

**Nuclear flares erupted again as Ruby caught up to the missiles and shot them down with a full burst from her weapons. She winced as several cannon rounds narrowly missed her, Harriet once more swinging round in the Raider to protect the Peacemakers.**

"**Blake!" She yelled into her mike as the Raider wouldn't stop its harassment.**

"**Got it, you go after the missiles, I'll handle this one." Blake replied and engaged her Meteor's beam sabers, the giant laser blades leaving a pink trail in their wake as she tried to cut down the enemy.**

**On board the Doolittle, Cordovin glared at the battle in the distance, her mood souring with every report of the Peacemaker numbers dwindling. With the Freedom and Justice constantly running interference, it wouldn't matter if the Peacemakers got to pick up a new set of nukes from their Agamemnons, they'd just be shot down again.**

"**All ships, focus your fire on those two machines, I want them shot down!"**

**The Ace Ops were happy to obliged as they renewed their offensive against the two Gundams that had humiliated them repeatedly ever since their first encounter.**

"**What the hell is with you people!? What are you fighting so desperately for!?" Harriet roared into her comms as Blake continued trying to cut her down. **

"**Us!? I'm the one who should be asking that! What the hell are you even fighting for!?" Blake yelled back as she fired a salvo of missiles at the Raider, only to have it shoot them all down with a mix of cannon fire and crimson plasma beams.**

"**Heh! How should I know!? It's kill or be killed!" Harriet laughed back as her machine evaded another beam saber swing and retaliated with her rocket flail.**

"**Of course, I have no intention of losing here. So die already!"**

"Eh, not dying is a pretty excellent motivator." Roman shrugged, it was why he ended up working for Cinder after all. He'd take whichever option didn't lead to him being cooked alive like the last idiot stupid to oppose her without a plan.

**Yang grinned when her shots connected with several nuclear missiles, sending them up in a brilliant flare. "Heh, not bad for a rookie hu- crap!"**

**In her excitement she failed to notice Vine lining up a shot on her with his Forbidden Gundam. As the scarlet beam of light surged towards her, her view was suddenly obstructed by the back of the Duel when it blocked the shot for her.**

**Emerald said nothing as she returned fire on the Forbidden, her beam rifle shots forcing Vine to hide behind his shield or be destroyed.**

**While he was busy blocking Emerald's attacks, Mercury linked the Buster's two main guns together into super shotgun mode and fired on the Forbidden. The solid rounds going through Vine's beam deflector shield and forcing them open from the impact.**

**Not wasting the opportunity, Emerald discarded her rifle and drew her beam saber, dashing in close for a melee kill to avoid any more of that annoying blocking.**

"**Heh." Vine chuckled and the Forbidden snapped up, the damaged shields a feint to hide the charging chest cannon. Firing it at point blank range, the attack was more than powerful enough to break through the Duel's obsolete shield and scrap the mobile suit behind it.**

**He was rewarded with a giant explosion and grinned when he thought his opponent was down for the count. That smirk was wiped away when the Duel burst through the smoke two sabers in hand, it's external armour completely gone, having sacrificed them to block the hit.**

"**HYAAAH!" Emerald roared as she reached the Forbidden, one saber came up and neatly lopped off the Forbidden's arms, taking it's scythe with it. The other came up shortly after and stabbed straight through Vine's cockpit, vaporising the pilot within.**

**As the Duel pulled back, the Forbidden sparked in place for a few moments before exploding, destroying the machine completely.**

"Yep, it's official, I'm awesome." Emerald preened as her other self cemented their badassery on screen.

"Yeah well you only got that chance because I helped." Mercury said and rolled his eyes.

"Shut up and just gimme this." Emerald shoved a palm in his face and pushed him away, not wanting his ugly mug to despoil her moment of triumph.

"Saved by those two? Ugh… that feels so wrong somehow." Yang shook her head, disappointed that her counterpart had needed saving, and by Cinder's goons of all people.

"The multiverse is a large place, they aren't always bad guys you know." Blank said.

"I know, I know, it's just… weird, that's all."

**Several Strike daggers were in the midst of retreating from their opponent when they were promptly blown to pieces. Adam's Providence emerged from the shadow of an asteroid as his dragoons returned to dock with the mobile suit.**

"**Heheheh… hahahahah! AHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAH!" Demented laughter filled the Providence's cockpit as Taurus continued watching the biggest battle of the war play out before him. Soon, just a little bit more and Genesis would fire, victory was his.**

"**Huh?" Taurus's intuition acted up and he forced the Providence to dodge to the side, several beam rifle shots flashed past where he was just in.**

"**Taurus!" Pyrrha roared as she fired on the Providence in the strike. Her eyes widened when she saw the Providence release its dragoons, the remote weapons moving rapidly to surround her for an omni directional attack.**

"**You're kidding, he can use that!?" The ace pilot was instantly reminded of her old Moebius Zero and its gun barrels, only there were a hell of a lot more than four drones this time and they weren't limited by wires.**

**Dodging as best she could, she put the Strike into a mad dash in one direction to break the encirclement. Gritting her teeth in anger as the dragoons returned to the Providence again, she yelled into the mic. "Is this what you were hoping for!?" **

"**It's not me!" Taurus yelled back and launched the dragoons again, the white trails left by the weapons a nightmarish sight to behold.**

"**This is what humanity dreamed of! What they prayed for! What they wrought!"**

"**Shit!" Pyrrha cursed when her mobile suit was too slow to turn and a lucky shot from one of the dragoons destroyed her beam rifle, robbing her of her one proper ranged weapon.**

"**To be stronger than others! To go further than others, to reach higher than anyone else!" Adam continued his tirade, pissing Pyrrha off even further.**

"**Eh! Don't joke with me!" Drawing the Strike's beam saber, she closed the distance and engaged in a saber duel with Adam.**

"**People compete, they get jealous and that leads to hate, and they end up eating away at one another!"**

"**All of this is a result of your twisted logic! I won't let you make things any worse!" Pyrrha yelled as Adam dodged away from her beam saber yet again, the Providence a far more manoeuvrable mobile suit than her own Strike.**

"**You're too late Nikos. I **_**am**_** the result of this twisted world, that's how I know!" Adam grinned and took in the glorious sight of humans and faunus slaughtering one another en masse all around him.**

"**I know that humanity will be wiped away, destroyed by the darkness they brought on themselves!" Adam launched the dragoons again, surround Pyrrha in a complete kill box this time.**

**As they fired, the Strike shuddered under the repeated hits parts of it being blown off, it's lower mobility severely hampering it's ability to dodge. Pyrrha screamed as her cockpit started filling with smoke, several explosions going off as the damage reverberated through her machine.**

"…He certainly has a way with words, I'll give him that." Ironwood admitted.

"He always had the effect, it's one of the reasons he rose through the ranks of the White Fang aside from his combat skills." Blake said, recalling how Adam's impassioned speeches had managed to dredge up support for the White Fang in the past.

"Pity he couldn't find a better use for it." Ozpin muttered.

**Ruby slashed at the Calamity Gundam, forcing Elm to back away. That put her right into the path of Blake's beam saber coming from behind. She barely had time to scream before her machine was bisected and destroyed.**

**Mercury evaded machine gun fire from his target before firing on the Agamemnon with his super shotgun, the spread shot punching through the damaged carrier and causing severe damage to its structural integrity. The explosions ripping through the ship finished it off as the stress tore the ship to pieces.**

"**Damnit, shoot them! Shoot them! Don't let them destroy our nukes!" Cordovin roared at her bridge crew before gasping in shock when the Duel flew by and came to a stop in front of the Doolittle's bridge, rifle pointed directly at them.**

**She got out of her seat and stared disbelievingly at her executioner before Emerald pulled the trigger. The rifle's underslung grenade launcher firing and breaching the bridge before exploding, wiping out the Peacemaker command team instantly. Several more well-placed shots sent the rest of the ship up in flames.**

**Weiss sighed heavily as the battle continued raging, showing no signs of calming down. "We probably could live without fighting. Yet so many of us choose to do so… for what? To protect something? What? Ourselves? The future? If we must kill to protect that, then what kind of a future would that even be?"**

**She watched on as Ruby swung the Meteor's beam saber down, bisecting the last Agamemnon carriers supplying the Peacemakers and destroying it.**

"**There's no future for the slain. And what about those whose hands are stained with blood? Is there even happiness to be found at the end of this blood-stained road? Truly?" Weiss sighed again as a transmission from the Archangel came through.**

"**Machines that need resupply return now. The alliance nuclear unit is finished, we'll handle the Dominion. The rest of you head to Genesis now, we're running out of time." Jaune said.**

"I don't know, a world where I've killed all my enemies sounds like a happy one to me." Cinder shrugged, not seeing what all the fuss was about.

"Ummhmm. Then I'm sure you don't mind if we return the favour and kill you for our own happiness, right?" Ren shot back.

"You can try. You will fail." Cinder replied.

"We'll see, we'll see." Ren muttered.

"**Engine propulsion down seventy percent, we're stuck until maintenance can get the damage under control." Jaune frowned at report from engineering, his evasive options weren't good. And to be honest, he'd much prefer if the Gundams stuck around to provide support against the Dominion, but alas, they had more important jobs to do.**

**His heart skipped a beat when the last piece of news he wanted to hear came from the CIC. "The Strike is returning, it's heavily damaged! Incoming transmission."**

"**Eh?" Jaune whispered as he put the transmission through and Pyrrha's face occupied one of the screens.**

"**Kuh, it's Taurus's new machine. I'll get him next time." Pyrrha reported and Jaune waved it off.**

"**You can report it later. Return immediately! Someone get ground teams to prepare for an emergency landing, medical teams on standby in the hangar. Hurry!"**

"**Heh, thanks cap." Pyrrha tried to offer a reassuring smile even through the pain.**

"Whew, looks like Pyrrha made it back safely after all." Ruby sighed and relaxed into her seat, only to freeze when she felt the glares from Yang and Qrow drilling into her.

"Oh my god Rubes! Why would you say that!? I'm so sorry about this cereal girl." Yang buried her face in her hands and groaned.

"RUBY! What have I said about jinxing things!" Qrow yelled.

"Bu- I didn't mean… oh noes." Ruby sputtered incoherently before turning back to watch in horrified silence.

**Watts managed to refrain from screaming at the top of his lungs as his prized nukes went down with the Agamemnons, and with them all hope of destroying Menagerie.**

"**Their fault, it's all that accursed ship's fault!" He glared hatefully at the Archangel. A mad gleam entered his eyes when he noticed the damaged Strike returning to the ship.**

"**That machine… this is our chance! They're trying to retrieve it, they can't dodge like this. Ready the Lohengrin, blow them all to hell! Hurry and sink that damned ship!"**

"**No! Stop it! Archangel! Get out of there now!" Penny broke under the strain of having to face her former friends and refused to be accessory to their murders. Trying to get a message across to tell her friends to evade, she was thwarted when Watts reached over and pulled her away from the console. **

"**How dare you!? What the hell is wrong with you bitch!?" Watts roared and backhanded Penny across the face, sending her tumbling back in the zero-gravity environment.**

**Drawing his sidearm, Watts tried firing on Penny only to have Ren tackle him and push the gun away, causing a misfire and the bullets to ricochet around the bridge, drawing screams of terror from the other crew members.**

"**What the hell do you think you're doing!?" Ren roared at him as he pushed Watts arm down, keeping the gun away from anyone.**

"You have my thanks for that Mr Lie." Ironwood nodded at Ren for saving Penny.

"Um, you're welcome I think." Ren replied.

"**Bastard! Get your hands off of me!" Watts yelled and continued struggling with the captain before reaching out with his other hand to strangle Ren.**

"**Geh! All hands, abandon ship! That's an order!" Ren roared as he kicked off the ground, pulling them both away from the exit and allowing the bridge crew to file out of the area.**

"**LIE REN!" Watts intensified his attempts to choke the life out of Ren before looking to the mutinying crew.**

"**You bastards! Come back! Garhhah!" His attempt to raise his pistol and shoot them for desertion was once again thwarted by Ren.**

"**Hurry! Head to the Archangel!" Ren gave Penny a small smile as he urged the girl to run. There was no need for her to go down with the doomed ship.**

"**You bastard! What have you done!?" Watts roared as the doors shut behind Penny.**

"**As the captain, I have to ahhg!" Ren screamed as a gunshot went off, the bullet piercing through his side and staining his pristine white uniform scarlet.**

**Watts shoved the wounded captain away and shot him one last glare before making for the door himself. "You bitch! I hope you realise what's coming to you for your treachery."**

"**Ergh!" Ren grunted in pain as he pulled himself towards the captain's chair and hit the emergency override, causing metal shutters to spring up in front of the door and sealing them both inside the bridge.**

"**You're a monster who deserves to die here with me!"**

"**What? How dare you!" Watts raised his pistol and fired again, this time the bullet struck Ren on his shoulder, sending him stumbling back in pain.**

"Ren? I don't think I want to keep watching this." Nora said quietly before hugging Ren and burying her face in his shirt, refusing to look up again until it was over.

The taciturn boy said nothing, simply stroking her hair gently to calm her down.

"**Sir, lifeboats are leaving the Dominion!"**

"**What? What's going on, the Dominion shouldn't be that badly damaged to require abandonment. Never mind, has the Strike been retrieved yet?" Jaune asked.**

"**Not yet Captain, it'll arrive in just a bit more."**

"Heh, guess I'm not gonna make it too huh?" Pyrrha laughed self-deprecatingly as even she managed to notice the signs of her own impending doom.

"Tch, ah well, let no one say Yang Xiao Long isn't generous." Yang got up from Jaune's lap before picking up the champion to her great surprise and planting her back down on her recently vacated seat.

"Hugs, now. Go on Jaune, do your thing." Yang gently shooed Jaune and her fellow blonde complied, wrapping Pyrrha up in a big hug.

"**This is no time for jokes! Open the damned door!" Watts roared as Ren gave him a pained smile but refused to budge. He growled and fired his pistol again, shooting Ren in the leg this time.**

"**Ahhrhghg!" Ren screamed as agony shot through him from the new wound.**

"**Fuck! I'm not dying in a place like this! I will win, I always win!" Watts muttered to himself as he giggled madly. Dashing over to the weapons console, he grinned as he noticed its previous occupant had been kind enough to begin the targeting and activation process for the Lohengrin.**

"**Watts… what the hell are you doing!?" Ren managed to get out but was powerless to do anything but watch as Watts continued keying in commands to finish the process.**

"**That's right… I always win!" Watts giggled as the process completed and he hit the enter key, firing the Lohengrin towards the still stricken Archangel.**

**Jaune's eyes widened when he saw the Dominion fire on them. "Evade!"**

"**Can't, we won't make it in time!" The helmsman reported as he did his best to try and move the ship to no avail. The engines were still barely operational and they didn't have a chance of dodging.**

**The glare of the incoming positron blast was cut off when the damaged Strike manoeuvred into position, blocking the hit with its shield. The Lohengrin blast failed to penetrate the shield as sparked flew, damaging the Archangel's paintjob but doing no serious damage.**

**Jaune could only watch on in horror as one last transmission came through from the Strike. "Hehhehe… I always knew I could make the impossible possible."**

**As the beam began to diminish, the already severe damage to the Strike was exacerbated and the end of the attack coincided with the Gundam's detonation and the transmission cutting to static.**

**Jaune shook his head in denial as tears started leaking into zero gee. He buried his face in his hands to try and block out the sight. "ahah… aaahhh… PYRRHAAAAAAA!"**

**Watts glance at the screen in disbelief. The Archangel was still intact even after the smoke cleared. "No… this cannot be… this cannot be happening!"**

"**You lose Watts." Ren grinned at the doomed director, glad at least that for all his mistakes, he would at least succeed in escorting the man responsible for the war to the gates of hell himself.**

"**You bastard!" Watts picked up Ren by his lapels and threw him across the bridge again, causing the fatally wounded Captain to grunt in pain again. Drawing his pistol and pointing it at Ren, pure rage had consumed him.**

"**The Dominion is still approaching!" Those words managed to snap Jaune out of his grief momentarily as he glared at the enemy battleship.**

"**Ready the Lohengrin." Jaune said tersely. Dominion would sink for this.**

"**I have had it with you!" Watts yelled as he shot Ren through his good shoulder again and his gun clicked empty.**

**Ren screwed his eyes shut in pain and roared one last time. "FIRE! JAUNE ARC!"**

**Watts heard the alarm start to blare and turned around. His face fell as he saw the beam approaching the bridge. "AAAAHHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"**

**Ren smiled as his vision faded completely. The Archangel's shot hit a split second later, blowing away the entire bridge and sending the Dominion up in flames.**

**Jaune managed to hold it together long enough to see the Dominion explode before breaking down again. "B-but you said… you were coming back…"**

"Damn you Watts. Damn you to hell." Ironwood's fingers twitched, his heavily deformed armrest no longer a viable stress ball.

"So we're both dead. Jaune's the sole survivor out of the three of us then?" Ren asked while continuing to stroke Nora's hair.

"Not quite, only your counterpart perishes in this battle." Blank replied.

"What? Umm, not be a wet blanket or anything, but that looked pretty definitive for Pyrrha." Weiss pointed out.

"True, but this is honestly nothing new for that particular machine. This is the second time it's saved the life of its pilot from certain death, the first happened when Ruby was piloting it and she survived an enemy self-destruct that effectively scrapped the Strike too." Blank said.

"Ahh… that's a relief then… it is a good thing, right?" Blake hedged.

"In a manner of speaking. That Pyrrha Nikos ends up amnesiac and kinda brainwashed into fighting for the Earth Alliance again during the second war." Blank said.

"Oh." Jaune's one word summed it up.

"She does regain her memories though, thanks to pulling a repeat performance of blocking another positron cannon blast. That time she has a better machine and so this doesn't happen again."

"That's good? I think?" Pyrrha offered unsurely.

"**Ah Watts, what a disappointment you are. I gave you the keys to victory and you squandered it all." Adam shook his head upon noticing the wreckage of the Dominion and the still largely intact Archangel. No matter, that ship had been just as much of a thorn in his side as it had been to the late director, time to end things.**

"**Mobile suit incoming! It doesn't match any known signatures!" Jaune snapped out of his funk at the report but could only stare blankly at the screens before him. But there was still enough left in him to send a message to the Buster and the Duel informing them of the potential threat.**

"**One of ours? I don't recognise the model." Emerald muttered as she noticed the incoming Providence bearing a White Fang signature.**

"**Fuck, now of all times!? Damnit all!" Mercury swore and started firing on the Providence, trying to keep it away from the Archangel. His shot managed to keep Adam from sniping the Archangel's bridge and he was promptly rewarded with the dragoons launching.**

"**What the hell is that?" Mercury pushed the Buster into full reverse to get away from whatever that attack was. His radar beeped as the Freedom was approaching, Ruby providing fire support from long range.**

**It wasn't enough.**

**The providence simply dodged away from Ruby's attacks and opened fire with his dragoons. The bit weapons firing on both mobile suits at the same time. The speedier Freedom managed to dodge the shots, the Buster on the other hand didn't have a prayer.**

"**What!? Aahrhrhg!" Mercury grit his teeth as the beams struck his buster, blowing through the Phase Shift armour and heavily damaging his unit. There wasn't anything he could do except sit in the cockpit as things exploded around him.**

"That attack is bullshit. What's the counter to that?" Mercury complained.

"Not get shot, duh." Emerald couldn't resist the opportunity to rib him back.

"Like hell that's the strategy."

"It is actually." Blank said.

"Come again?" Emerald looked to Blank in confusion, not expecting him to confirm her words.

"Those remote weapons are usually instant win conditions in the various Gundam universes. Too small and too fast to hit compared to a standard mobile suit yet still packing enough punch to be lethal. Thus far, strategies to deal with them usually fall into one of three things. Run like hell, a mad charge to try and kill the user before they kill you, or jam them. You could try shooting them down, but naturally, that's easier said then done." Blank said.

"Hmm… interesting concept… Penny's weapons are already a similar existence. If we could fit beam projectors on all of them… interesting." Ironwood mused and wrote his thoughts down in a note book, more things for Atlas R&D to work on when he returned.

"**Not you again. You're a pest Ruby Rose." Adam snarled as the Freedom continued dodging his dragoons.**

"**Tch." Adam pulled his dragoons back from delivering the coup de grace to Mercury when Ruby unloaded a salvo of missiles in his direction. The Dragoons arranged themselves around the Providence and fired, creating a beam netting that the missiles exploded harmlessly against.**

**Bursting through the smoke, Taurus fired his beam rifle, striking one of the Meteor's arm cannons and forcing Ruby to abandon it or be caught in the explosion.**

"**Why you!" Ruby ignited the meteor's beam saber and attempted to cut down the Providence. But Adam's mobility allowed him to dodge and get the second hit in. A pink beam cut down and bisected the second arm cannon, leaving Ruby with only the booster attached.**

**She was forced to retreat again when Adam sent all the dragoons after her and added to their fire with his own beam rifle and machine guns. "You're something that cannot be allowed to exist!"**

"**What!?" Ruby jerked the control stick to the left to evade another barrage of attacks. Retaliating with missiles, they were once again shot down by the dragoons or destroyed by a swing from the Providence's beam saber.**

"He's completely overpowered." Jaune spat out in frustration.

"No kidding. Come on, kick his ass Rubes!" Yang cheered her sister on.

"**Ugh! Controls aren't responding! Move damn you! Move!" Mercury continued trying to work the controls but the Buster was completely non-responsive now. The alarm wouldn't stop blaring and sparks continued to rain from the damaged machinery inside the cockpit.**

**Emerald arrived in the Duel to try and stabilise the Buster or evacuate Mercury if it came to it. Before she could do anything however, her machine shuddered as several cannon bullets pinged off it, the Raider having returned to try and take them all down.**

"**Kuh!" Emerald bit back a curse when her rifle was destroyed by a lucky hit, leaving her with only the Duel's head vulcans that simply didn't pack enough punch.**

"**Mercury, gimme that! There's no way I'm losing to this guy!" Emerald yelled and ripped the Buster's main gun away from the damaged suit, once it synced up to her systems, she noticed it had one shot left. It would have to be enough.**

"**Ahahahahhah!" Harriet laughed madly as she started charging the Raider's plasma cannon for one final attack as Emerald did the same.**

**Firing at the same time, the red and yellow beams crossed, the Duel's shoulder armour melted off when the plasma scored a hit on it. As Emerald's suit ran out of power and turned grey when the Phase Shift deactivated, the Raider shot past her, continuing for a few moments more before exploding. The Ace Ops were finally finished.**

"What a shame." Ironwood sighed as he watched the last of the alternate versions of his men go down fighting.

"If only they weren't under the command of Watts." Winter commiserated.

"Heh, I just save your life Merc, anything to add?" Emerald teased and Mercury rolled his eyes.

"I'm not sure that counts, you lost your weapon and I gave you mine."

"Technically I took it from your wrecked machine."

"**If people hear of you, they'll want to be you!" Adam continued speaking as he harassed Ruby with the dragoons. Evading the counter attack with ease, he didn't let up on the offensive.**

"**Because they want to be like you!"**

"**That kind of thing! Lies!" Ruby growled as she drew her mobile suits beam sabers and used them to deflect incoming fire, unable to use her shield while still docked to the meteor.**

"**It's reality! And that's why your existence cannot be permitted."**

"**I… even so I… my strengths aren't the only thing that make me who I am!" Ruby yelled back.**

"**Huh! And who the hell is going to believe that after they see what you can do? You think they'll understand? They won't understand! No one will!" Adam yelled as he rained lasers down on Ruby, forcing the Freedom to dodge towards him and opening it up to a melee strike that cut off a section of the Meteor's boosters.**

**Ruby winced from the impact before catching sight of one of the lifeboats from the Dominion. Zooming in on the window revealed her old friend Penny seated there. "Penny?"**

**Ejecting from the doomed Meteor support unit as the dragoons riddled it with holes and blew it to hell. She noticed the Providence taking aim at the life boat, Adam clearly having noticed it as well and aiming to destroy it.**

**Ruby heaved a sigh of relief when she just managed to block the shot with the Freedom's shield at the last second.**

**That smile faded into a horrified expression when Adam refused to relent. Firing on the lifeboat with one of the dragoons instead. The beam piercing straight through the small craft and destroying it instantly, killing everyone aboard and due to the proximity, granting Ruby a front row seat to her friend's death.**

**His target destroyed and the Freedom engulfed in the blast. Adam smiled before jetting away to spread chaos elsewhere.**

"That bastard!" Ironwood roared as Adam murdered Penny in front of all of them.

"Why? Why would he do that?" Ruby asked in a small voice.

"You mean aside from the part where he wants all of humanity dead?" Cinder chuckled snidely, getting a portion of the audience to glare at her again.

"He did it because he could, and to hurt you. You care too much, so by having you fail to save them when you were so close, there aren't many more ways to strike at you directly to be honest aside from going after the people around you." Blank said.

**Ghira sat in the command centre continuing to monitor the battle data trickling in. He heaved a small sigh of relief when sensors could detect no more nuclear missiles approaching Menagerie. 'So their nuclear unit got taken out huh? Excellent. Now just to sink that damned Eternal.'**

**He glared at Weiss's ship, the Eternal and the Kusanagi were still firing on the Genesis with everything they had, trying to break through the Phase Shift armour and start damaging the weapon enough to take it offline.**

"**It's just two ships, hurry and sink them!" His words received a round of unsure whispering as the other White Fang members weren't sure about firing on their own.**

"**Mirror block replacement should be complete, next target, Atlantic Federation headquarters of North America." His orders were met with even more hesitation.**

"**Chairman?" One of his aides asked unsurely, trying to dissuade his leader from his course of actions.**

"**The alliance is already crushed, they can't continue this battle, we've already won. There's no need to fire the Genesis on Earth."**

"**It's because we've won that we must fire! So those bastard humans cannot threaten Menagerie ever again. Hurry and input the targets, fire as soon as Genesis is ready, burn that miserable planet to ashes." Ghira waved aside the man's concerns.**

"**Sir!? But our forces are still in the way! They won't be able to clear the firing arc in time with the Alliance's forces locked in combat with them. And what about our men on the planet itself? Carpentaria base, Gibraltar, the African corps?" The aide continued protesting.**

"**They are soldiers doing what they must to win this war for the faunus. I'm sure they've already resolved themselves." Ghira said callously.**

"**But chairman! We can't-" Ghira released a long-suffering sigh and stood up, spinning around with pistol in hand, he planted two shots into the aide's torso, fatally wounding the faunus.**

"**Hurry and input those coordinates, the sooner Genesis fires, the sooner we win." Turning away from the man, he repeated his order to fire. There was even more unsure mumbling now but he was pleased the other command staff did as he bid.**

"**Aiming Genesis, target Earth, Atlantic Federation capital, Washington." **

"He just shot his own for a reasonable protest? And he's planning on killing more of his men just to wipe out humanity? Dear god, he's just like Watts now." Ironwood said, and Blake's ears started drooping upon hearing it.

"**We're running out of time, the Genesis is too heavily armoured to destroy like this. We'll break into Jachin itself to destroy the controls and stop it that way. I'm leaving the Meteor here, it's out of missiles and low on fuel." Blake said as she noted the mirror block's movements slowing down, indicating it was almost in position.**

"**It'll be fine, trust us." Yang said as well to reassure a worried Weiss.**

"**Stay safe." The Schnee said as Hazel detailed two of the last Astrays to join the Justice and the Strike Rouge as escorts to their destination.**

"**Mobile suit approaching! Unknown signature!" Those words got Weiss's eyes to widen in surprise.**

"**What!? Shit, whose unit is it?" Klein asked.**

"**I have a bad feeling about this." Weiss muttered as she noted the blue glow in the distance headed straight for them.**

"**It's such a shame. You know, I really did enjoy listening to your songs. But the world is nowhere near as kind as that!" Adam laughed as he launched the dragoons and started firing wildly, aiming to sink the Kusanagi and Eternal before they could mess up his plans any further.**

"**Shit what the hell is that!? Hard to port! Evade!" Klein roared as the beams started raining down around them. He braced as the ship shuddered from multiple explosions, glaring at the Providence when the last of their mobile suit cover was exterminated in the blink of an eye.**

"Ah damnit, we picked the worse possible time to leave!" Yang complained, wishing their counterparts had stuck around for a bit more to deal with Taurus before rushing off to Genesis.

"Relax, things work out." Blank said.

"They do? Looking pretty screwed to me." Roman shrugged.

**Several beam rifle shots lanced towards the Providence, and the Gundam halted its attack on the ships to deal with the newcomer. Adam shook his head in exasperation as the Freedom returned to challenge him.**

"**Not you, not you of all people!" Ruby exchanged fire with the Providence, forcing Taurus to fall back in the direction of the Genesis and away from the ships.**

"**Heh! You can shout all you want but it's already too late!" Taurus replied and continued shooting with his beam rifle and beam machine gun mounted on his shield, uncaring that a few of his dragoons had already been shot down by the still improving Ruby.**

"**EEHH!" Ruby roared as she shot down a few more dragoons, pushing the Freedom's performance to the absolute limit.**

"Whew, I made it in time. Yeah! Go me! For Penny!" Ruby cheered as her counterpart slowly forced Adam back.

"Calm down Ruby, you're getting popcorn all over the place." Taiyang chided as his daughter refused to stop bouncing in place and throwing punches in the air.

"**Stop it! Stop fighting already! This has gone on long enough!" Blake roared into an open channel, as their progress towards Jachin was met with spirited defence from the White Fang lines.**

"**Will you people only be satisfied when everything's been destroyed!?" The Justice fired its beam cannons, blowing away several White Fang mobile suits that refused to budge from their path.**

"**But the fired the first shot!"**

"**My younger brother was on Boaz!"**

"**Shit." Blake cursed as the replies flooded in, all of them clamouring for vengeance against humanity for what they did in the war.**

**Turning off the channel to avoid listening to any more, she had the Justice blow open a section of the base that had been weakened in an earlier Alliance assault and dashed into the opening. The Strike Rouge and the Astrays followed behind shortly after.**

"So much hate." Goodwitch muttered and shook her head.

"Destroying the weapon alone won't solve anything if that hatred isn't dispelled." Ozpin said.

"Indeed. The post war governments did their best to try to put the world back together again and tried to sweep everything under the rug since all sides were guilty of war crimes and attempted genocide with superweapons. That led to resentment and hate festering in the background until things went red hot again in the second war." Blank said.

**The Providence and Freedom clashed repeatedly, their beam sabers meeting again and again in a shower of sparks. Adam grinned as the clock continued ticking towards the end. "This is humanity's destiny! We knew where this path led and still we walked it!"**

"**What are you talking about!?" Ruby roared back.**

"**Hahaha! People have faith in **_**justice**_** and hide from things they don't understand. They don't learn, they don't bother to ask, just blindly pushing ahead. And THIS is what lies at the end of that road! There's no longer any way to stop it!"**

**The two Gundams separated in a flash as Adam recalled the dragoons for another wave of attacks. "And then mankind will be extinct, just as they should be!"**

"**Like I'll let that happen!" Ruby screamed.**

"**Your logic is twisted!"**

"**Well that's how people think Ruby." Adam replied with a smirk.**

"**No! You're wrong! People… people are nothing like that!" Ruby unfolded the Freedom's wing mounted plasma cannon and the hip mounted railguns, firing them at the same time and piercing through two dragoons, destroying them.**

"**Ha! How aren't they like that!? Where's your proof!? This is a world where people live with eyes and souls full of hate! Where fingers have no purpose other than to pull triggers!" Adam roared as he landed a hit on the Freedom's right leg, blowing it off.**

"**What do you believe and why do you even believe it!?"**

"**You grew up never learning anything else, you never even tried!" Ruby yelled back as she slammed her beam saber down on the Providence's shield again.**

"**Of course I wouldn't know anything else, in the first place, people only know and care about themselves!" Taurus replied with a laugh.**

**As Ruby was forced back by the dragoons, she couldn't help but recall her past experiences. Loathe as she was to admit it, the madman did make a certain amount of sense.**

"What kind of sense could he possibly be making!? He's just a mad man trying to destroy the entire world!" Winter protested.

"Maybe, but he's not entirely wrong. You're a Schnee, remind me again how your father reached the top of the business world again?" Torchwick pointed out and Winter fell silent.

"Whatever his faults, Jacques Schnee is just one man, he's hardly evidence to judge all of humanity by you know." Ozpin shook his head.

"Oh yeah, if it were just him that' be true I guess. But all you need to do is head to Atlas, I'm not sure if you can walk five minutes in any direction without finding someone who believes their station in life is preordained and the people of Mantle or the faunus who get stepped on in the process are beneath notice." Torchwick fired back again.

"Hell, let's not even go that far alright, even in _progressive_ Vale alone, there's still enough resentment amongst the faunus that it was so easy for the White Fang to gain a foothold. I don't like the man, but I will admit he has a point." Torchwick finished and the theatre was silent.

"**Do you still wish to suffer? Telling yourself someday… eventually… how long have you been fighting with your thoughts clouded by such poison!?" Adam said before bursting into laughter.**

"**Ahahhaha! It doesn't matter anymore. No matter what happens now, I've already won."**

"**What!?" Ruby glared at the Providence and destroyed several more dragoons**

"**Jachin will self-destruct, and when it does, the nuclear detonation will cause Genesis to fire! It's already aimed at Earth, it doesn't matter where it hits now!"**

**Inside the base itself, Blake and Yang had already breached the wing of the base where the command centre was located. Fighting through the corridors, Blake gave thanks resistance was largely absent since no one expected an assault inside the base at this juncture.**

'**Father… please stop this madness.' Blake thought as she hurled another grenade to flush out several White Fang soldiers hiding behind a wall. Sadly, her prayers would not be answered.**

"**Damnit all, why would you even suggest not firing it. Our enemies are still out there." Ghira growled and took over one of the consoles, using his chairman override to initiate the self-destruct early and fire the Genesis.**

"**Damn… you." The aide he shot earlier managed to retain consciousness long enough to draw his own gun and shoot the chairman in the chest before expiring.**

**It was at this point that Blake and Yang made it into the command centre. The cat faunus's eyes widened as she noticed her father's mortally wounded form floating in place. "No…"**

**Lowering their rifles as they made their way in, they ignored the evacuating command staff fleeing the self-destruct.**

**Grabbing hold of Ghira, Blake gently lowered him to the ground, the man coughed before turning to face his daughter. "Fire… Genesis… make the world… ours…"**

**Ghira coughed one last time before going limp in Blake's arms. "No… father! FATHER!"**

**Blake punched the ground in anger and fought back the tears. Resting Ghira on the ground, she held back a sob as she made her way to a nearby console, trying to stop the Genesis so all this wouldn't have been for nothing.**

**Her eyes narrowed when the timer appeared and starting counting down, followed by the warning to evacuate the base immediately. "What… no… they set up the self-destruct to trigger Genesis. Shit! It's locked by the chairman's pass, I can't disable it!"**

**Blake slammed her palm down on the keyboard and looked back towards her father's body. "Damnit all, doing this won't bring anyone back!"**

"**So what do we do now?" Yang asked.**

"**Leave this place and try to shut it down from outside." Blake grimaced and began making her way towards the exit, the place wouldn't remain standing for long and staying inside the base was a death sentence.**

"Dad…" Blake mumbled under her breath.

"So they've been locked out, shit, what other options do they have?" Qrow chugged from his flask and leaned in for a better look.

"Blow it up from the inside maybe?" Jaune offered.

"That thing is huge, do they even have anything that can do it?" Ren asked.

"If only they had a few nukes to use on that thing!" Nora scratched her head in frustration, making a mess out of her hair that Ren started patting down immediately.

"**There's nothing that can stop it now!" Adam taunted his opponent.**

"**Earth will burn, and the ensuing tears and screams will trigger a new wave of battles! Ahahahah! Even without the Alliance's nukes, Menagerie will tear itself apart once they realise their own people murdered every single faunus still on the surface!"**

"**That can't be!" Ruby denied, refusing to accept it as inevitable. As she continued fighting against the Providence, she noticed the Justice and Strike Rouge passing by after escaping Jachin Due.**

"**Blake! Genesis is about to fire!" Ruby called out, hoping her friend would have a way to stop it.**

"**I know… I got it." Blake said and changed course, flying the Justice towards Genesis itself instead of returning to the rendezvous with the ships.**

"**What are you planning?" Yang asked.**

"**I'll have the Justice self-destruct inside the Genesis's core, the nuclear reactor on board should be just as powerful as one of the Alliance's nukes. Go, return to the Kusanagi." Blake said.**

"**Eh? Then what about you?" Yang asked, receiving silence as an answer. She growled and immediately shot of in pursuit of her wayward friend.**

"**You gotta be kidding me, senseless sacrifices aren't going to solve anything!"**

"I'm not planning on coming back from that am I?" Blake asked.

"No. As you can tell, that version of you isn't in the best of places right now, with having her father die in her arms." Blank said.

"So suicide by self-destruct in an attempt to atone? Sins of the father huh." Torchwick muttered.

"In effect." Blank confirmed.

"**This is a day of revelation for humanity!" Adam laughed as he fired on the Freedom, scoring several hits and sending Ruby tumbling back.**

"**GAH! I won't allow it!" Ruby righted her mobile suit and retaliated with a beam rifle shot that blew off the Providence's shield arm.**

"**Who do you suppose has allowed things to reach this conclusion huh!? Humanity did this! And I am the result!" Adam roared as Ruby blew apart another dragoon, leaving him with precious few left.**

"**Heh! You're also another one of their creations!" The Providence's beam rifle fired and struck true, destroying the Freedom's arm and sending its rifle spiralling into the void.**

"**Even so!" Ruby refused to give in, having her Gundam draw both beam sabers in its remaining hand and forming a makeshift double bladed one.**

"**THERE'S A WORLD I WANT TO PROTECT!" Pushing the Freedom's thrusters to the maximum, she shot towards Adam in a frontal assault. Closing the gap, she hacked off his gun arm and continued pursuit as the Providence tried to back away, using its remaining dragoons to try and ward Ruby off.**

"**AAAHAHHHHH!" Ruby yelled as she ignored the damage the Freedom was sustaining to reach the Providence. Pushing forwards even after the Gundam's head was blown to pieces and the rest of its body sustained several hits.**

**Finally reaching Adam, Ruby rammed the beam saber straight through the Providence's cockpit, just narrowly missing the bull faunus inside but causing the cockpit to crush inwards and trap him there.**

**Ruby gasped as she noticed the Genesis starting to fire, abandoning Adam to his fate, she shot away from the path of the laser as the gamma ray beam enveloped the Providence and vaporised it completely.**

"Well, well, would you look at that, killed by his own trump card." Roman clapped sarcastically as Adam met his end, he looked over to Neo when she tugged on his sleeve with scroll at the ready.

"Hmm… I don't know Neo, not sure that qualifies as roast beef. Not sure there's anything left to be called beef at all."

"Okay… morbid humour aside, the Genesis still fired, what happens now?" Summer asked.

"I could be mistaken but that weapon appears to require a secondary charge, as long as it's destroyed before the beam can be reflected onto the dish and reach full charge, there's still hope for them." Ironwood said.

"**Blake! Slow down!" Yang shouted as she tried keeping pace with the Justice inside the twisting maintenance tunnels of the Genesis.**

"**Go back, we're out of time!" Blake replied tersely.**

"**I'm not leaving you here to die alone!"**

"**No time, only one of us needs to die here! Go back and stop following me!"**

"**Like hell I'll accept that! Gah! Blake!" Yang's forward progress came to a halt when Blake detached the Justice's backpack and used it to impede the Strike Rouge.**

**Blake pushed aside her guilt to continue onwards until she reached the core. By the time she reached, it was already glowing brightly as the Genesis reflector neared full charge. "Please be enough to stop this madness."**

**Keying the numbers to initiate a full reactor meltdown, she was interrupted from pressing the final key when Yang's voice intruded on her again. "Stop running away! Killing yourself here won't fix anything!"**

"**This is my penance, I should have done something earlier, to stop my father from ever reaching this stage" Blake shot back.**

"**And dying will make everything right? If you regret your mistakes, then live damnit! Live and do better to atone, not run away to kill yourself!"**

**Blake sighed and conceded the point. Entering the final codes needed to begin the meltdown, she opened the hatch and jumped out of the Justice, kicking towards the Strike Rouge instead. Yang opened her own cockpit and allowed Blake to enter before kicking the Strike Rouge into gear and shooting for the exit before the Justice could explode.**

"Haah… I really have to run away less." Blake pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed heavily.

"You could stand to stop blaming yourself for things that really aren't your fault." Blank said.

"I'll keep it in mind." Blake acknowledged.

**As the Genesis was seconds away from full charge, the Justice exploded. The nuclear detonation inside the core destabilised it and caused a chain reaction that saw the accumulated power feed back into the system, destroying it from within and causing the entire superweapon to crumble, cancelling the shot that would have ended life on the Earth.**

"**It's gone… they did it… they actually did it." Klein said as he sunk back into his seat.**

**There was a burst of static as a transmission from Menagerie came through on all channels. "To all White Fang and Alliance troops in the area. We request that you all stand down at once, the Menagerie provisional supreme council is making preparations to begin truce talks. I repeat, we are preparing for truce talks, we request that all armed forces in the area cease hostilities at once."**

"**It's done then?" Jaune asked as he received a message from the Eternal indicating they'd picked up the Strike rouge on the way back with the Freedom in tow, all pilots accounted for.**

"**It's finally finished." He sighed as exhaustion took him and he closed his eyes.**

"And that's that." Blank said as the screen faded to black and the lights came on.

"Somewhat happy ending and all but damnit if knowing it's going to lead to another war down the line ain't a kick in the nuts." Qrow said.

"Do things get better after the second war at least?" Pyrrha asked.

"It does. The second war saw the elimination of nearly everyone interested in seeing the continuation of the war for profit or other reasons. The world was on the road to recovery before the war broke out again, and it continued to heal after it was done. People on both sides were sick and tired of fighting and eventually, they did manage to hash out a lasting peace. Tensions will always exist, but nothing that would lead to a tragedy on this scale ever again." Blank said.

"That's good then. It wasn't all for nothing." Ozpin said and wondered if he'd ever see such a day arrive on Remnant. There was still a long way to go yet.

"Well, that's it for the viewing so feel free to go freshen yourselves up, the next one will start soon." Blank said and his audience filed out.

* * *

Author's notes: I can't believe it actually, it took me 22 chapters to have a story that features Blake as more than a cameo. Even Perry got time in the spotlight before her, it's just… wow. I just have no idea who to cast her as most of the time and the two or three universes where I have her in a role just hasn't come up yet. For this chapter I really wanted to cast Jaune as Rau Le Creuset, but Adam just fits that role to a T. Heh, having discount Char play one of the best Char clones ever worked out better than I thought. Second choice would have been Jaune as Mu, but that leaves the issue of who to place as Murrue. Pyrrha could fit the role, but when you think about it, they fit better as captain and ace pilot instead, based on their canonical strengths. Jaune is a commander and Pyrrha is the ace. The only regret I have for this chapter is that words cannot convey the ridiculous awesomeness of the voice acting. If you haven't watched the Japanese dub before, you ought to, it's just that awesome especially in the last few episodes barring one particular scene.

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as Murrue Ramius

Lie Ren as Natarle Badgiruel

Pyrrha Nikos as Mu La Flaga

Ruby Rose as Kira Yamato

Yang Xiao Long as Cagalli Yula Athha

Blake Belladonna as Athrun Zala

Weiss Schnee as Lacus Clyne

Adam Taurus as Rau Le Creuset

Ghira Belladonna as Patrick Zala

Sienna Khan as Ezalia Joule

Mercury Black as Dearka Elsman

Emerald Sustrai as Yzak Joule

Klein Sieben as Andrew Waltfeld

Hazel Rainart as Ledonir Kisaka

Arthur Watts as Muruta Azrael

Penny Polendina as Flay Allster

Pietro Polendina as Erica Simmons

Merlot as Dr. Ulen Hibiki

Taiyang Xiao Long as Uzumi Nara Atha

Harriet Bree as Clotho Bauer

Vine Zeki as Shani Andras

Elm Ederne as Orga Sabnak

Caroline Cordovin as William Sutherland


	23. Chapter 22: Team ALBA Pt 1

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 22: Team ALBA Pt 1**

**Inspiration: Mass Effect 2**

"Welcome back, next viewing is ready." Blank greeted as his audience returned to their seats.

"So, what are we watching this time?" Jaune asked.

"An alternate world where a number of things happened differently in the past, leading to a vastly different present." Blank replied.

"What kind of things exactly?" Ren stared at the orb of light and waited for a reply.

"A few big ones, a few small ones. Most of them happened independently of the other changes but they all contributed to the present. I suppose the earliest change would be the Vale council and the introduction of their Special Tactics and Reconnaissance unit or Spectres for short." Blank said.

"Spectres?" Ironwood raised an eyebrow.

"The Vale equivalent of your Ace Ops, only they answer to the entire council instead of a single military commander. Founded shortly after the end of the great war as an answer to the loss of strength following the disbandment of the military. The Spectres are elite huntsmen loyal only to the council and have carte blanche to do whatever it takes to safeguard Vale from all threats."

"Whatever it takes? Dear god if that isn't an invitation to an abuse of power, I don't know what is." Roman rolled his eyes, convinced he knew where it was going.

"Not exactly. The selection criteria for the Spectres is extremely stringent, yes it is true that that kind of power can go to their heads and rogue Spectres pop up from time to time, but those that stray are invariably hunted down and executed by their own." Blank clarified.

"Hmm… I do recall such a system being proposed in the past, but it didn't take due to budget problems involving reconstruction after the great war. The idea never came up again when a need for it didn't arise. How did they solve the issue of funding?" Ozpin said, recalling the life before 'Ozpin'.

"They didn't. The first Vale council did not have the funds needed to recruit and maintain a force of elite huntsmen and soldiers on a full-time basis with most of the funds going into reconstruction and aid. They sidestepped the issue by having the Spectres secure their own funding and equipment as well as set up their own information networks. In exchange, Spectres are given a blanket pardon on all actions short of high treason to allow them to succeed at that task." Blank said.

"…And oversight? There is oversight right? To prevent citizens from becoming collateral damage?" Ironwood followed up.

"Not a lot. Spectres are the hand of the council, they do whatever needs to be done to see the council's will carried out. Honestly, in any other situation, most Spectres would qualify for international most wanted lists. But they do an excellent job of policing themselves and more than a few are borderline zealots when it comes to safeguarding the people from all threats, even themselves." Blank said.

"That still leaves a lot of room for the system to be abused." Winter said frowning.

"True. But in this world, it's worked very well, and the pros outweigh the cons greatly. I'll just start the viewing now, introducing Spectre Jaune Arc and his team. Instead of his great great grandfather staying in Gallia, the Arc family emigrated to Vale proper and though it isn't an inherited position, the Arcs have been Spectres since Jaune's grandfather. I'll explain further divergences when they come up." Blank flickered and the lights dimmed, the screen coming on afterwards.

"**Your request puts me in a difficult position Mr Arc. Aside from the fact that all of you are overqualified to be students, the semester has already started. Inserting your team into Beacon is… problematic." Ozpin knit his fingers together as he stared at the unassuming teenager sitting in his office. Glynda stood by his side, a complicated expression on her face.**

"**It's only been a week, I'm sure you can come up with something to explain our entry. Trust me, I'm just as enthused by this idea as you are. And my team? Hehhehe… they'll hate this even more than we do. But our admittance to Beacon is non-negotiable. Council's orders." Jaune said with a shrug and uncaring expression.**

"I… don't want to go to Beacon? And who's my team anyways?" Jaune asked perplexed.

"You've been a Spectre for about a year at this point, there isn't a need for you to enrol in a huntsman academy since you basically are one already. With all the training and missions you've done up to this point, you're convinced this assignment is some kind of punishment from the council for failure. As to what that mission is and who makes up your team… I'll let the viewing cover those itself." Blank said.

"**What do you hope to accomplish in my school anyways?" Ozpin asked.**

"**That, is a very good question." Jaune pointed a finger at the headmaster before dropping his hand to his side.**

"**You see, certain issues have been cropping up recently. A little something that involved one of your students and the deputy headmistress if you catch my drift."**

"**How dare you. If you're insinuating that I or one of our students have anything to do with the recent robberies, I'll-" Goodwitch's tirade was cut off by a wave from Ozpin.**

"**Enough Glynda, I assure you Mr Arc, no one in Beacon is in anyway affiliated with the robberies of late. What happened was an attempt by a prospective student to stop a robbery that ended with my colleague intervening."**

"**Yes, I read the official report. But the point is, for all that flashiness, Roman Torchwick still got away. Then there's the issue of your latest batch of students, specifically, Weiss Schnee." Jaune said.**

"**Ms Schnee is here to become a huntress and improve herself. That is the only thing that matters, I am not concerned with her family." Ozpin said.**

"**Oh? That's puts you in the minority then. Normally, having a Schnee attend Beacon is great for Vale. But not right now. Dust robberies on one side, rising White Fang activity on the other. The council is worried that all this is the prelude to a new great war." Jaune said, crossing his legs and leaning in to hear Ozpin's response.**

"**I assure you, the council has nothing to worry about. Neither I nor any of my staff have any intention of pushing the world towards a new great war. War, is the last thing we want." Ozpin said slowly, making sure to get the point across.**

"**I'm not the one you need to convince, the council doesn't trust you, by extension, I don't either. Your relationship with Ironwood in Atlas is a little too… chummy for the council's liking. In the past the council was willing to let it slide on your excuse of mutual cooperation and what not. But now that Schnee is in Beacon, it's become a problem." Jaune said, smiling thinly at the headmaster.**

"**If the heiress to the SDC dies on Vale soil at say… the hands of the White Fang during a 'mission' gone wrong. Do you honestly believe Atlas will remain silent on that? Heh, I give it twenty-four hours before the mighty fleets of Atlas come to batter down our walls, on the pretext that we clearly can't handle the situation."**

"That wouldn't happen right? I mean, I am training to be a huntress, death is… always an occupational hazard." Weiss asked.

"Normally it wouldn't. But having you be assassinated in Vale is a convenient excuse should someone chose to exploit it." Blank said.

"**That won't happen. I guarantee it." Ozpin said.**

"**Words are cheap headmaster. That the possibility exists at all is enough reason for us to act. Vale doesn't have an army anymore. We have the Spectres and the huntsmen, Spectres will go down fighting, huntsmen? They might fight… or they might simply roll over at your request. And I'm sure the reasons to keep Vale under Atlas control will just continue indefinitely until Vale no longer exists."**

"That's impossible, Atlas would never do anything like that!" Ironwood protested.

"No offense Jimmy, but you did kinda do that after the Breach." Qrow said.

"I brought the fleet to provide protection. To stop another Breach from happening and secure the Vytal festival, not to invade Vale." Ironwood defended.

"But not everyone is going to see it that way. And considering ol fire bitch's plan is to turn your army against the citizens of Vale with a virus, he's not too far off the mark actually." Torchwick pointed out, leaving the general to growl in frustration.

"**James and I are colleagues, heading huntsmen academies in an effort to train up more huntsmen to push back the darkness. Nothing more, nothing less."**

"**Sure, and the fact that Ironwood just happens to hold two seats on the Atlas council and heads the only real military force left on the planet is just a coincidence then. Recently, there's been an uptick in **_**deliveries**_** from Atlas through ahh… more clandestine methods. I don't suppose you want to fill me in on those?" Jaune asked.**

"**If you must know, those deliveries are kept secret since they contain experimental tech we're hoping to use to create better huntsmen and huntresses in the future. It isn't ready for public unveiling yet and we're trying to avoid having it stolen by the White Fang or other criminal elements." Ozpin said, none of his words technically a lie, but even so, Jaune refused to buy it.**

**The Spectre chuckled and gave Ozpin a round of applause. "Still keeping your secrets even now. Headmaster of Beacon or not, you do realise I can arrest you for lying to a Spectre, right? And you wonder why the council doesn't trust you."**

"**I have reasons for what I do. But I assure you, the council has nothing to fear." Ozpin said.**

"**I'm sure you do." Jaune shook his head and leaned back, unamused with Ozpin's reply.**

"**But don't expect others to trust you. I'm here to observe and keep the Schnee safe, if you become a problem, you will be removed." **

"**Are you threatening me Mr Arc?" Ozpin asked in a deceptively calm tone.**

"**Threatening? No. I'm promising. I am a Spectre, we are sworn to the service of Vale. Even if you do manage to silence me, another will simply come by to finish the job. If you're an enemy of Vale, the Spectres will see you destroyed." Jaune said in an equally placid voice.**

"Damn, this guy is hardcore. And his self-preservation instincts are severely lacking." Mercury commented.

"Do I really inspire that much distrust?" Ozpin hummed softly as he contemplated the question.

"On the surface, people trust you. But once they get a hint of just how much you're hiding, it's a slippery slope from there. Plus, this version of Jaune Arc isn't your biggest fan thanks to an extremely poor choice of staff members in the past." Blank said.

**In the end, Ozpin blinked first in their staring contest, not at all interested in a pointless conflict against a council Spectre. If he wanted to be a student and keep the other students safe, by all means, he wasn't going to get in the way of that.**

"**Fine. If you want to observe and protect Ms Schnee, go ahead. Although… given the… team you're asking me to enrol. I'm not sure who would be the bigger threat to her, the White Fang or your… team." Ozpin grimaced as he held up the documents containing the details for Jaune's squad.**

"**Ozpin you cannot be serious. Are you really going to enrol this team of assassins into Beacon? This is a disaster waiting to happen!" Goodwitch protested vehemently. **

"**I will keep my team in line, and are you really complaining about them when one of Mistral's most wanted bandits is an alumnus of this school? Or how about your own staff, like a certain **_**Dr Merlot**_**? Remember him?" Jaune said, spitting out Merlot's name like a curse.**

"**Dr Merlot died in Mount Glenn during the fall. I understand that he wasn't the most-" Ozpin was interrupted by a disbelieving huff from Jaune.**

"**Rumours of his death were greatly exaggerated. The good doctor is most assuredly still alive and personally responsible for the deaths of at least two Spectres and god knows how many other innocent casualties. And just we're clear, I do hold you partially accountable for everything he's done." Jaune said and glared at the headmaster.**

"Is this one of the divergences?" Roman asked in a quiet voice.

"The spectre deaths yes, the rest of it, no." Blank answered.

"That son of a bitch is still alive!? Where is he!? I'll rip out his heart with my bare hands!" Roman thundered, his blood boiled at the thought that the man responsible for taking his team from him so long ago still lived.

"He's elsewhere at the moment, but he'll get what's coming to him eventually." Blank replied.

"What does he want? His obsession with the Grimm was bad enough in the past." Goodwitch frowned as she recalled the man.

"The same thing he wanted when Mount Glenn fell. To become a god."

"Ah… someone's ambitious." Cinder snickered.

"**I… see. I had thought him deceased during the fall of the city. But we at Beacon had nothing to do with his actions, by the time he left for Mount Glenn, he was already no longer affiliated with the school." Ozpin said.**

"**And you didn't think it'd be a good idea to inform the council that a mad man with designs on experimenting on the Grimm was headed to the new city? The city whose defences aren't even up and running yet? Excellent foresight." Jaune snarked.**

"**What happened was a tragedy and we had nothing to do with that." Ozpin stated firmly.**

"**Sure. Whatever, I'm not here about the fall, despite how much the loss of Mount Glenn cost us, the council is content to consider the matter closed on this end. All that's left is hunting down Merlot and terminating him." Jaune said.**

"Tch, of course the council would want to bury the issue." Roman growled in frustration.

"As far as the council is concerned, Mount Glenn is an old wound that doesn't need reopening. But believe me, they're just as pissed as you are over its collapse even if for entirely different reasons." Blank said.

"Lemme guess, they're pissed over the loss of all the resources poured into that city aren't they?" Roman groused.

"Indeed. Mount Glenn's cost was staggering in both human casualties and lost supplies. The kingdom wasn't exactly in great shape after the disaster."

"**Very well then. Now I've gone through the reports for your team, ALBA… Alabaster huh? If you don't mind, would you kindly elaborate more on them. I am… curious as to how you even put this team together." Ozpin said and returned his gaze to the documents in hand.**

"**I recruited them all for an assassination mission against Merlot, sadly he escaped our grasp. But considering their effectiveness, I didn't see fit to disband the unit after the mission despite it's lack of success." Jaune sighed and shook his head to clear away his regrets.**

"**I suppose I'll go over them in chronological order then. First up, Mercury Black."**

"Wait what?" Mercury shot up, not expecting himself to be mentioned.

"This is another one of those divergences isn't it?" Emerald asked.

"Indeed. In this world, Mercury Black did not defeat his father but managed to get away, becoming a freelance assassin on his own. For Marcus Black himself, he was recruited by that world's Cinder Fall before ditching her employ for a bigger pay check elsewhere." Blank said.

"There's no way I'd let him live after that." Cinder growled out.

"You had more pressing concerns to deal with than chase down a rogue agent. The plan was to hunt him down after your mission in Vale was complete, but you were beaten to the punch by Mercury." Blank added.

**Mercury nursed his drink as the riot of colours and sound in the nightclub added to his headache. His drink, a simple glass of water was still half full and as it slowly drained, his remaining patience drained with it.**

**An hour, a solid hour of waiting in the nightclub for a client. If the son of a bitch pulled a no show, he would be paying the man a visit to discuss the proper etiquette for dealing with assassins.**

**He perked up though when the bartender froze midway through drink preparation, continuing to pour until it was overflowing and not even noticing. Junior's expression was one of complete panic as he stared at someone who just stepped through the door.**

"**Oh god it's you… b-business or pleasure?" The nervous nightclub owner and gang leader sputtered out as a blonde teen pulled up the seat next to Mercury and sat on it.**

"**Business today Junior. I'll have my usual thank you very much." Jaune said and placed a lien card on the table, enough to cover a cup of coffee. The now very nervous bartender nodded shakily and put down the drink mixer to work on Jaune's coffee instead, occasional sobs and whimpering could be heard coming from the man.**

"Man, why's Junior so afraid of the kid here?" Roman asked.

"Spectres are known for many things. Unfortunately, collateral damage happens to be one of those things." Blank replied.

"**Mercury Black right? You're a hard man to track down." Jaune said while waiting for his coffee to arrive.**

"**Well you found me, you a cop or something officer? Trying to arrest me?" Mercury huffed and deactivated the safeties on his shotgun boots.**

"**Hahahah… not quite. I hear you're here for a job opportunity."**

"**You the client then?"**

"**No. I'm afraid your original client has recently come down with a bad case of dead." Jaune chuckled and wondered if the clean-up squads had finished clearing the bodies out of that penthouse. He'd left quite a mess behind before heading to Junior's.**

"**Huh, well that explains why he's late. So, what can I do for you if you're not here to arrest me?" Mercury rolled his eyes and emptied his glass of water.**

"**It's more, what I can do for you actually. Forty-two assassinations over the past year, you've tied the record for most active assassin since the great war I believe. Before this, you operated out of Mistral and Vacuo so that's not under our jurisdiction. But now that you're in Vale, it is a bit of a problem for the Spectres. Can't exactly let you run around killing people." Jaune said. **

**In a flash, Crocea Mors was out and resting at Mercury's throat at the same time one of Mercury's shotgun boots was inches from Jaune's head. Neither said a word as a hushed silence descended upon the nightclub, nobody daring to say or do anything lest they kick off the powder keg.**

"**Please! Not inside!" Junior pleaded.**

"**Sorry man, but I ain't letting no blondie tell me what I can or cannot do." Mercury said.**

"**Relax Junior, the insurance will cover the damage." Jaune added.**

"**That's not the point! I can't run a nightclub if people have to constantly worry about Spectres showing up to wreck the place! Please take it outside!" Junior begged, seconds away from falling on his knees. **

**His luck with blondes were truly abysmal, Jaune had wrecked his club twice in the past during pursuit of one of his targets and his father had done it thrice. It was a wonder he had any customers left.**

"Damn, he can't catch a break, can he?" Qrow muttered.

"It's a bad guy bar so you can't feel too bad for him." Yang shrugged.

"Still doesn't excuse your actions young lady." Taiyang huffed as Yang chuckled nervously at the reminder of her excursion so long ago.

"**Fine, it's a good thing I'm not here to kill anyone today." Jaune shrugged and removed Crocea Mors from Mercury's throat, returning it to its sheath. Mercury hesitated for several seconds before lowering his foot as well.**

"**What do you want?" Mercury asked.**

"**I'm putting together a team for a mission." Jaune said simply and Mercury just nodded before leaning against the table.**

"**So you looking to hire me then?"**

"**You could say that, but I'm only interested in the best."**

"**I. Am. The. Best." Mercury stated.**

"**We'll see. Before I decide whether or not to take you up on the mission, I have something of a trial run for you to finish before that." Jaune said.**

"**Tch, whatever. Long as I get paid, I'll kill whoever you ask. Just, make sure I get paid. If you try to stiff me… hehehhe… just don't."**

"**Well you're certainly eager. I suppose I should give a run down of the perks of working with me anyways. First off, the pay's good. Twenty k per mission." Jaune said and Mercury started choking on air, that was more than twice the market rate for an elite assassin a hell of a lot more than he was expecting.**

"**Next, as long as you're working for me, Spectre clearance is extended to you. Whatever support I can call on will be available for missions. And as long as you kill in service of Vale, you won't be prosecuted, do well enough and you might even get a medal. Third, I believe in quid pro quo, you work for me and if you have problems, I'll see if it can't grease them for you. Consider these incentives to continue working for Vale, you really won't find a better offer elsewhere." Jaune continued, reaching into his jacket and removing a folder, handing it to Mercury.**

"Those… are some pretty generous terms actually. Most of the time it's just, here's some money upfront, kill the target, collect the rest. Not even counting the times the employer tries to silence the assassin." Mercury rubbed his chin contemplatively, they were certainly a lot better than what Cinder offered, hell he hadn't even seen a pay check since joining, just a sort of blank check for supplies but that wasn't the same.

"This is still absurd, the council would never sanction this would they? Empowering a select group of huntsmen is one thing, extending their pardons and permissions to whoever they hire? There are so many ways that could go wrong. And giving medals to criminals? Really?" Winter commented.

"The Vale council has done everything in their power to ensure their Spectres succeed at their tasks. If that means working with criminals, it's fine, the underworld will be less of a problem if the Spectres are functionally running a large portion of it." Blank said.

"**Which brings me to your test. If you succeed, consider this a gesture of goodwill. You'll find the details inside. If you fail… guess you're aren't the best after all." Jaune sipped from his coffee as he waited for his potential recruit to go through the details within.**

**Mercury's eyes widened as he read through the file. Slamming it down on the table, he stared at Jaune with wide eyes. "Is this accurate!?"**

"**Confirmed by our intelligence network. Marcus Black… ahh that man's been a thorn in our side for a long time. We've been hunting your old man ever since he assassinated two council members with no luck until recently. He's currently working for Malachite, guarding a little slave trading operation on an island off the coast of Mistral. He'll be there for the foreseeable future and now's as good a time as any to remove him." Jaune answered.**

"**Thought you might want in on this since I hear you two haven't been on the best of terms for a long time now. You failed to kill him, I'm giving you a second chance, interested?"**

"**Hahahhaha! You should have led with this, you had me at kill Marcus Black. That old fuck has lived long enough." Mercury bared his teeth in a sinister grin.**

"**If you don't mind me asking, what is your story with him? Not everyday a son is so eager to kill the father." Jaune asked.**

"**Actually, yes, I do mind you asking. But since you've brought Christmas early this year, I might as well tell you." Mercury lifted his pant's leg to display the artificial limb hidden beneath it.**

"**See this? That bastard was convinced flesh made me weak, so he chained me to a table one night and sawed off both my legs while I was still awake and screaming. Stole my semblance too, in hindsight, trying to murder him while still getting used to these new legs and down a semblance was a terrible idea, even if he was drunk off his ass at the time. But then, if I waited any longer, he'd probably have sawed off my arms too." Mercury spat out and let his pants drop back down, hiding the prosthetic from view again.**

"Okay. That's messed up." Qrow said.

"Merc is that-"

"Yes." Mercury cut off Emerald's question with a curt reply.

"Did you get-"

"What do you think!?" The assassin snapped at his companion in frustration, not wanting to be reminded of the monster he once called father.

"What kind of person would do that to their own child?" Weiss asked in a horrified whisper.

"A monster, that's what." Mercury replied drily, doing his best to keep the anger off his face.

"**Then I trust you'll be extra motivated to see this mission a success. Get your things ready, be at the airport by dawn, it's a long flight and the sooner we get underway, the less likely he'll slip away again." Jaune said with a blank face.**

**Mercury just grinned, at the very least his new employer didn't bother with something like empty pity or let down his guard. Whatever his past he was an assassin now and letting some sob story distract from that fact was usually a fatal mistake. However true the story was, that past is the past.**

"**Sure thing bossman, I want the fucker dead a lot more than you do. As long as you give me a shot at him, I'm your man." Mercury gave a salute and chuckled.**

"**Right. Then I'll see you at the airport. It goes without saying but bring your A game. Malachite's little operation is well equipped, he's gonna know we're coming." Jaune nodded and turned on his feet, heading for the door. If all went well, he'd have the first recruit and then just two more after that. One could probably be talked into joining, the other would be a little harder to convince.**

"You said this version of me beats Cinder to icing that bastard, right? I take it this is the mission where it happens?" Mercury asked.

"Indeed." Blank confirmed.

"Good. I hope he suffers." Mercury spat out.

"Oh he does. Poetic justice actually."

**The sun was starting to sink over the horizon by the time their infiltration craft came within range of the island fortress. The ancient crumbling castle serving as Marcus Black's base sat at the top of the island, surrounded by a dense tropical jungle. The plan was to land undetected, mess up the slavery operation and draw the man out into the open where he could be dealt with.**

**Skimming so close to the waters surface the waves could lap at the jet's underside, the Spectre and the assassin were busy running final checks on their equipment, especially their rebreathers. Mercury did his prep in silence while Jaune sounded off the list. "Rifle check, drones check, pistols check. Explosives… good to go. Med kit check."**

"**ETA to LZ, two minutes, get ready to jump. Can't stick around in Mistral airspace for too long, we'll come back for pickup once you signal and the AA is down." The pilot said as he flicked a switch, the back of the jet opening up and granting a view of the seas beyond it.**

**Jaune gave a thumbs up as he strapped Crocea Mors to his back and hefted the pack over it. Once he was satisfied with the state of his equipment, he made for the exit, Mercury following behind.**

**Once the countdown hit zero, they jumped. Entering the water with a splash, they submerged and began to swim the rest of the way to the shore. With any luck, the blind spot identified by long range reconnaissance was actually a blind spot, considering they hadn't shot down by missiles on their approach, the hope that they would at least have the element of surprise for a bit wasn't dead yet.**

"Woah. This is like some spy movie or something." Ruby said as she shovelled popcorn into her mouth.

"Tch, just so you know, real spies don't do anything like that most of the time." Qrow said.

"Then what do they do?" His niece asked curiously.

"People watching. Lots and lots of people watching." Qrow sighed and started mentally counting just how much time he'd spent in bird mode watching people for information. Being a spy was so much more boring than the movies made it out to be… and the pay sucked, although that might just be Ozpin.

"**Ahhh no one's shooting at us yet, that's a good start." Jaune said once they were both ashore. Mercury stared at the Spectre blankly when he realised Jaune was being serious.**

"**Not being shot at is your idea of a good start? How low are your standards?"**

"**Not being shot at is always a good thing. Now come on, aerial recon indicates the main operation is located near the beaches for easy transport. How very bold, how very foolish." Jaune said as his scroll's GPS indicated there were just a slight distance away from their target.**

"**Since there's no welcoming committee, the blind spot must have worked, we go quiet until shit hits the fan." Jaune said, stowing the scroll and drawing Crocea Mors.**

"**Whatever you say boss." Mercury shrugged and palmed a pair of throwing knives since his boots were off limits.**

**Pushing along the beaches while using the jungle for cover, they encountered a single unenthusiastic patrol along the way. Bored and sleepy mercenaries made for easy pickings and one by one they were dragged into the shadows and silenced.**

"**No alarm, excellent. Camp's right over that ridge, it's about time to go loud." Jaune said as the gurgling of his victim faded away. Removing Crocea Mors from its place inside the thug's neck, he wiped away the excess blood on the man's uniform and started rifling through the corpse's pockets.**

"**Ooh, jackpot, there must be a thousand lien here." Jaune smiled as he found a wallet, pursing through the contents, he removed the lien and threw away the wallet before continuing to frisk the body.**

"**Boss… what the hell are you doing? Are you seriously looting the bodies" Mercury stared at his boss in a mix of wonder and revulsion. Wonder that the spectre had the audacity to start looting before the bodies were even cold, revulsion that the spectre was actually looting the bodies at all. **

**Jaune paused and gave Mercury a baleful stare before continuing to search the pockets. "Looting is such an ugly term. I prefer battlefield acquisitions."**

"Damn, I get that money's money, but still… geez, there are lines you don't cross." Roman said, distaste evident in his expression. He was a thief and he had plenty of crimes to his name, but grave robbing was most assuredly not among them.

"And the council is fine with this?" Ozpin turned to Blank for an explanation.

"Carte blanche. Morally reprehensible maybe, but it isn't hurting anyone since they're you know… too dead to complain. Spectre funding has to come from somewhere after all." Blank replied.

"There has got to be a better way to do things." Jaune frowned at the actions of his counterpart before sighing, it was another world, nothing he could do about it now.

"**That's not the point." Mercury shook his head as Jaune moved on to the next body after stripping the first one of everything valuable.**

"**I'm paying you twenty grand per mission, that money has to come from somewhere. Oooh… hardlight dust? Here? This will sell for a pretty penny." Jaune said, hefting a small canister filled with the expensive dust.**

"**You're paying me with money from dead people!?" Mercury couldn't help but raise his voice upon hearing that tidbit.**

"**You're an assassin, you kill people for money, are you really in any position to complain about where the money is coming from? If you don't want such a high paycheck, we can always negotiated your salary downwards." Jaune rolled his eyes and fished out a gold pocket watch from one of the thugs. Tossing aside the family photo inside, the Spectre pocketed the watch and started humming a small tune as he worked.**

"**Fine… I'll shut up. But damnit this is messed up. Didn't anyone ever tell you this shit is wrong?" Mercury made one last futile protest before falling silent.**

"**You mean the same people who preach about how killing is wrong and second chances and all that crap? I'm a Spectre, I lie, cheat, steal and murder in service of Vale so the people don't have it done to them by enemies of the state." Jaune said once he was done cleaning out the corpses and dusted himself off.**

"**Considering everything I've done, everything I'm doing and everything I will do to keep my home safe, I don't see the point in arbitrarily drawing a line between actions. Killing is fine but not battlefield acquisitions? Who decided that, and why should I even follow along? Things go bump in the night Mercury, I'm the one who bumps back, and there is very little I wouldn't do to ensure they never get to bump again." **

"That's a dangerous way of thinking. It's a very short step to becoming an irredeemable monster." Summer said.

"But he has a point. If the Spectres are already committed to safeguarding the people, holding themselves back for the sake of petty morality might cause them to fail the mission." Roman said, unhappy that he was agreeing with the Spectre.

"So in the end, it boils down to the question if the ends justify the means." Ozpin surmised, sipping from his mug.

"And that depends entirely on who you ask." Blank said.

"**That's the camp? Looks like a prison." Mercury said as he beheld the structure, grey walls lined with barbed wire encircled the compound. Several guard towers with armed guards stationed in them had a good view of both the camp and the area beyond. Spotlights roved along the beaches, ready to pick out any interlopers for the guards on duty to fill with lead.**

"**What were you expecting? Some kind of chalet? This is Malachite's cash cow, ain't no way she's skimping on security." Jaune said, marking all the guards on his scroll with one of his drones. Once he got them all, he started assembling his rifle, an experimental gauss weapon that fired tiny metal ball bearings at several times the speed of sound using lightning dust. An anti-aura weapon that focused on killing targets by applying so much force in a small area that most auras couldn't compensate for it.**

"**I expected some fences, guards maybe, not… this. Bloody hell, I've seen Atlas military bases less well defended than this. How the heck did they build this thing so close to Mistral?" Mercury said, staring dubiously at the anti-air cannons set up inside the base.**

"**You know how the saying goes, money makes the world go round. Just grease the right hands and poof! This little slave camp becomes a nice little holiday home, nothing criminal going on here no siree!" Jaune chuckled mirthlessly and stared into the rifle's scope lining up the crosshairs with the guards in the towers, rapidly switching targets between them until he was confident.**

"**I'll take out the guards up top, you clear out the entrance. Try to keep them focused on you and away from shooting their prisoners in panic. Go on my shot."**

"I suppose this is another one of those divergences?" Ironwood asked.

"Indeed, a side effect of the Spectres eliminating enemies of Vale is that it also created a power vacuum in other places once their targets are dead. People like Lil Miss Malachite stepped in to fill the void and this is one of her projects." Blank said.

"At least the corrupt part is right. The Mistral underworld wouldn't be thriving if their council wasn't so easily paid off, but then it's the council, what am I expecting?" Torchwick sneered at the screen.

"Hmmph, at least Atlas doesn't have to deal with this." Winter said.

"Is that so? Oh, wait, now I remember, you Atlesians are too upper class for a word like bribery, no you call it grants or donations instead. It's not a crime if the government and their allies does it now is it? When was the last time the SDC or any of your major companies even faced consequences for your crimes? Spectres or the _captains of industry_, must be nice having the councils rubber stamp away all problems. At least Mistral tries to hide their skeletons in their closets, you have yours proudly on display." Cinder mocked and smiled as a vein twitched on Winter's forehead but the specialist had no way to refute her words.

**Mercury charged the gate as soon as the crack of the first shot broke the peaceful silence. As bodies started tumbling from the guard towers, he reached the panicking guards who were only just snapping to attention. Several kicks and shotgun blasts later, they were all food for the birds.**

**Alarms blared and the compound kicked into a panic as Mercury hit the switch to open the gates. As reinforcements surged to the breach trying to deal with the intruders, they were met with precise sniper fire from Jaune, the high-powered rifle easily able to kill multiple targets in one shot. It helped that most of the guards were just thugs who didn't even have their aura unlocked.**

**The only real threat they posed lay in their numbers but the goons failed to utilize their numbers advantage effectively in their panic. Instead of holing up and pouring fire down on the duo while others flanked them, they clumped up in small groups, making for easy pickings.**

"**Wait! Wait! Don't shoot! I surrender!" One of the surviving thugs had the brains to throw down his gun when he saw the writing on the wall. Before his comrades could damn him for his cowardice, Mercury had already iced them all.**

"**Mercury, see if he knows anything about your old man. I'm gonna see if there's any supplies worth salvaging from them. Ooh, gold wedding ring, nice." Jaune instructed and started searching through the pockets of the nearest corpse.**

**Mercury shook his head at his boss's rampant kleptomania before turning his attention to the shivering man. "Alright, Marcus Black, where is he?"**

"**A-at the fortress up top. He um, he still has his mechs to guard him." The prisoner answered hastily, not wanting to give Mercury a reason to put the hurt on him.**

"**Mechs? What kind of mechs?" This was new, Jaune's briefing hadn't mentioned anything about mechs, only enforcers from Malachite's employ.**

"**Old AK models the boss provided and he upgraded with rocket launchers. M-Marcus Black is just going to remain inside until the mechs are gone… a-and he has an airship docked and ready for escape."**

"**I see. Boss, we got mechs with rockets ahead. And the son of a bitch has a ride out of here." Mercury shouted over to Jaune.**

"**Haah, why can't things ever be easy for once? See if he knows anything else." Jaune said.**

**When Mercury reported back that the man knew nothing, Jaune smiled drily and raised a captured pistol. It barked once and the man fell over with a new smoking hole added to his forehead. "Hardlight pistol? Damn, where are these guys getting all the toys from, I'm adding this one to my collection."**

"He just murdered him! But he already surrendered!" Goodwitch exclaimed in shock, her feeling on the matter was matched by the students. They'd seen worlds where Jaune was a killer, but this was the first time they ever saw one of their friends execute someone in cold blood without any hesitation or emotion at all.

"Ice cold baby, ice cold. If there's any doubt he's a professional, it's gone now." Mercury said, whistling in appreciation.

"W-why would Jaune kill him like that?" Ruby asked softly.

"Just keep watching." Blank said.

"**So… we kill prisoners now? Not that I've anything against that or what not. Just didn't think Vale was that kind of place." Mercury said, sparing the fresh corpse one last glance before walking over to Jaune.**

"**Normally we don't. But we're here to kill one man, everyone else here is technically expendable. Besides, considering what they're doing here, I don't have a lot of mercy to spare. Come, I suppose you should see for yourself." Jaune said and led the way to one of the larger buildings in compound.**

**Throwing the doors open, they were met with the smell of disease and death before they so much as put one foot through. Soft moans and whimpering could be heard from the 'inhabitants' of the place and Mercury took one step back cursing.**

"**Fucking hell! What is this shit!?" Mercury found himself at a loss for words as he stared at the cages stacked inside the building, all of them crammed full of faunus and humans, old, young, the infirm, they were packed into the cages like sardines, most of them just skin and bones now.**

"**They're like… they're like… fuck! Even animals are treated better than this!"**

"**This is the reject pile, where those unlikely to be sold are crammed into and left to rot on the off chance someone might choose to buy them eventually. Sickening isn't it? One of Malachite's goons saw this and ran to us with the info. Threw himself out the window afterwards." Jaune sighed as he remembered receiving the incident report from a fellow Spectre.**

"**And this is just one building, the… goods… in the others are slightly better off, but not by much. And the guards here, they're known to ah… take their liberties with the slaves whenever they feel like it. I'm honestly surprised the Grimm haven't already destroyed this place with all the negativity here."**

"**Sweet fucking hell! Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!" Mercury swore a blue streak and scratched at his head in frustration.**

"**Yeah, I kinda don't have any mercy to spare for the ones responsible for running this place. If we had the time for it, I'm honestly more for taking them all alive and then burning them at the stake for this atrocity." Jaune said as he moved deeper into the building, hacking off the locks on the cages with Crocea Mors and allowing the prisoners their freedom.**

**Mercury spat to the side in disgust one more time before joining Jaune in freeing the prisoners. Once they managed to get through to the terrified captives that they were here to free them, not kill them, the hope that blossomed on their faces was almost disturbing to see for Mercury. That several of them tried to kiss his metal feet just cemented his desire to see this entire place burn once they were done killing his old man and rescuing all the captives.**

The audience was completely silent as the prisoners were set free. Not even Cinder had some mean-spirited comment to throw out.

"How? How could anyone do something like this?" Blake was the first to find her voice, the distress in it palpable as her ears were pressed flat against her head.

"How could they do something like this and not even care?"

"And me old man's part of this. Figures, it's right up his alley. Hoo… at least he pays for this when I get my hands on him." Mercury said.

"It's… easy… if you just don't see your victims as humans like yourself." Ozpin spoke slowly, recalling his earlier lives and the treatment of the faunus back then.

"Monsters, they're all monsters then." Roman summed up.

"In effect. It's one of the reasons why the spectres are the way they are. To effectively fight such abominations, more than a few of them turn themselves into one, to become the biggest, baddest, meanest one of them all… and force the others in line." Blank said.

"**So what do we do now?" Mercury asked once the two of them were done freeing the slaves. Those still healthy could go on to liberate the other buildings, which left them free to deal with Marcus Black.**

"**Now we push onwards, holding here and waiting for him isn't an option, if those rocket troops start firing wildly, it'll be a bloodbath. With any luck, he'll be pissed enough to face us instead of trying to flee in his airship. If he does… well, the AA is under my control now, he's not making it out in one piece." Jaune said as his scroll pinged, a reply message already here after his request for reinforcements went out.**

"**And what about them?" Mercury nodded to the prisoners, most of whom were simply laying on the ground sobbing, not daring to believe their ordeal was almost at an end.**

"**The White Fang will handle them, I put out the call and the Mistral branch is on the way." Jaune replied and returned the scroll to his pocket.**

"**The White Fang? Seriously? We're handing them over to terrorists?" Mercury questioned.**

"**They're the only ones equipped to deal with this aside from the Mistral council, but since I'm a Vale Spectre, for political reasons, I can't call the council. Given that they let this happen under their noses, I'm not inclined to do so either even if I could. As to being terrorists… well, the White Fang isn't as unified as it used to be, so many factions now… this is a favour to the Mistral branch. All the positive PR from this rescue and a chance to slap the Mistral council in the face will go a long way towards generating some goodwill between Vale and the White Fang if the Mistral branch comes out on top." Jaune shrugged.**

"The White Fang is fractured? Mistral is headed by Sienna Khan herself isn't it? Who could challenge her authority?" Blake queried.

"It's one of the divergences I'll explain later when we get to the third member of the team. As to who could challenge her… quite a few actually. Just as there are plenty who believe your parents didn't go far enough, there are just as many who believe Sienna isn't progressing the cause fast enough." Blank said.

**Pushing towards the castle at the top of the island was an exercise in frustration. Marcus Black may have been an assassin by trade but he certainly knew how to set up a defence. Rockets and machinegun fire constantly rained down on Jaune and Mercury from dug in AKs. By the time they made it to the castle, both were sore, tired and very pissed off.**

"**Tch, I recognise that smell of booze anywhere, come out you old fuck, I'm here to kill you." Mercury's nose twitched as he recognised that familiar stench in the air.**

**One second.**

**Two seconds.**

**Then clapping as Marcus Black stepped out from behind a pillar. "Look who came crawling back. You failed the last time, what makes this time any different?" **

"**Marcus Black, you are guilty of assassinating two members of the Vale council as well as several hundred other counts of murder and crimes against humanity. The sentence is death." Jaune declared and raised his gauss rifle.**

"**Oh, a Spectre eh, my I'm honoured they sent you after me. Wonder who they'll send next after I drop your body in the middle of Vale. Never killed a Spectre before, but first time for everything." Marcus Black grinned and the fight was on.**

**Jaune squeezed the trigger, the metal ball bearing split the air as it surged towards the older Black before being deflected to the side, impacting against a stone pillar and demolishing it. "Ricochet right?"**

"**Yep, one of the semblances he stole long ago, short of point-blank range, most guns don't work on him. Good thing is, it takes the same amount of aura to deflect every kind of shot no matter the speed, so just bury him in bullets." Mercury confirmed as he charged, lashing out at his father with a kick to the head.**

"**You stupid boy, don't you know it's rude to spill family secrets? After everything I've done for you, this is how you repay me? Filthy ingrate." Marcus Black fired back and met Mercury's kicks with his own, their fighting styles completely identical and a mirror match. Jaune stood back and harassed the elder Black with his pistols, trying to distract the man long enough for Mercury to get a good hit in while wasting his aura at the same time.**

"**Fuck you! You sawed off my legs and stole my semblance! Give it back you asshole!" Mercury roared in anger as he continued attacking with greater fury.**

"**What was your semblance again? I don't even remember anymore, besides I can't give it back anyways, it doesn't work in reverse." Marcus's words caused Mercury to stumble in surprise and he didn't miss the opportunity to slam a kick into his son's midsection, his own shotgun greaves firing and causing Mercury's aura to flare up.**

"What?" Mercury perked up upon hearing those words, for so long now he'd been convinced that he lost his opportunity to get back his semblance by killing his father early. Did that option never exist in the first place?

"**Y-you bastard! You promised you'd give it back!" Mercury roared again as he rose back to his feet.**

"**Yes, well, I lied. It's not like that crutch would have saved you anyways. What a shame. Even after I upgraded your legs, you're still a weakling." Marcus tutted in disappointment before jumping away when a grenade rolled to a stop at his feet and exploded.**

"**Big words for a man hiding behind a stolen semblance. Dear god, you need crutches so badly you had to go steal someone else's? What? Can't stand on your own feet? Upgrade yourself then and spare us the hypocrisy." Jaune said as he continued shooting at Marcus, the bullets being deflected but slowly chipping away at his aura reserves all the same.**

**The veteran assassin's face morphed into a frown for a moment before returning to the cocksure smirk he'd been wearing since the start. "You have a point. Guess I am due for an upgrade, it'll make squashing you insects so much easier."**

"Oh boy, that's not going to end well." Qrow muttered, sensing the imminent ass kicking.

"It burns through his aura quickly, but there's nothing stopping him from using every single stolen semblance at the same time, and he's stolen quite a lot of them." Mercury said.

"So it's attrition then, to see which side collapses first." Pyrrha analysed.

**Marcus Black's body shimmered as an aura cloak formed around it, the pitch-black glow almost demonic in the shadows. Jaune blinked in shock as the assassin vanished from view, in the next instant, pain flared in his chest from a heavy impact and the Spectre was sent flying, only aura kept Jaune's ribs from being shattered with that blow.**

"**Super speed times four, super strength times three, increased durability times two, increased flexibility times four. Amazing how some semblances just work so well together isn't it?" Marcus chuckled as he stopped Mercury's kick with one hand, even the shotgun blast was simply absorbed by his palm.**

**Chuckling some more as Mercury failed to free his foot, Marcus swung, picking up his son and tossing him into the wall like a ragdoll. "This is where the two of you die. You've cost me quite the profitable gig here. So forgive me if I make this hurt."**

**Jaune coughed as the breath left his lungs, Marcus's boot lifting him into the air and a follow up roundhouse kick sending him through several pillars. Undeterred by the pain, Jaune scrambled back to his feet and hastily brought his hands up to guard the incoming kick.**

"**Kuh!" Jaune grunted as the impact sent him skidding backwards and his hands were starting to go numb from the force of the blow.**

"**Still standing? How much aura do you have left Spectre? You must be running low by now." Marcus mocked and approached slowly.**

"**Aura? Heh, hardly a problem for me." Jaune dug deep and released his breath slowly. White aura flared around him as his reserves recharged to full rapidly and he started firing on Marcus with his pistols again.**

"What was that? Aura doesn't recharge that fast." Goodwitch blinked in surprise as the display defied everything she knew about aura.

"It can, it just usually doesn't. Aura is tied to the soul, there's nothing to say it can't refill that fast, it's more a question of willpower. That level of rapid regeneration though is only displayed by two individuals, Hazel Rainart and Jaune Arc." Blank said.

"**Stubborn fool. No matter, I'll just beat you till you go down. Maybe I'll take your semblance too." Marcus Black sighed as his opponents continued to resist as expected. Neither his son nor the Spectre intended to go down without exhausting everything they had.**

**It was frustrating, no matter how hard he wailed on them, they simply refused to stay down. The Spectre had some way to constantly regenerate his aura and refill Mercury's, not to mention match his own strength and durability if not the combat skill. It was almost certainly thanks to his semblance but the two of them wouldn't give him enough time to get steal it away and his aura was starting to burn low.**

**As doubt begin to seep in, Marcus Black grew more and more desperate to end the fight, resorting to riskier and riskier plays for more punishing blows. And eventually, it happened, overreaching one too many times opened him up for a counter attack.**

**As one of Jaune's pockets was torn open by the assassin's knife-like fingers, a single canister fell out. Jaune's eyes widened as he grabbed it and shoved it into Marcus's face and pumped his aura into it to ignite the dust within.**

**Screwing his eyes shut as the canister of hardlight dust detonated, a wave of blistering heat seared his arm and the lights burned his eyes even through his eyelids. Marcus Black screamed as he took the full brunt of the attack to his face, reaching up and clawing at his burnt mug, his semblance enhanced strength doing more damage to himself than the exploding dust canister.**

**Mercury staggered back to his feet and shot forwards, shotgun greaves loaded and ready. As Marcus Black felt his approach, the man looked up with one ruined eye and received a shotgun kick to the face that shattered his aura and sent him tumbling back, defeated.**

"Whoo! They won! Suck on that bad guy!" Nora applauded before pausing mid-cheer when she recalled she was cheering on both Jaune and Mercury at the same time. Her mind started twisting itself into knots as she tried to figure out what she should be doing.

"Just calm down and enjoy your popcorn Nora." Ren said and directed her attention to the half empty bucket before her mind could fry.

"**Right you bastard, this is for everything you've put me through." Mercury growled out and walked over to his father, ready to put an end to things once and for all.**

"**Whoa, hold up, you're being too hasty here." Jaune said as he stopped Mercury from finishing off Marcus.**

"**Are you fucking serious!? You expect me to let him live!? After everything he's done!?" Mercury yelled, incredulous that the Spectre was asking him to stay his hand now.**

"**It's because of what he's done that I want you to reconsider putting a bullet in him. A quick death is more than he deserves." Jaune said.**

"**So what do you suggest then boss?"**

"**I don't know." Jaune rolled his eyes and retrieved his med kit from his pack, pulling out the saw inside and shoving it into Mercury's hands.**

"**Get creative. Now if you'll excuse me, he got in a few good kicks to my stomach and I can feel my dinner coming back up. So, knock yourself out." Jaune started wobbling towards a corner before giving up the fight and retching in the middle of the chamber.**

**Mercury stared at the saw, glanced at his legs then glared at the monster he once called father. Slowly a smile spread across his face as he began to walk towards the unconscious man, it was a good thing he had several fire dust crystals on hand for cauterizing wounds.**

**Oh he was going to enjoy himself, he was going to enjoy himself so much.**

The screen faded to black as Marcus Black's screaming could be heard for several seconds more before being cut off.

"Damnit, I wanna see me saw off his limbs!" Mercury complained, dissatisfied with the cut and disappointed he didn't have the opportunity to do that in his own life. It would have been worth losing to his old man just to pay him back in full later.

"Yes well, you don't saw off his legs immediately, you start with the toes, then the fingers and slowly move your way upwards and once the limbs are done, you get even more creative with Jaune Arc keeping him on life support. I would show that except I'm pretty sure the boss will have my head for showing a few hours worth of torture porn." Blank said.

"Tch, oh well, at least he got what he deserved. But man, that Jaune Arc is someone I can get behind." Mercury grinned.

"Thanks? I think?" Jaune furrowed his brows in a frown.

"So what happens to all the freed slaves? They safe or what?" Yang asked.

"Indeed, the White Fang under Sienna's direction rescued them all and treated them all equally. A major PR coup for her faction and thoroughly embarrassing the Mistral council in the process. Jaune Arc's gambit with them pays off later on." Blank said.

"And what about Malachite, the one behind all this?" Ironwood asked, on one hand, he was satisfied the immediate perpetrators had been dealt with however… brutal the methods were, but on the other, the mastermind was still free to do this again.

"She pays in full don't worry, that's part of the next team member's recruitment. But for now, I'm having some technical issues, go for a short break and I'll be back with the rest of the viewing." Blank said, dispersing his audience while he worked to get the viewing back online.

* * *

Author's notes: Well, I've done it, first time I'm splitting a giant chapter into two parts. I wanted to do it all in one go but I ran out of time with work commitments. I could delay the chapter further and release it once it's done but it's been two weeks since update and I don't want to delay any longer. So, this one is more of a Mercury focus then I initially planned. This chapter was partially inspired by another fanfic featuring ALBA although it's been awhile since I read that fic and I can't remember its name. Since Marcus Black has no characterisation in canon beyond being an abusive drunk who can steal semblances, I tried working with what they gave and the more I did, the more he turned into All For One from MHA, so if I ever do an MHA chapter, that's the casting choice for him right there. If you can guess who the remaining members L and A are, you deserve a cookie.

* * *

Inspiration list:

Jaune Arc as Renegade Shep

Mercury Black as Jacob Taylor

Marcus Black as Ronald Taylor & All For One

Lil Miss Malachite as ?


	24. Chapter 23: Team ALBA Pt 2

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

Note: Thanks to LockeBelmont for identifying the original fic, it's Team ALAB by Saint Danielle, a crack fic with some touching moments in it. Go check it out, it's a good read if a bit short. Also, Coronavirus is still a thing, stay safe people, stay indoors if you can and try to avoid large gatherings.

**Chapter 23: Team ALBA Pt 2**

**Inspiration: Mass Effect 2**

"Alright, technical difficulties sorted out, on with the show." Blank said as he resumed the interrupted viewing from where it cut off.

"**Hmm, yes I do recall hearing of that incident, a massive slave trading operation just off the coast of Mistral. It caused quite a stir with the White Fang being the ones to break the news, I didn't know you had a hand in it." Ozpin rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he placed Mercury's file on the table and move to the next one.**

"**Spectres don't go around publicising their work in foreign kingdoms for obvious reasons. We prefer to have an invisible hand when we have to work overseas." Jaune said evenly.**

"**Do Spectres always go about undermining the other kingdoms by supporting a terrorist organisation so casually or is it just you?" Goodwitch narrowed her eyes at the unrepentant Spectre.**

"**I'll leave that to your imagination deputy headmistress. In any case, on to the next member of the team. Lie Ren."**

"Huh." Came Ren's eloquent response.

"Ren! How could you be on a team with Jaune-Jaune and leave me behind!?" Nora started complaining immediately, grabbing hold of Ren and shaking him repeatedly.

"Divergence?" Pyrrha asked.

"Divergence." Blank confirmed.

"In this timeline, the Grimm attack on Kuroyuri went differently. There was an attempt by a section of the Mistralian mafia to expand into the village as a base of sorts. Their men were present when the attack happened and helped contribute to the defence to protect their investment. Kuroyuri was saved, but regrettably Li and An Ren still perished. Without anything left, that Lie Ren joined the mafia in the hopes of growing strong enough to exact vengeance against the Grimm, eventually becoming one of their best assassins."

"I see… and what about Nora then?" Ren asked after a moment of silence.

"She's alive, mainly because she wasn't in Kuroyuri at the time. That version of her wound up as the Maria Calavera's protégé and sort of granddaughter after a chance encounter one day. You two do meet and as to your relationship… well just keep watching." Blank said.

"M-Maria's protégé? Oh come on! How can anyone be that lucky!?" Qrow complained.

"Tough luck Qrow." Taiyang gave the bad luck charm several awkward pats on the back, in his expert opinion, Qrow was far too old to be fanboying over anyone.

"But… but… Grim Reaper!" Qrow continued whining.

"**Mission boss?" Mercury perked up Jaune stepped through the door of their current base. Formally the penthouse of Mercury's original client, Jaune had used his Spectre credentials to stake a claim on it for his own use. Thanks to that, Mercury was now living the good life whenever he was 'off duty'.**

"Damn, those are some sweet digs… I don't think I've ever even _seen_ anything that posh. Damnit, I wish I was other me." Mercury whistled in appreciation, the difference between their two bosses was… striking to say the least.

"**Yep, we're going after the third member of our crew. Back to Mistral it is." Jaune said and tossed a dossier on the table, allowing the file to slide over to Mercury.**

"**What are you even recruiting so many of us for? I'm sure the two of us are more than enough to handle whoever it is we need to kill." Mercury, started flipping through the file, skimming through the details for the gist of it.**

"**It's classified information, I'll wait until the team is assembled before I fill you all in at once. If I can't get the full team, the mission is off." Jaune said, and Mercury blinked in surprise, looking up at the Spectre in confusion.**

"**The mission is off? What? Why?"**

"**I won't bullshit you on this Mercury, the mission will be anything but easy. The expected four of us is the bare minimum for the mission to even have a small chance of success, anything less and it won't be a suicide mission, it'll just be suicide." Jaune answered.**

"**Shit. We stormed an island fortress and put my old man six feet under… you telling me even after all that you got no confidence in us?" Mercury asked.**

"**I believe its better to err on the side of caution, to put it simply, Vale is already down two Spectres, I'd rather not bump that number up to three. Considering our target is holed up inside one of the most dangerous places outside the Grimmlands, we have our work cut out for us. Much as I'd like to succeed, sending us to an early grave benefits no one but our enemies." Jaune said.**

"**Fuck." Mercury said succinctly.**

"**Essentially. In any case, pack for a trip. We're settling the Malachite issue as well." Jaune shrugged and started heading for the door.**

"**Hell, it's about time." Mercury grinned and fingered a knife, eager to exact his own personal brand of justice on the one responsible for the slave camp.**

"Good, so that monster is finally going to face justice." Blake hissed out, anyone who could make life in the SDC mines look like a paradise deserved what was coming to them in her opinion.

"Finger's crossed for another saw outing." Mercury said.

"The two of you were beaten to the punch, so no saw outing." Blank replied.

**A cold wind blew through the deserted parking lot. At 3 AM in the morning, the world was quiet as it slumbered. The muted sound of an engine heralded the arrival of an unassuming truck. Mercury perked up as Jaune stepped out of the shadows to meet their contact.**

"**Amitola, wasn't expecting to see you here." Jaune greeted the chameleon faunus that stepped out of the driver's seat with a handshake.**

"Ilia?" Blake squirmed uncomfortably in her seat at the sight of the friend she left behind in the White Fang.

'Wonder how she's doing now…'

"**Not here for chit chat Spectre, Sienna Khan sends her regards. For rescuing those slaves, she expects you to do her a favour." Ilia said.**

"**Huh. Ya know, I'm pretty sure the White Fang got the better end of that deal. But fine, shoot." Jaune folded his arms and waited.**

"**Thanks to you blowing her operation wide open, Malachite's paranoid now. Convinced there's a spy in her ranks leaking information." Ilia shrugged at Jaune's raised eyebrow.**

"**Yes, I know, I'm one of the moles in her organisation. But the problem is, she's looking in the wrong direction, since the White Fang intervened, she's convinced her faunus staff are responsible for the leak."**

"**And she intends to plug em all? Predictable. Asshole move, but predictable. Guess Khan wants me to save those faunus and leave the White Fang to claim credit for it? Spares you a body count and get the PR boost. Also predictable." Jaune said.**

"**If you say so, those are the conditions for our assistance. Malachite's got her whole compound on lockdown to keep any 'rats' from escaping, without my security clearance, you're going to have to shoot your way in. Then again, it is you, so my help will just be saving you some ammo in the end." Ilia shrugged again, not really invested in the exchange. It wasn't like either of them didn't already know the result, but politics demanded a power play just for show.**

"**True enough. Khan can have the credit. After all, I was never here." Jaune agreed to the terms easily enough, whatever it took to hide Vale's involvement in this mess after all.**

"**Good. Then we better get going, the purge is taking place in about… forty-five minutes, so I'll get you there just in time to start." Ilia didn't wait for a response before getting back into the vehicle. Jaune sighed before motioning to Mercury to follow suit, recruiting Ren would have to wait till he was done with Malachite evidently. **

"Purge? You're kidding, I get that Mistral isn't the friendliest of places to the faunus, but there's no way anyone would be able to cover up something like this." Ironwood said in disbelief.

"Oh, you'd be surprised by what money and blackmail can achieve honestly. And when in doubt, put the blame on some scapegoat, bet you everything I have she already has a fall guy ready and waiting." Torchwick said.

"And what would you know about that?" Winter asked.

"Quite a lot actually. Let's just say, most of my earliest ah… escapades were fabrications. I got even, and then I just rolled with it." Roman admitted, next to him, Neo mimed running a knife across her throat to get the point across.

"**Remember Arc, don't shoot anyone wearing a white band. Those are my men." Ilia said as she pulled up to a stop at the guard house. Flashing her pass, the guard waved them through, Malachite Towers looming over them all.**

"**Sure, just make sure they get the memo to not shoot at me. If anyone does, I'll assume they're with Malachite and act accordingly." Jaune replied.**

"**Your target will be on the top floor surrounded by her guards, send whatever faunus you find to the lower levels, the White Fang will handle their evacuation from there." The truck rumbled to a halt at the entrance and after a quick check of the surroundings to make sure they were in the clear, Ilia let Jaune and Mercury off.**

"**I'd wish you luck Arc, but you don't need it." She nodded her goodbye before driving off, leaving the two of them behind to begin their mission.**

"**Tch, she could have stuck around to help." Mercury complained as he deactivated the safeties on his boots.**

"**She got us this far, it'll have to be enough. Come on, let's not keep Malachite waiting." Jaune drew Crocea Mors and a slid a pistol into his shield hand, leading the way into the darkened interior of the building.**

"This is… strange… seeing the White Fang as the good guys." Weiss muttered under her breath.

"The White Fang weren't always bad guys you know." Blake said, her ears having picked up on the comment anyways.

"I know, I know, I'm just saying it's weird, that's all."

"Good is debatable, in this timeline, there are a lot more shades of grey than your own. And of course, the White Fang here is fractured, Sienna Khan's faction is completely grey, there are others that stick to the original ideals of its founders and there are the factions that believe in escalating the conflict everywhere." Blank said.

"Adam." Blake spat the name out like a curse.

"No, surprisingly enough, not him this time." Blank corrected. Blake stared at the ball of light dubiously but said nothing, if it was another divergence, it'd probably come up later in the viewing.

**Jaune and Mercury stepped over the cooling bodies of several members of Malachite's gang. While Jaune frisked the bodies for useful supplies, Mercury planted a breaching charge on the metal shutters in their way.**

"**So much for stealth." Mercury commented as the explosive synced up to the detonator in his hand.**

"**Meh, if Ilia did her job right and shut down the security system, Malachite will know something's up even if she's blind to it. Might as well confirm her fears, let her sweat a little. Blow it." Jaune held his shield at the ready and Mercury hit the switch.**

**The thin metal of the shutters stood no chance against the breaching charge and a large hole was torn into it allowing them access. Jaune charged through the opening and held his pistol at the ready, pausing when he received no incoming gunfire.**

"**Don't shoot! Please!" Jaune's pistol snapped to the direction the voice came from and he could just make out several terrified faunus huddled in the corner. **

"**Who are- oh you must be the faunus Malachite is trying to silence." Jaune lowered his pistol slightly once he ascertained they presented no immediate threat.**

"**Hey… they're not with the Spiders I think. A-are you here to rescue us? We've been locked inside this tower for days now." One of the faunus spoke up when he noticed Jaune and Mercury lacking the spider tattoo that marked Malachite's men.**

"**Not… exactly. We're here for Malachite actually." Jaune answered.**

"**Oh. B-but is it safe to come out? You k-killed those thugs didn't you? We sealed ourselves in when they reached our level." The faunus pointed to the bodies lying at the entrance. Jaune and Mercury exchanged a glance before the Spectre shook his head.**

"**No, we did not. Head for the ground floor, there are… friends there to take you to safety. It's a lot safer than waiting up here anyways." Jaune instructed and the faunus didn't need telling twice, all of them scrambling for the exit.**

"**Someone else here for Malachite?" Mercury asked.**

"**Sure looks that way, let's go, maybe we'll meet em on the way up." Jaune shrugged and headed for the cargo elevator at the end of the room.**

"Just going to guess that it's Ren." Jaune said.

"Indeed. He's here to bring down Lil Miss Malachite as well for his own reasons." Blank confirmed.

"A gang war? You did say I was a mafia assassin." Ren frowned as the words left his lips, sounding strange even to his own ears.

"Indeed. Malachite is consolidating power, pushing the other crime lords out of Mistral one body at a time. You are their answer to her. And, it's also your last mission for them before your retirement." Blank said.

"Retirement? Assassins don't retire, they either just disappear or get iced by their bosses when they try to leave. If this Ren is that good, they'll never let him go." Mercury commented.

"Normally, that would be the case. But that version of Lie Ren is one of the best assassins the mafia ever had, it's less costly for them to simply let him go than try and off him. Even if they succeed, they're projected to take massive losses in the process, if they fail, he'll give them all a house call. And after this, he has the backing of a Vale Spectre, he's untouchable." Blank said.

**In hindsight, taking the elevator up when the bad guys were expecting you wasn't the best idea. Jaune sighed and held up his shield as soon as the lift rumbled to a halt, the emergency override activated from outside. "Get behind me Mercury."**

"**Sure boss." Mercury shrugged and ducked behind Jaune. Right as he did so, armour piercing bullets started pouring through the metal doors as Malachite's goons on the other side tried gunning them down before they could exit.**

**While bullets pinged off Jaune's shield, Mercury palmed another breaching charge and chucked it at the door. The bomb's adhesive stuck fast and a few seconds later, the doors blew outwards. Jaune and Mercury's aura took damage from their close proximity, but that still left them in better shape than the grunts on the other side.**

**Foolishly stacked up in a firing line for maximum concentration of firepower, they weren't expecting the metal doors and a cloud of shrapnel to suddenly go flying at them. They never got the chance to recover from being bowled over when Jaune and Mercury rushed out to finish the job.**

**Screams of shock and pain transitioned to choked gurgles as the coup de grace was delivered one by one. Mercury chuckled and lowered his boot when the last of their would-be executioners breathed her last. "Not so fun when the fish in the barrel shoot back is it?"**

"**Ah hell. We're too late for them." Jaune grimaced as he looked to one side of the lift lobby.**

"**Hmm? Ah fuck me. So what do we do boss?" Mercury cursed as well when he noticed what Jaune was staring at. The corpses of over a dozen faunus were leaning against the wall, each had been shot execution style, one bullet to the back of their heads. The bodies were left to rot where they fell.**

"**Ilia's not going to like this, scout ahead while I call this in." Jaune said.**

"Monsters, how could anyone do this?" Blake hissed in frustration at the atrocity on screen.

"Considering she set up that death camp, it's just another Tuesday for her I'd wager." Roman said.

"How barbaric." Goodwitch summed up.

**Avoiding any more elevators, Jaune and Mercury legged it the rest of the way to the top, fighting their way past waves of mechs and goons. As they systematically cleared their way upwards, the came across more faunus workers, some still alive, the purge not having reached them yet. Those they sent downwards to Ilia, but most of the time, they were only greeted with rooms full of blood and bodies.**

"**Ma'am, I haven't heard from teams four or five. Team eight is also late on their report." A lone commander stood in front of a glass window, looking out at the city of Mistral while giving his report to Lil' Miss.**

**Surrounded by the bodies of massacred innocents, the commander continued reassuring his boss that everything was under control. That his team would be ready to move at any moment to take down the intruders, whoever they were.**

**So preoccupied with the report, he never noticed Jaune and Mercury entering the room behind him. The Spectre smiled grimly and waited for him to finish his report and hang up on Malachite before announcing his presence with a cough.**

**The commander looked back and found himself staring down the barrel of a shotgun courtesy of Mercury. "Shit."**

"**Someone else is in the building besides us. I want information on them." Jaune said.**

"**If I knew that, would I be wasting time talking with you? Who the fuck are you anyways?" The commander shot back, unimpressed with the Spectre.**

"**You don't seem to understand your situation right now, there are two ways down from this level. The stairs and the express, it's your choice." Jaune said, advancing on the mercenary.**

"**Look pal, even if I knew who they are or where they are, I wouldn't tell you. So fuck off."**

"**Not the answer I was looking for." Jaune gave the man one last chance to reconsider his choice. **

"**Quit wasting my time, I got nothing more to say to you. My team is just around the corner, you shoot me and they'll AHHHHHH!" The commander's screams were punctuated by the sound of shattering glass as Jaune rammed his boot into the man's chest, sending him right through the window.**

"**The express route it is, thank you for flying Air Arc, many happy landings and all that." Jaune raised his shield and levelled his pistol at a door, the sound of footsteps and shouting coming from it.**

**As soon as the reinforcements burst through the door, they were met with a hail of gunfire that scythed them all down before they even knew what hit them.**

"**Onwards and upwards. Yay." Mercury discarded the spent captured shotgun and cheered unenthusiastically, not really looking forwards to climbing more stairs in the twisted building.**

"**Whoever designed this building should be shot."**

"**I heard Malachite **_**did **_**off the man, just on the off chance that there might be a security flaw somewhere he can sell to her enemies." Jaune replied.**

"**Shit, really? So… is there a flaw?" Mercury asked curiously.**

"**Technically, its defensive strength is the flaw. According to the blueprints I've got, when the lifts are shutdown, it's one way in, one way out and no fire escape or other emergency exit. It was built that way to hold off a siege of some sort, but then the obvious solution is to just burn down the building with everyone in it." **

"**Which we can't do since we gotta save these faunus right?"**

"**Pretty much. At least we know Malachite's not going anywhere." Jaune shrugged and pressed forwards.**

"There's no way she doesn't have some kind of secret escape route. No one would rise that high up in the underworld without having some kind of exit strategy. Bottling up for a last stand is stupid, and stupid gets you killed." Roman said, folding his arms and waiting to see what sort of trick Lil' Miss had up her sleeve.

"You are correct, but her escape route has already been taken into account." Blank said.

"Ooh… I can see it already. She runs when fearless leader shows up and then WHAM! Renny's already there waiting for her." Nora pounded a fist into her palm and grinned in anticipation.

**Lil' Miss Malachite spun around when the doors to her office opened, her guards raised their weapons and aimed them squarely at the duo who just sauntered in like they owned the place.**

"**Jaune Arc. A Vale Spectre in Mistral, international laws don't mean anything to you, do they?" Lil' Miss greeted in a faux cordial manner.**

"**They're more of a polite suggestion than anything else." Jaune nodded in acknowledgement.**

"**And now you're here to kill me." The mob boss snorted and poured herself a drink, sneering at Jaune and Mercury in disdain.**

"**Maybe I'm just here for a visit? Vale is always looking to foster closer friendships with her neighbours." Jaune said.**

"**Ah yes, friendships with an expiry date, the best kind. The only people vulnerable to a knife in the back are fools and close friends, am I warm?"**

"**Searing. But it's not the knife in the back you should be worrying about."**

"**Vale cloak and dagger, all smoke and mirrors and misdirection. While your enemies are busy chasing shadows, you walk up to them and stab them in the front. My island operation… that was you was it not?"**

"**Got it in one." Jaune gave her a round of applause for making the connection.**

"**Haaa… looks like I purged those animals for nothing then. At least I don't have to pay them anymore after this. Win-win." Lil' Miss shrugged and sipped from her glass nonchalantly, as though the hundred or so corpses littering her building didn't mean anything.**

"**That's all you care about? Damn, the more people like you I meet, the more I think I'm a well-adjusted individual. Shit, I'm pretty sure I qualify for sainthood already." Mercury snarked, ignoring the guns suddenly pointed his way.**

"**Why should I care about anything else? They're just animals, I'm worth more than their entire species put together… and we all know it." Malachite boasted, uncaring about the dark looks they were shooting at her.**

"Damn, the size of the ego on that one." Qrow commented while shaking his head.

"If she's trying to convince them to spare her life, I don't think she's doing a very good job of it." Emerald said.

"No shit. What school of negotiation did she even go to?" Mercury followed up.

"**Considering I'm standing right here, you might want to rethink that statement." Jaune said.**

"**You've destroyed my most profitable operation, killed half my men and practically destroyed my tower. I should have you fed to the Grimm for this, but I think we can work out a deal." Malachite sat down in her chair and folded her arms.**

"**You tryna bribe us lady? You can't afford us." Mercury fired back, after everything he'd seen, he wouldn't spare Malachite, not for every last lien on the planet.**

"**Nonsense, every man has his price, but be quiet dog. I'm speaking to your master." Malachite rolled her eyes and dismissed Mercury's presence, focusing on the Spectre instead.**

"**Why you-" Mercury began but Jaune cut him off.**

"**Stand down. For now."**

"**Boss, you can't be serious!" Mercury protested but did as he was told.**

"**Good dog. I knew you'd see sense Spectre. I own the Mistral council, was thinking of just taking a seat for myself next election too even if it is just a formality. Through me, Vale will gain control over this entire kingdom, what do you say?" Malachite made her offer and both Jaune and Mercury's eyes widened.**

"Holy crap, I knew the council was corrupt, but to that extent?" Torchwick's jaw hung open from shock. Neo politely reached over and pushed it shut with a finger.

"They're not completely corrupt, they just have no choice in the matter." Blank corrected.

"What do you mean they have no choice? They're the council! They're there to serve the people. This is cowardice… no, it's treason!" Winter spat out.

"Lil' Miss Malachite's reach is too great for them to oppose. If the council tries anything, she'll make them pay for it, and their efforts will be washed away by other pawns. They know that any resistance is pointless so they don't bother." Blank said.

"It's still cowardice." Winter persisted.

"Is it? If you were in their position would you oppose her if she promised to send you one of Weiss's fingers for every day you fail to comply with her demands?" Blank asked and Winter fell silent immediately, a greenish tinge colouring her face as she processed that image.

"Whatever the council's faults, they're only human."

"Hmmph, bonds made them weak, so much easier to do without. It's so easy to bend some people it's honestly quite a let-down." Cinder said, missing the look of hurt from Emerald.

"…**Very interesting proposition. But it's not going to make your problems go away. I passed a lot of your workers below, I can already see how our partnership will end." Jaune said and Malachite hissed at him.  
**

"**Screw you Spectre, where do you get off acting so high and mighty. We're both monsters who kill for our own desires, what gives you the right to judge me!?"**

"**I kill for Vale, you kill only for yourself… hell that ain't right, you kill just because you can, even when you gain nothing from it."**

"**Hmmph well… in any case…" Malachite trailed off and Jaune raised an eyebrow when confusion spread across her face.**

"**What? Why isn't it working?" She cursed and continued pulling a small lever under her desk repeatedly, frustration growing when nothing happened.**

**While all eyes were focused on Malachite's panic, Ren dropped in on them from the ceiling. Snapping the neck of the nearest guard with a savage twist, Ren danced away from the crosshairs of the remainder before slitting the throat of the next one with StormFlower.**

**Moving amongst the panicking guards with supernatural grace, Ren calmly disposed of all of them before finishing his performance right in front of Malachite. The mob boss could only gasp as Ren planted StormFlower right over her heart and pulled the trigger.**

"**Ren." Jaune greeted as the assassin carefully laid Malachite to rest, then clasped his hands together in silent prayer.**

"**Arc." Ren returned the greeting once he was done.**

"Clean. But, she got off easy." Mercury commented, impressed with Ren but disappointed at Malachite's easy passing at the same time.

"Do we know each other already?" Ren asked while trying to keep Nora's exuberance at his appearance in check.

"You've clashed once in the past, when you handed the Spectre one of his only defeats. Then you met again later on the same side, dealing with an arms dealer trying to start a new great war for profit." Blank said.

"So… we're friends?" Jaune hedged.

"Not exactly, not yet anyways. Most of the bad blood between the two of you is gone though thanks to Nora as a mutual friend, well that version of Ren is a little bit more than friends."

"**I'm surprised you're here. Thought I was going to have to go searching for you." Jaune said and started patting down the bodies for goodies.**

"**One last job for the mafia before I leave. I see your kleptomania has improved." Ren replied.**

"**Looting corpses is an improvement?" Mercury raised an eyebrow as Jaune snickered upon finding a wallet stuffed to the brim with lien.**

"**He calls it battlefield acquisitions, I think. At least he's capable of waiting for the bullets to stop flying before checking the bodies now." Ren shrugged and put away StormFlower seeing that neither of them were here to fight him.**

"**You're joking… boss, were you dropped on the head as a baby or something?" Mercury met Jaune's baleful glare with a blank stare of his own.**

"**I believe in efficiency, the sooner I get the goods, the less time there is for blood to reduce the resale value."**

"**All due respect bossman, you're fucked in the head." Mercury shook his head and sighed exaggeratedly.**

"**If it works, it works, I'm not going to let something like societal expectations stop me. In any case, if you're leaving the mafia, guess that means you finally put a ring on Nora then." Jaune rose to his feet after cleaning out the bodies, moving over to Malachite's computer to see if there were anymore goodies on it for him to collect.**

"**Ah… um… not yet. I was planning on asking after this mission actually." A small blush coloured Ren's pale features and the normally reserved assassin fidgeted on the spot.**

A purple silencing cylinder sprung up around Ren and Nora a split second before Nora could start screaming at the top of her lungs. As it was, the audience could still see her emoting excitedly inside and squeezing Ren in a death hug.

"I'm curious, how did the two of them meet?" Pyrrha asked.

"It was on the mission where Jaune Arc and Lie Ren first met. Ren was there to assassinate a VIP from Vale that Jaune was guarding. After the Spectre lost, Ren would have succeeded in his mission, except Nora Valkyrie was there. And she didn't take kindly to someone trying to carry out an assassination in front of her." Blank said.

"Nora beat Ren and then he fell for her?" Jaune asked.

"Not immediately, but that is the gist of it. And whenever the two of you start fighting, she's usually there to beat you both into the dirt, and thanks to her training under the Grim Reaper, she outclasses you both." Blank replied.

"Not fair. It's not fair." Qrow started grumbling again, getting awkward pats on the back from his teammates.

"**Hmmph, congratulations in advance then, we both know she'll say yes." Jaune said with a small grimace.**

"**So much for the mission."**

"**Mission? You're here to recruit me?" Ren asked.**

"**I was. But not anymore." Jaune shook his head, no way he was bringing Ren with him on a suicide mission.**

"**What kind of a mission is it?"**

"**Either assassination or search and destroy. Problem is, our target is located deep inside Grimm territory. I wanted your semblance to get us in, that's not happening now though. You deserve your happiness with Nora." Jaune downloaded as much info on Malachite's drive as he could before stowing the scroll away. The Merlot assignment would have to be passed to another Spectre after all.**

"**Eh, if the job is off, can you at least explain what you wanted us for now boss?" Mercury asked.**

"**I must admit, I am curious too, not everyday a Spectre comes looking to hire me." Ren added.**

"…**Fine. Do you both know of Mount Glenn?" Jaune spoke after a moment of hesitation.**

"**Yeah, failed expansion of Vale. Some fluke drew a bunch of Grimm to the city, entered through tunnels under the mountain. Whole city lost." Mercury answered.**

"**It wasn't a fluke. A mad scientist named Merlot was experimenting on the Grimm and attracted more into the city when he ran out of test subjects. To say it ended poorly is an understatement." Jaune said.**

"**Well, at least he's dead… ah fuck me, he's alive isn't he, and you wanted us to go kill him right?" Mercury looked to Jaune for confirmation. He sighed explosively when the answering nod came.**

"**Awhile back, we got news of activity going on in Mount Glenn, at first we thought it was some bandits trying to desecrate the place or loot it. A Spectre was sent to check it out, he vanished. A second was sent, and managed to report back about massively increased Grimm activity underground and a confirmed sighting of Dr Merlot before expiring."**

"**So you want him terminated." Ren said.**

"**Yeah. One, it's justice for the people who died. Two, whatever he's doing, it's not in humanity's best interest that's for sure. Mount Glenn is too close to Vale to ignore, and the spike in Grimm activity is worrying to say the least."**

"**I see… then I shall join you on this mission." Ren said after a moment of thought.**

"**What? No. I can't ask you to do this." Jaune shot down the suggestion.**

"**You're not asking, I'm volunteering. Jaune, you know me. You know my past. Do you seriously think I'm just going to stand by and let what happened to me happen to someone else? No." Ren stated firmly.**

"**Gotta say, it sounds like suicide but you helped me off my old man, so I'll go wherever you need me to boss. It's not like I have anywhere else to be." Mercury added on, leaning against Malachite's desk.**

"…**Alright, fine. One more person to recruit so there's still time for either of you to change your minds. But for now, it's a long walk down since the elevators are still out." Jaune said at last.**

"**Not exactly, there is one more elevator that works fine. It was Lil' Miss's escape route, but I disabled it while she was distracted with your climb." Ren said, pulling out a scroll and inputting several commands.**

"**Done, it's reactivated. Under her desk there are two levers, one causes the platform to descend to the basement slowly, the other is a rapid drop for emergency uses, but the brakes on that one are still deactivat…ed" Ren finished and blinked owlishly at the suddenly missing Jaune and Mercury as the desk fell through the floor.**

**Looking down into the hole the disguised lift had dropped into, he could make out their rapidly shrinking forms inside. A brief shout of 'wrong lever!' floated up to him. Shrugging at the turn of events, Ren leapt into the hole after them, his aura would handle the landing for him.**

"Hehehhehe… okay that was pretty funny." Mercury chuckled at the misfortune befalling his counterpart.

"Huh, emergency exit right in the middle of an office? Guess the architect put it in and then she had him killed to keep it secret." Ironwood mused to himself.

"It is one of the reasons. After all, the less people in on a secret, the more secret it actually is." Blank said.

"And now we move to the last member of the team. This should be interesting." Ozpin said, sipping from his mug.

"**So that's Lie Ren and Mercury Black, both of them are professionals so I'll assume they can follow your instructions." Ozpin lowered the file, moving to the last one in the stack.**

"**But really, it's the last one that I'm worried about. His… disdain for the Schnees is very well documented. Not to mention his… predilection for using murder as a solution to his problems." **

"**He's a terrorist, wanted dead or alive by both Mistral and Atlas, actually, just dead in the case of Atlas. You cannot seriously expect Beacon to enrol him." Goodwitch huffed in exasperation. **

"Umm… the last member of the team is White Fang? Is that wise? Given they're trying to protect Weiss here?" Blake asked hesitantly.

"Eh, it'll work out fine Blakey, I mean, Jaune's a good judge of character, there's no way he'll choose someone evil for his team." Yang reassured.

"**He is a troubled individual, but really, who on my team is well adjusted? I'll keep him in check, don't you worry about that." Jaune said.**

"**Your reassurances aside, I must admit to holding a lot of doubts about this one." Ozpin grimaced as he read through the rap sheet included in the documents.**

"**He's a cold-blooded murderer."**

"**Aren't we all? I am a Spectre, and your hands aren't clean either headmaster, nor yours, deputy headmistress. You know what they say about throwing stones in glass houses." Jaune fired back.**

"**Semantics. I am concerned for the safety of my students. As much as I hate to see it, racism is still present even in the student body, given his… character, I'm worried he'll start killing at the smallest slight." Ozpin said.**

"**I'll keep him in check, and if anyone is stupid enough to challenge him, nothing like a few broken bones to try and fix a case of terminal stupidity. They'll learn that not every fight is winnable, and picking ones you have no chance to win is a quick way to end up dead." Jaune replied easily.**

"**Mr Arc. The safety of my students isn't a joke." Ozpin glared at the Spectre for his nonchalance.**

"**It isn't? I honestly can't tell if you're being serious. Considering what you chose for your school's initiation, I think I'm actually more serious about their safety than you are. In any case, he owes me, so I'll keep him in check." Jaune shrugged off Ozpin's glare and folded his arms.**

"**See that you do." Goodwitch spat out.**

"**Of course, I take my job seriously. I suppose I should go over his file now, the final member of Team ALBA, Adam Taurus." **

"…I would like to retract my earlier statement." Yang said as a round of coughing and sputtering took the entire audience by storm.

"Him!? What madness is this? Weiss will never be safe with him around, he hates the Schnees more than anyone I've ever met." Blake shook her head in disbelief, then an icy claw reached around her heart at the thought of Adam and her both being in Beacon at the same time.

"What divergence caused this? Just the thought of Adam freaking Taurus protecting a Schnee is giving me a headache." Roman rubbed his temples to ease the building migraine.

"Well, you remember when I said the White Fang was fractured?" Blank said, getting a bunch of nods in response.

"As you no doubt can guess, Adam Taurus would have been the champion for the more extremist factions, his strength, his skill, his unwillingness to compromise. But, he had one weakness that kept him from his 'potential' in their eyes."

"What weakness could he have?" Blake asked, wracking her brains to try and think of what could possibly be holding her old mentor back from being even more violent.

"You." Blank said simply.

"What?" Came the confused reply.

"In this timeline, you kept him in check, kept him from sinking into the abyss completely. Until you couldn't anymore." Blank said before falling silent and allowing the viewing to continue playing.

**Mercury and Ren were playing a game of chess when the door to the penthouse swung open. Jaune stepped through and greeted them both with a nod. "Alright, I have a fix on the final member of our unit. We're off to Atlas."**

"**Ah so Sienna Khan finally located Adam. Very well, I shall make preparations immediately." Ren said and stood up, heading for his room to begin packing.**

"**Just don't bring along any of those health drinks and we'll be good. I'm pretty sure that thing is just a few ingredients off a chemical weapons classification." Mercury rose and started stretching to work out the kinks in his back.**

"**So what it is it this time boss, we just gonna walk up to him and ask nicely or what?"**

"**Not exactly, we don't have a lock on his current position, but we know where he's going to be. In a few days, one of the SDC's most profitable dust mines is going to be attacked by a branch of the White Fang, they want to send a message by destroying the place completely. Adam will be there to ensure they pay for their victory in blood, we'll try and get him to join us when we find him." Jaune answered.**

"Wait, he's fighting against the White Fang? How does that work?" Weiss asked.

"In this timeline, Adam Taurus is no longer with the White Fang, in fact, he's largely opposed to most of their factions after they betrayed him." Blank said.

"Betrayed?" Emerald looked for an explanation but none was forthcoming.

**Adam Taurus stared dispassionately at the White Fang member currently impaled on Wilt. As the flailing arms grew weaker and weaker and the gurgling died away, Adam tore his blade free from the corpse, letting it fall to the ground and stain the pure white snow a bright crimson.**

**Returning the bloody blade to its scabbard, Adam stepped back and admired his handiwork. The broken forms of a full White Fang platoon lay scattered all around him, another unit destroyed, another unit the betrayers no longer had to protect them. Snow continued falling from the sky, blanketing the world in white and beginning the slow process of covering up the bodies. A no name road in the middle of Solitas's frozen wastelands, Adam wondered if this little bit of pest control would help put it on the map one day.**

**The sound of someone clearing their throat pulled the faunus out of his thoughts. Adam turned to regard the newcomers, his eyes narrowed when the three of them approached without a shred of fear to them. "What do you want meat bags."**

"**Adam Taurus, didn't expect to run into you here honestly. I thought you'd be at the mines already." Jaune said in greeting.**

"**So you found me, here to kill me? You're welcome to try." Adam kept one hand on Wilt's handle, ready to draw it at a moment's notice.**

"**I'm here to extend a job offer." Jaune said. The bull faunus simply snorted in response.**

"**Not interested. Leave before I cut you down."**

"Some things never change I guess." Cinder muttered, recalling her first meeting with the Adam of her world.

"**So quick to turn down the offer, I guess you don't want the information I have then. You'll just have to get your revenge on your own." Jaune said, undaunted by Adam's expected response.**

"…**Get to the point, or I'll get to mine. And mine is infinitely sharper I assure you." Adam said at last.**

"**I'll give you what you want, in exchange I want you on my team for a mission." Jaune said.**

"**No. Give me the information now or else." Adam threatened, causing Mercury and Ren to both enter a combat stance.**

"**Oh you **_**really **_**don't wanna try us buddy." Mercury snarled back.**

"**Stand down, both of you. We're here with an offer from Sienna Khan, work with Vale for a bit and she'll clear your name." Jaune held up an arm to keep Mercury and Ren back from starting a needless fight.**

"**Khan? How generous of her, she's the one who hung me out to dry. What, have I killed so many **_**soldiers of the White Fang**_** that she's finally desperate to get me out of her hair?" Adam gestured to the bodies around them and smirked cruelly.**

"**Considering you've personally wiped out the White Fang presence in Vacuo and damn near did the same to the Atlas branch, I'd say yes, she probably is. Though she's got nothing against you except your existence disincentivising faunus from joining. It's not like the ones you killed haven't been thorns in her side." Jaune said.**

"**So, why the offer all of a sudden? She was fine letting me take the fall a year ago. Now she can suddenly clear my name? What's the catch?" Adam asked.**

"**No catch. Your mutual enemies have finally left Menagerie to lead an operation personally. It's the perfect chance to strike. Once they're gone, there's nothing stopping Khan from undoing their work. Of course, you won't find them by just attacking the operation at the mine by yourself, they'll ditch as soon as they get news of your arrival."**

"**The Albains are out in the open? I see… so in exchange for helping me kill them, you want me to be your personal attack dog is that it?" Adam's eyes widened perceptibly at the news before narrowing at Jaune.**

"**I just want your strengths for a mission. Once it's done, you're free to go, as long as you don't hurt Vale I couldn't care less what you do after that. Stay in Vale, go back to Menagerie or continue your campaign against the White Fang, it's your choice."**

**Adam said nothing for a moment. Reaching down to his waist, he retrieved his second weapon. Staring at Gambol Shroud for a moment, he closed his eyes and made up his mind. Returning it to its holster, Adam looked Jaune dead in the eye, searching for any sign of deception. He huffed when he found none. "Fine, but if you cross me, you won't live long enough to regret it."**

"That's… why does he have my weapon!?" Blake stared at the screen in surprise.

"Grrr… what did he do to Blake?" Yang growled in anger.

"Nothing. He didn't do anything, and that was the problem." Blank said.

"I'm not sure I follow." Jaune said, voicing the confusion plaguing most of the audience.

"I'll let him explain it himself." Blank said and redirected their attention to the screen.

"**So what's your story?" Mercury asked as the transport rumbled along the rocky roads. The four of them were en route to the mine with Ren in the driver's seat. Jaune himself was seated on top of the vehicle, busy emptying his stomach over the side repeatedly, leaving Mercury and Adam alone in the back.**

"And vomit boy strikes again." Jaune sighed at his motion sickness acting up on screen while his friends giggled despite themselves.

"**I don't see the need to explain myself to you flesh bag." Adam shot Mercury a glare that the assassin simply shrugged off.**

"**We're about to attack a small army of terrorists, then the boss has some kind of suicide mission planned after this. Nothing wrong with just chatting, we might be too dead for that tomorrow. So, what's your story? Me? My dad sawed off my legs with a saw, then the boss helped me get revenge, so now I do what he says." Mercury lifted his pant's legs to display the prosthetics underneath, drawing a small 'hmmph' from Adam.**

"**What's to say. I joined the White Fang when I had nowhere else to go. I wanted vengeance against the Schnee for what they did to me as a child." Adam removed his face mask and ran a finger across the SDC brand across his eye.**

"**Shit, and people call us monsters. How'd you survive?" Mercury asked.**

"**Same way you survived having your legs sawn off, a stubborn enough bastard can survive just about anything. Rage is a hell of an anaesthetic." Adam grunted out before returning the mask to his face.**

In the audience, Weiss and Winter squirmed uncomfortably as the sins of their family was brought up once more. Ironwood on the other hand was making note to thoroughly investigate the SDC and other Atlas industrial giants, the brothers know they had enough enemies as it was without having to deal with their own people making more.

"**True that. But how'd you go from White Fang poster boy to their single greatest pain in the ass?" Mercury asked, getting a warning growl from Adam in return.**

"**I had a pupil once. Daughter of the founders of the White Fang. She convinced me to shift my goals from vengeance against the human race to ensuring **_**this**_** doesn't ever happen again." Adam gestured to his mask before sighing.**

"**It worked, our actions brought change. But **_**some people**_** thought I wasn't going far enough. That I was going soft, that my pupil was taking away my edge. The Albain brothers, Corsac and Fennec, they were the loudest of the bunch, demanded I stay away from her, keep my blade from rusting any further."**

"**You refused and they offed her, didn't they?" Mercury pieced the puzzle together and Adam responded with a curt nod.**

"I'm… dead?" Blake whispered softly. She didn't have time to wallow in shock though, not with her team pulling her into a group hug.

"Killing your own as a way to motivate others? Oh boy, if that isn't asking for a knife in the back, I don't know what is." Qrow muttered and drank from his flask to wash out the disgusting taste in his mouth.

"It would work as a false flag operation though. Blaming Ms Belladonna's death on humans would only incentivise greater hatred and give them the escalation they desire." Ozpin said.

"That was the plan, but it fell through due to unforeseen circumstances. And the result is the Adam Taurus you see on screen." Blank confirmed.

"**They arranged a hit on her while she was out on patrol. A friend of hers found out about the assassination plot and came to me, we… we didn't make it in time." Adam looked away from Mercury, his failure to save Blake haunting him to this day.**

"**The Albains wanted a monster, they got one. I butchered the hit squad like the animals they were, would have gone after the brothers next, but they cut their losses first. Named me a traitor, damned me for killing an entire squad of **_**loyal**_** soldiers and his own pupil out of spite and jealousy. Turned the entire White Fang against me overnight, had me banished from Menagerie on pain of death." Dark laughter emanated from Adam as he drew Gambol Shroud out of its holster and stared at it.**

"**Khan stood by and did nothing. Her parents cursed my very existence without bothering to hear my side of the story. The faunus, the people I bled for, they turned their backs on me. I thought the brand on my face was the single greatest injustice I could ever suffer. I was wrong." Adam shrugged and holstered the weapon.**

"And you lot wonder why Salem is winning. You're doing such an excellent job destroying yourselves sometimes I wonder if Salem even needs to do anything other than wait for you to destroy yourselves." Cinder smirked at the glares directed her way.

"We'll stop you, then we'll stop your boss. So just shut up and wait quietly for one of us to slit your throat okay?" Qrow an empty wine bottle at the barrier separating their sections, growling when it shattered harmlessly and caused Cinder's smirk to widen.

"I suppose you are entitled to your own delusions, however ridiculous they are."

"**Bet ya made them regret not killing you huh?" Mercury commented.**

"**Oh but of course. I live only to grind everything the Albains have ever built to dust. Them and all who would follow them. Vacuo no longer has a White Fang branch and Atlas will soon be free of the infestation too. I've killed plenty of humans and faunus, and I've come to the conclusion that all of you are just meat bags, you bleed red and you die when I remove your head. Equally worthless in the end." Adam chuckled to himself.**

"**Hey, speak for yourself. Meat bag I may be, but I'll have you know that I'm at least worth more than our fearless leader up top currently setting the world record for most disgusting case of motion sickness ever." Mercury joked back and despite himself, Adam found himself chuckling along.**

"Motion sickness is a more common problem than people think." Jaune sighed as the wave of giggling hit him.

"Cheer up Jaune, it's getting better at least." Pyrrha offered him a smile while doing her best to keep her own laughter in check.

"Hmmph!" Jaune frowned and hunched over with folded arms pouting, that simply drew out another wave of giggling from the champion. A quick peck to his cheek did improve his mood at least.

**By the time they got to the mines, the battle was already in full swing as White Fang soldiers clashed with SDC security. Bullets were flying everywhere and panicking civilian workers were running about, adding to the chaos.**

**It was a bumpy ride to their destination as Ren refused to stop the truck, barrelling over the White Fang in their way and turning them into roadkill. A pale and shivering Jaune managed to ready his weapons while Adam and Mercury both shot him looks of sympathy.**

"**We're here, sector D-3, everyone out!" Ren announced before aiming the truck directly at a large concentration of White Fang grunts. Bullets shattered the windscreen and Ren ducked behind the wheel to present a smaller target. Waiting till the last second before opening the door and throwing himself out the side, he rolled to a stop and watched the faunus scatter or be run over by the runaway truck.**

**Jaune staggered to his feet and pressed the detonator in hand, activating the explosives attached to the vehicle, blowing it sky high and wiping out the White Fang soldiers unlucky enough to be caught in the blast.**

**Crocea Mors deployed and Jaune held up the shield, allowing bullets to bounce harmlessly off it while he regained his bearings. Adam and Mercury had already engaged the survivors at melee range while Ren hung back and provided cover fire.**

"**They're certainly effective." Jaune gave himself a small pat on the back for putting together the team before shaking his head to clear away the distractions. Retrieving his gauss rifle from its position slung across his back, the Spectre contributed sniper fire to the mix, taking out anyone trying to flank or counter snipe.**

"For a group that was just thrown together, they work together surprisingly well." Ironwood commented.

"Spectre Jaune Arc set it up that way. All of them can do multiple roles thanks to their training, but the ones they default to complement one another without interfering with the others too much." Blank said.

"Erm… what does that mean?" Ruby asked.

"I'm the sniper, Ren's the mid-range support, Mercury is the hit and run skirmisher and Adam is the frontline tank and… heavy hitter maybe with that semblance. At the same time, Ren and Mercury can both run crowd control with their weapons." Jaune analysed.

"Oh, that makes sense… hey! This makes us sniper buddies, now if I just had the blueprints for that gun…" Ruby started muttering unintelligibly under her breath, already making plans to get Jaune a sniper rifle and convert him to the way of the sniper in the future.

"Uh… maybe that can wait till I'm a little better at the sword and shield first?" Jaune laughed nervously as an unholy gleam entered Ruby's eyes.

"**I-inside! They're both inside! Argh!" A captured faunus choked out as Adam continued holding him in the air by the throat.**

"**Good. The mines can be their tomb then." The bull faunus raised Wilt and rammed it through his captive's heart, killing him immediately.**

"**Oh, we killing prisoners again. You know at the rate we're going, people are going to stop trying to surrender to us." Mercury complained.**

"**And that is a problem how?" Adam asked.**

"**A lot of unnecessary fighting. I'm an assassin, the idea is I kill my target asap, get out and get paid so I can get to the next job. Sticking around fighting random mooks isn't profitable and a bloody waste of time." Mercury said.**

"**We'll keep in mind for next time. Way forwards is clear, let's go before the Albains get away." Jaune slung the rifle over his shoulders and switched to a pistol and shield combination for the close quarters inside the mine.**

"Mercury making sense for once? Just how twisted is this world?" Emerald rubbed her eyes to double check she wasn't hallucinating.

"Piss off Em." Mercury shot back.

**Visibility inside the mine was poor, with most of the lights destroyed by the White Fang to give the faunus an advantage over the human defenders. It was frustrating for the human members of the team, their muzzle flashes playing hell with their vision in the darkness, but for Adam, the near pitch-black environment suited him just fine.**

"**Hmm… this reminds me of those horror movies Nora likes to watch, only the horror is on our side." Ren had a half smile as Adam slaughtered his way past the White Fang troops trapped in the mine with them. The screams of terror died away one by one and thanks to the nature of the mines, he could only wonder exactly what other White Fang members were thinking when the echoes reached them.**

**Adam's rampage into the mines came to a halt when he heard footsteps on a catwalk above him. Looking up, he was greeted with the sight of one of his targets standing there. The muted rage that had been burning in him constantly flared up into an inferno. "Corsac."**

"**Adam? This is unexpected, so you finally tracked me down." Corsac glared at Adam, by his side, his guards raised their weapons and prepared to open fire on his command.**

"**You're a dead man, you and your brother." Adam snarled, gripping Wilt tightly.**

"**And you're a bloody disappointment. You could have been the greatest of us, but you let Belladonna corrupt you. Betrayed us all for that miserable wretch!" Corsac snapped back.**

"**Only one traitor here and I'm staring at him. But don't worry, where you're going you won't be seeing her again."**

"**Don't try it Taurus, I have a whole company of White Fang behind me, ready to kill or be killed on my command. Actually, take your best shot, give my men a reason to put you down like the mad dog you are." Corsac grinned, firmly convinced in his superiority.**

**That grin was wiped away when Adam fired a fully charged Moonslice at him. He ducked under the energy wave in time but the two guards next to him didn't and their heads hit the ground a second before their bodies followed suit.**

"**You just signed your death warrant Taurus, kill him!" Corsac yelled and retreated further into the mines to regroup with Fennec. The remaining White Fang troops hosed Adam and company with bullets forcing them to duck behind cover.**

"**Damnit Taurus, couldn't you wait for me to line up a shot? I almost had the bastard." Jaune peeked out from behind cover and started sniping, downing several before incoming fire had him pulling back. The Spectre sighed at the missed opportunity to eliminate Corsac, having arrived at the tail end of their conversation, he was a split second away from putting a rail gun round right through Corsac's skull when Adam did the Moonslice and tossed that plan out the window.**

"**This is my mission, it goes how I want it to go. You want my help meat bag? Then quit getting in my way." Adam said.**

"**Yeah but uh, the boss had him dead to rights, you let him get away." Mercury chimed in.**

"**Less arguing, more shooting." Ren called out while firing on the enemy with his guns.**

**But as it turned out, the point was moot. The mine shuddered and cracks spread across the wall, several explosions could be heard in the distance. The White Fang soldiers on the catwalk vanished when the entire section of the wall crumbled away, dumping them on the ground and then a few hundred tons of rubble on top of them.**

"**The hell was that?" Jaune was the first to find his voice once the rumbling ceased.**

"Is the mine being destabilised? That could collapse it on top of all of them." Winter said, some worry in her voice.

"Did the White Fang do that? No… that can't be right, their own leaders are inside the mine." Taiyang dismissed the idea as soon as it popped up.

"It's a side effect of the conflict in another section of the mine. A recently discovered dust vein got agitated by all the fighting and is about to start a chain reaction that could level the whole place." Blank said.

"Well… at least we know the team survives?" Pyrrha offered, trying to look on the bright side.

"I'm more worried about the other miners still trapped inside." Blake said.

**Pushing deeper into the mines, the Albains remained one step ahead of ALBA, the sheer number of bodies they had to throw against the team slowing them down considerably. All the while, the mine continued to shake under their feet.**

"**Help us! Please! We can't get to the control room to seal off the dust storage! The chain reaction is going to collapse the entire mine!" A faunus miner screamed at them for help once he noticed them approaching. **

**The miner was trapped on a lower level with no way to escape and more of his compatriots were tied up even further within. He ducked as several explosions nearly consumed him before looking back to them, desperation written all over his face.**

"**No time. If we delay, Corsac and Fennec might find a way to escape again." Adam said before pressing ahead, leaving the miners to their fate.**

"**You want to leave the miners here to die?" Ren asked, raising his voice in shock.**

"**I get you want them dead, but is it worth watching them all be buried alive?"**

"**I'm not sticking around to watch. We stop to help the SDC and the Albains get away. And if they get away, I'm blaming you." Adam jabbed a finger into Ren's chest, getting the Mistralian to growl in anger.**

"Help the SDC? But… that's helping the miners, the faunus, not the SDC! What is wrong with him?" Blake spat out.

"Quite a lot actually. He didn't take your death or his subsequent banishment very well. The drive for vengeance has almost consumed him completely. It is a good thing he's not completely lost though." Blank said.

"You sure? Looks like a lost cause to me." Yang said.

"**Enough. You want the Albains dead. They'll die. You want us to abandon the miners, we can do that too. Time's a wasting." Jaune said evenly.**

"**Good that you see things my way." Adam turned away from them and prepared to march deeper into the mines, vengeance was so close he could almost taste it.**

"What the heck is other me doing!? He can't seriously be agreeing to abandon them!" Jaune stared at the screen in disbelief. The sheer callousness of his counterpart's words a shock to the system.

"Hmmph, guess a Spectre's mandate of protection only extends to the people of Vale then." Torchwick said. Neo shook her head and displayed her scroll to him.

"Yes, I know he saved those slaves on the island… and killed Malachite… but those were… oh… mind gaming Taurus? That could work." Neo smiled at having brought Roman around to her viewpoint and waved off the curious glances being sent her way.

"**I mean we all die someday. Looks like their time is up today, as long as you can explain yourself to Blake on the other side when it's your turn to go, do whatever you want." Jaune added and Adam halted mid-step.**

"**What are you getting at flesh bag?" Adam whirled on Jaune Wilt already in hand, ready to attack if Jaune continued pushing his buttons.**

"**Hey, I'm just saying. I've made peace with the fact that I'm a monster, but you? You carry her weapon as some kind of memento, a reminder of who she was. I never met her, but I happen to know an old friend of hers who gave me a good idea of what kind of a person Blake was. You obviously know her better than I do, so you tell me how do you think she's going to react to you abandoning the miners." Jaune said.**

"**Do their lives matter to you that much? Then go save them on your own." Adam snarled, unable to find a way to refute his words.**

"**They don't actually. The citizens of Vale are the **_**only**_** people I'm concerned with. A Spectre will do whatever it takes to complete the mission. And my mission requires your assistance, so right here and now, I'll follow your lead." Jaune said, giving the choice to Adam.**

**Adam growled in frustration, Gambol Shroud seemed to have increased in weight by several hundred times and was now weighing him down. With a final snarl, he changed course and started heading for the trapped miners. "Fine! But if they get away, it's on you."**

"**Don't you worry about that. I take responsibility for my actions, even if they do get away, there is nowhere they'll be able to hide from me forever. You may not be able to enter Menagerie, but that restriction doesn't apply to me. we'll get them." Jaune smiled thinly and fell in step behind Adam, Mercury and Ren exchanged a glance before following suit.**

"Whew, so he wasn't going to abandon them after all." Jaune sighed in relief and sank into his seat.

"Yeah, for a moment there, I thought he was actually going to go through with it." Roman commented.

"Out of curiosity, would he have abandoned them if Adam Taurus insisted on pressing ahead?" Goodwitch asked.

"He would have." Blank answered.

"What!? Why!?" Ruby shouted out.

"He's a Spectre, the people of Vale are his only concern. And that means putting a stop to Merlot's plans in Mount Glenn, it's cold and cruel to abandon the miners but if it gets Adam Taurus on his side and they can stop Merlot from damaging Vale or possibly the entire world, then the trade off is worth it in his eyes." Blank said.

"How can he even justify that!? To abandon people in need right in front of you just to worry about a threat that might not even exist?" Blake sputtered out.

"Spectres cannot allow themselves to be blinded by things like emotions or ethics. They are the last line of defence for Vale, a lot of lives are riding on their shoulders and that means doing things they're not proud of. Black ops are black ops for a reason, and considering Merlot personally wiped out an entire city of people, he's a clear and present danger. The question to the Spectres isn't 'if' Merlot will threaten Vale, it's 'when'." Blank explained.

"To do what needs to be done, no matter the cost huh." Ironwood muttered.

**Halting the chain reaction threatening to bring down the mine was more difficult than initially expected. Several explosions and earthquakes had damaged the machinery and even with four of them rushing around fixing things alongside whatever miners could help them, they were stretched painfully thin.**

**Chemical fires and combusting dust added toxic fumes to the equation and throw in some fanatical White Fang for good measure, the entire mission was a complete mess. Progress was almost stalled by the ludicrous amount of opposition in their way but progress they did.**

**First the power to all nonessential systems were cut off, preventing broken wiring from causing anymore fires elsewhere. Then the dust storage was sealed off where the fires couldn't ignite the dust within and cause a massive explosion. Several walls were collapsed, causing a breach in the dust veins and keeping the chain reaction from progressing any further. And finally, there was removing the rubble blocking the emergency exits, allowing the miners to escape to safety above ground.**

**By the time they were done, all four of them were dog tired. Adam's anger had dulled to smouldering embers, despite having been betrayed and hurt by everyone, it still felt good to rescue the miners. Reminded him of better days despite his efforts to quash those memories.**

"**Well, well, well, so good karma is a thing after all. Yo, Adam! Got something here for you!" Mercury grinned as he looked down into a pit. Several White Fang members had fallen into it and were now trapped inside, fuel from damaged machinery was pouring into the hole, making the walls too slippery to climb out.**

**Most of the masked terrorists weren't of concern to Mercury. But one amongst them was outfitted in a similar manner to Corsac, and since he didn't wear a mask, the familial resemblance was obvious. Mercury chuckled and stepped aside, allowing Adam to get a better look.**

"**Fennec. How deliciously unexpected." Adam's cruel smile was plastered across his face as he stared at one member of the treacherous duo down below.**

"**Adam?" Fennec looked up with fear in his eyes.**

"**Please help us!"**

"**After what you did to Blake and myself… do you seriously expect me to do that?"**

"**It wasn't supposed to be that way! She was corrupting you! Making you weak! We only wanted to see you strong again!" Fennec called out and Adam started laughing.**

"**Hhhahahahah… oh you wanted me strong? You succeeded."**

"**Help us damnit! You can't leave us here for Atlas!" Fennec roared. His face paled when Adam brandished a red crystal in hand.**

"**Alright, I won't leave you for Atlas. Fry, you son of a bitch." Adam agitated the red dust in hand and let it drop into the oil filled pit before walking away. The dust crystal ignited and soon the entire pit was burning with everyone in it. The screaming only caused Adam's smile to grow.**

"Ice cold baby, ice cold." Mercury chuckled at his little joke as Fennec and his goons went up in flames.

"One down, one to go." Roman said.

"Those screams are going to haunt my nightmares." Jaune sighed out.

"So does Corsac get away?" Ozpin asked.

"No. Sienna Khan sent extra help to make sure the Albains are put down for good. You'll see in a bit." Blank said.

**As ALBA exited the mines, they were greeted with the curious sight of several captured White Fang prisoners kneeling on the ground. And their captors were more White Fang.**

"**Stand down, they're friendlies." Ilia said as several rifles snapped in ALBA's direction.**

"**Ma'am, that's Adam Taurus! We should kill him before he kills us all!" One of the grunts said, slight panic in his voice.**

"**If you don't shoot him, he won't kill you. Hurry and load the rest of these jokers on the bullhead, we're don't have time to tangle with Atlas reinforcements." Ilia ordered and her men snapped to attention, hurrying to carry out her bidding and getting the hell away from the Butcher.**

"**Hello Adam, Jaune." **

"**Ilia. Khan sent you to assist?" Jaune returned the greeting with a small nod of his own. **

"**She did. I'm here to make sure the Albains don't get away again. Good thing I got here in time isn't it?" Ilia gestured to two men standing off to the side, at once they began dragging a hooded prisoner over to them.**

**Upon ripping off the hood, Corsac's pissed off expression was visible. It transitioned to one of fear once he noticed Adam's grinning visage in front of him, then his struggling intensified. "No! You can't be here! Kill him! He's the traitor!"**

"**No, that's not happening, and shut the fuck up you bastard." Ilia emphasised her words with a right hook to Corsac's face, knocking several teeth loose and causing him to bite back a scream of pain.**

"**Amitola! Whatever disagreements we have with Sienna, this is Adam Taurus! He's the one who killed Belladonna! He's a filthy traitor! Kill him!" Corsac spat out when he found his voice again.**

"**Lying even now. I was framed, by you. The only traitor here is you." Adam fired back, hand already itching to draw his weapon and start stabbing.**

"**Your lies hold no weight here Corsac. Didn't you ever wonder how Adam got to your men that night? Didn't you ever wonder who tipped him off?" Ilia's voice was quivering from the pure rage she was bottling up.**

"**You?" Corsac's eyes widened as realization dawned on him.**

"**Me." Ilia confirmed.**

"**You had my best friend murdered and framed Adam for your sins. There's nothing I want more than to run you through with Lightning Lash right now but… Adam has the right to your head. Go on, do your thing." Ilia stepped back and gestured to Adam to get on with it.**

"**Hahahah… I've waited a long time for this day. I found your brother in the mines, trapped in a pit, want to know what I did to him?" Adam leaned in close and relished in the horror on Corsac's face.**

"**He begged for mercy and then I burned him alive. His screams were exquisite, a shame I don't have the time to do the same to you."**

"**No! Bastard! Let me go! Let me go!" Corsac redoubled his efforts to escape but his captors held firm. Adam glanced to Jaune to see if he wanted to interfere again but the Spectre merely tapped his watch to hurry him along.**

**Adam chuckled and drew Wilt with one hand. In the other, he pulled out Gambol Shroud and switched it to katana mode. Resting the blades against Corsac's throat like a pair of oversized scissors, he allowed the doomed faunus several moments of struggling to get away before speaking again.**

"**Goodbye Corsac, die knowing that you've accomplished nothing of worth in this life. Rot in hell with your brother."**

"**NOOOOO-" Corsac's scream was literally cut off when Adam moved his swords, the blade scissoring through his neck and a second later, there was a dull thud when his head hit the floor. With their prisoner executed, the White Fang guards simply dropped the body and backed away from the expanding pool of crimson.**

"**Haaa… it's done. You've helped me get my revenge Spectre, so you can count on me for your mission." Adam said to Jaune.**

"**Excellent. Then let's get going before Atlas arrives, I don't want to have to explain this."**

"So what happens to Adam now? He's got his revenge." Blake asked softly.

"There's the mission to Mount Glenn, after that he just stuck around in Vale since clearing his name and preparing a welcome back to Menagerie would take time even with the Albains's interference gone. Then, it's a very slow road to healing." Blank said.

"But he gets better then?" Blake asked again.

"For a definition of better. He's functional but will never really fit in again, not after everything he's been through. As you can no doubt see by now, none of the members of team Alabaster are what you'd call well adjusted. Each of them is broken in their own way." Blank said.

"But since the four of them are a team now, they function as a support group for one another then." Goodwitch commented.

"Indeed. Not a perfect solution, but it's the best one they've got." Blank confirmed

"**So that's your team. If Adam Taurus got his rage under control with the deaths of those who betrayed him, I suppose things could be worse." Ozpin said and lowered the file to the table.**

"**Yep, that's all three of em. Any other questions, if not, I have paperwork to fill out." Jaune's grimace spoke volumes about just how much he detested that one particular portion of being a Spectre.**

"**Just one. You said you recruited them for a mission to assassinate Merlot in the ruins of Mount Glenn, but you also said he's still alive. How did that happen? And did it have anything to do with the massive explosion a while back?" Ozpin asked.**

**Jaune's expression turned ugly as he recalled the clusterfuck of a mission and how badly things had gone wrong in the tunnels beneath Mount Glenn. "Yeah, that explosion was us. The mission was a bust from the very beginning, Merlot was never there, he's operating remotely from a base elsewhere. At the very least we stopped the abominations he was creating."**

"**Abominations?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow at the word.**

"**Hmmph, the Grimm are a big enough threat as it is, ask anyone and they'll tell you that. Not the bastard though. I don't know what kind of experiments he was doing when the city fell, but I know what he's doing now. He's completely fucked in the head, the Grimm are too weak he said. Evolution made them the apex species on Remnant, but didn't push far enough. He's trying to improve the Grimm, become some kind of Grimm God, create the ultimate Grimm and wipe both humanity and faunus kind out." Jaune said.**

"**That's ridiculous, no one would be that insane!" Goodwitch denied, unable to wrap her head around the idea of someone trying to make the Grimm more dangerous. Someone who wasn't Salem anyways.**

"**Then it's a good thing he failed I suppose." Ozpin sipped from his mug, halting at the dark laughter coming from Jaune.**

"**Failed? He succeeded!" Jaune hissed out, slamming a fist down on the table in anger.**

"What!?" Ozpin's exclamation mirrored his on-screen counterpart and spoke for the entire audience.

"It's a divergence. The Merlot of your world hasn't made it anywhere near as far as that Merlot. But this one is a threat to humanity on the same level as Salem." Blank said.

"That's impossible! No one can be stronger than her. With her magic and control of the Grimm, she's invincible." Cinder denied.

"Hard to beat, not invincible. But this version of Dr Merlot is increasing his control over the Grimm, given enough time, he'll match if not eclipse Salem's control. And his Grimm are superior to standard Grimm on almost every point. Stronger, faster, tougher, more violent. To be honest, that world only continues to exist because Merlot and Salem are unaware of one another, if they ever join forces, that's it for Remnant." Blank said.

"That's a disturbing image." Qrow said and started draining his flask.

"No kidding, gimme that bottle." Summer agreed and grabbed one of the bottles next to Qrow.

"**Succeeded? Explain." Ozpin's brows furrowed in thought as he waited for Jaune to calm down.**

"**Excuse me. Just recalling that mess is enough to piss me off. Point is, Merlot's found a way to make… improvements to the Grimm. And he can control some of them personally. Haaa…" Jaune sighed and breathed in deeply to recompose himself.**

"**We found his old lab in the ruins of the city, then we found a still active one below it. As it turns out, the city was probably doomed in the long run anyways, Merlot just kicked off the first domino early. There was an actual fucking Grimm dragon sleeping beneath the city, the damn thing can spawn more Grimm just by existing, it's how the city fell so fast. The Grimm Merlot lured into the city via the underground tunnels dragged all the other spawned Grimm out as well, the city never had a chance against that kind of numbers." Jaune said. **

"**I suppose I should fill you in on the rest of it, there's always the chance huntsmen might run into more of his creations and someone should know what the hell they're dealing with."**

"There was a dragon underground spawning more Grimm? How did we miss that when we were building the city?" Roman threw his hands up in exasperation. At least he had a better answer for why his team wound up being sacrificed the way they did.

"Mount Glenn was initially slated for colonisation efforts due to its natural defences. The terrain made for a natural barrier against the Grimm and there were plenty of underground tunnels that could be expanded into or used as shelters in the event of a disaster." Blank informed them.

"Much of the tunnel network hadn't been charted and while they were always known as possible Grimm entry points should the network connect to other sections of the mountain or elsewhere in the wilds. It was deemed an acceptable risk as tunnels could be collapsed or blocked off to keep Grimm out, should further expansion be required, they could be opened up again later. The Grimm dragon was sleeping in one of the uncharted regions, unknown to everyone at the time."

"Did Merlot know about it?" Weiss asked.

"Not at the time, if he did, he wouldn't have bothered trying to lure Grimm from outside, he'd just have used the ones already present. But when he came back later, he found it there and that was the problem." Blank answered.

"**Damn this place is creepy. You think it's haunted boss?" Mercury kicked a rock into the doorway of a destroyed shop. The pebble bounced about inside the empty building, its echo incredibly loud in the silent ghost city.**

"**No such thing as ghosts, but keep your eyes peeled for Grimm. This place is supposed to be crawling with them, but we haven't run into any so far." Jaune said.**

"**If it's fine with you Jaune, once the mission is over, I'd like to spend some time here to pay my respects to the lost." Ren said, a bitter expression on his face as he surveyed the ruins of Mount Glenn around them.**

"**Why not, maybe one day we'll be able to reclaim the city itself." Jaune replied.**

"**I don't see any signs of life. Are we sure he's here?" Adam asked.**

"**No. The report came in quite some time ago and parts of it was garbled. It's entirely possible he's already moved on. But, the info did state he had some kind of major operation here, even if he's left, there might be clues to his location here." Jaune answered.**

"**So first stop, Merlot Industries HQ… or what's left of it." Mercury shrugged and stared at their destination looming before them. The building was one of the most damaged structures in the entire city, given that it was at the heart of the outbreak, it was to be expected.**

"**Comms check… alright we're green. Split up and search for clues, if anything comes up, ping the rest. If anyone's comms go dark, assume we've been engaged by hostiles and react accordingly." Jaune gave the order and his team split up to cover more ground.**

**The interior of the building was even worse than it looked from the outside. Barely any of the furniture within remained intact and most of the walls bore some kind of damage, whether they'd already been knocked down, had holes punched through them or simply long jagged lines carved into them. The bloodstains, bone fragments and tattered bits of clothing scattered around certainly painted a grim picture of the events that transpired.**

**Shaking his head to ward of unnecessary thoughts, Jaune pushed deeper into the building, searching for Merlot's office if it was still intact.**

"You know, I'm actually glad we ran into the White Fang at Mount Glenn now. Definitely not interested in seeing all that in person." Yang said, wincing as the sound of bone crunching underfoot could be heard. Several shaky nods came from the rest of team RWBY as they agreed whole heartedly.

In Roman's corner of the theatre, the master thief was busy grumbling under his breath, cursing Cinder for sending him back into the hellhole and the theatre for reminding him of what he had to go through. Neo shrugged and continued coming up on suggestions for Cinder's execution to cheer him up.

**Instead of arriving at Merlot's office, Jaune stumbled into one of the abandoned labs instead. The place was as much of a mess as the rest of the building, several holes in the walls led to sunlight streaming in from outside. Jaune knelt down to shift aside some rubble, several sheets of paper had survived the devastation and were pinned to the floor.**

"**Hello there, what do we have here?" Jaune muttered to himself as he held up the yellowish scraps of paper to the light. The ink had faded and parts of it were torn, but what little Jaune could make out didn't make sense to him.**

"**Neural command link? What is this? Never mind, I'll let the eggheads back at Vale sort this out." Carefully folding the papers and placing them in his pocket for safe keeping, Jaune looked around but found nothing else of use in the lab.**

**The sound of gunfire and a massive crash got Jaune to spring up, weapons already in hand. The communicator in his ear came to life a moment later.**

"**I have made contact with Grimm in the basement." Adam's words came through, interrupted by occasional bouts of gunfire and the roaring of Grimm.**

"**Watch yourselves flesh bags, these aren't normal Grimm. I've never faced Beowolves with glowing eyes or spikes before. Tougher than normal, but they still go down if you hit them enough." Adam reported again after several seconds of combat.**

"**I got Ursas in the west wing, more glowing stuff and holy fuck these guys are big. Came straight through the floor." Mercury's report came in next. **

"**Clear on my end, I'm closer to Adam, moving to assist now." Jaune said before sprinting out the door, Crocea Mors at the ready.**

"**Understood, all clear here as well, I'll assist Mercury." Ren followed up afterwards.**

"Things are off to a great start." Qrow muttered.

"This isn't what I'd call a great start, if anything, things are going wrong right out the gate." Winter replied.

"Hah, of course you'd think that ice queen. Look at it this way, at least now they have confirmation something is definitely wrong in this place. Beats coming up empty and then assuming Merlot is gone for good." Qrow said and Winter conceded his point.

**Jaune skidded to a halt as a mutated Beowolf crashed through a wall. Covered in crystal spikes that glowed with an emerald radiance, he didn't have time to do anything when a shot put the Grimm down for good. Shaking himself out of his stupor, Jaune rushed in to assist Adam.**

"**Sit rep." Jaune said as he started hacking away at the Grimm, noting the improved resilience of Grimm flesh to his blade. Not enough to impede his blows, but the fact it existed at all was worrying.**

"**Grimm jumped me as soon as I entered, they're coming from the lower levels. I wasn't aware this complex had that many basement floors." Adam replied and cleanly bisected a Beowolf with a Moonslice.**

"**It doesn't, not according to the original blueprints anyway." Jaune replied, he'd memorised the building layout as soon as the mission was good to go, nothing in the plans mentioned additional basement floors.**

"**Boss, Ursas's dead, there's some kind of sublevel below the floor. We good to investigate?" Mercury asked.**

"**Negative, we're dealing with unknowns, regroup with us at the basement and we'll progress as a unit from here. I'd prefer if none of us walk into any more ambushes while alone." Jaune replied.**

"**Got it boss, Ren and I heading over now."**

**Jaune spared Adam a nod and the two of them redoubled their efforts to finish clean up of the remaining Grimm in their area. **

"What is with those Grimm?" Weiss asked, just the look of those mutant Grimm set off all kinds of warning bells in her mind.

"Those are Merlot's creation. Grimm he's upgraded with his serum, a kind of mutagen that works on Grimm, improving their stats and giving some of them additional powers." Blank answered.

"Damn, as if the Grimm we have to deal with daily aren't enough of a problem. Is there a limit to what the serum can affect?" Qrow asked.

"No. It works on all Grimm, and that's the problem." Blank replied.

"**These must be the tunnel network beneath the city." Ren said as the team entered the caves. Investigation of the sublevels with Jaune's drones revealed that both led to the same location. Beginning with holding cells that the Grimm were released from, the sublevels held entrances to the tunnels and there were clear signs of human activity there.**

"**High alert gentlemen, no telling what we'll find deeper inside. Ren, be ready to use your semblance at any moment, I'll buff you to keep us all cloaked from the Grimm." Jaune ordered.**

"**Understood. I do hope my semblance works against these strange Grimm though." Ren said.**

"**Not inspiring confidence right now." Mercury snarked but nonetheless kept his eyes peeled for any signs of trouble.**

**The journey deeper into the mountain's depths was an experience to say the least. The lack of sunlight and only illumination coming from the green crystals embedded in the walls stripped away all sense of time very quickly.**

**Upon encountering several more mutant Grimm along the way, Ren used his semblance to stealth himself before assassinating the Grimm and avoiding a firefight in the cramped corridors. All four of them thankful his semblance still worked on these strange Grimm.**

**Eventually, the tunnels opened up into a massive underground cavern. The four of them could only stare blankly at the sight before them. Adam was the first to find his voice. "That is a lot of Grimm."**

"**Understatement of the century right there." Mercury added once his mouth started working again. The ceiling was covered in more of those glowing Grimm, they hung from the stalactites like oversized bats, all seemingly asleep.**

"**This is insane, how did we miss something like this so close to Vale?" Jaune whispered, not daring to raise his voice lest he awaken all of the Grimm from their stasis. Placing one hand on Ren's shoulder, he started funnelling his aura into the assassin to boost his semblance.**

"**No one bothered looking, we all just assumed the city was lost and that was it." Ren replied, activating Tranquillity to cloak them all.**

"Oh. My. Goodness." Goodwitch breathed out, the theatre audience sharing the same stunned reaction as ALBA.

"And if all of them are upgraded Grimm… I'm not sure if Vale will be able to survive a direct assault from those Grimm. Not if they enter in a surprise attack like the Breach." Ozpin muttered.

"If there are more of those things inside that Mount Glenn, I'm pretty sure even a frontal assault on Vale's walls will succeed." Ironwood corrected.

"It's a good thing those don't exist here then." Taiyang said.

"Not exactly. They exist thanks to Merlot, just not in such numbers." Blank said.

"Great, just great." Torchwick shook his head and sighed.

"**Magnificent aren't they, truly my masterpieces, every one of them." A voice called out and a figure stepped out from a tunnel on the far end of the chamber.**

"**Merlot I presume." Jaune glared at the approaching man and could just make out white hair and a single glowing red eye on him.**

"**Dr Merlot at your service, in the flesh… so to speak." Merlot grinned as he approached, as he got closer, ALBA recoiled from him in shock.**

**The doctor looked less like a human and more like a Grimm. Red and black veins framed his face, pasty bone white skin was visible where his cloak didn't cover him and his fingers ended in blackened claws.**

"**What the hell are you!?" Ren's eyes were wide as the doctor came to a stop. **

"**I am the pinnacle of human evolution. I am mankind perfected." Merlot boasted.**

"**Fuck that! Are you even human!? You look like a bloody Grimm!" Mercury snapped at the doctor.**

"**Oh my appearance? Hahahahahahah, I look like this because this body is a Grimm." Merlot scratched at his face with a bony finger and broke the skin with the claw at the end. No blood flowed out, instead wisps of black vapour leaked from it, not too dissimilar to when a Grimm was killed and started disintegrating.**

"**What?" Adam blinked in confusion, nothing the doctor was saying made sense.**

"**The process isn't perfect yet, but it will be soon. And then mankind will be invincible. For years, I thought Grimm were the superior species on Remnant, they are stronger and more resilient than any other living thing on the planet. Pure aggression and destruction given form, and their capability to evolve in such a short time, truly magnificent. But for all their strengths, there is one curious problem about them, they have the capacity for thought and strategy, especially the older Grimm, but they lack true sentience. The Grimm have no aura, no semblance, no soul." Merlot lectured.**

"**Get to the point doctor. What the hell are you doing down here!? Wasn't it enough you destroyed the city? Come to desecrate it further!?" Jaune growled at Merlot.**

"**So impatient, but such is the naivete of the young. It's simple, I just want to answer the question, what if I gave a Grimm a soul? Combined the pure power of the Grimm with human ingenuity, the best of both species and none of the drawbacks." Merlot chuckled and stared at his Grimmified limbs.**

"**I am the result. The process isn't perfect yet but soon, there will be a new master race on Remnant. Grimm, humans, faunus, they'll only exist in the history books soon."**

"**You're insane. We will sto-" Jaune's words were interrupted by a gunshot from Adam. The bullet struck Merlot dead centre in his forehead, punching through flesh and bone before emerging on the other side.**

"**Problem solved. Nothing but a flesh bag in the end." Adam spat to the side and lowered Blush.**

"That is one way to solve a problem." Mercury shrugged before Emerald deflated his balloon.

"Yeah? But we already know your little mission ends in failure. So obviously it didn't work."

"…Shut up Em."

"So what was that? Some kind of remote drone?" Winter asked.

"Not exactly, just watch." Blank said.

"**So quick to resort to violence. As I thought, mixing mankind with the Grimm truly is the best way forwards." Merlot's voice resonated all around them.**

"**What? I killed you." Adam growled and stared at the disintegrating corpse.**

"**So you did, but death is nothing more than a nuisance, that word will mean nothing once I've succeeded in full. Watch." A single mutated Ursa clinging to the ceiling awoke. Falling to the ground with a thunderous crash, it rose up onto two feet but didn't attack or even roar, simply standing there for a few seconds until the inconceivable happened.**

**An aura cloak formed around it and its form started to ripple. ALBA could only watch on in shock as Merlot did… something to the Grimm. "Assuming direct control."**

**The Ursa began shrinking inwards, its flesh bulging and contracting in places to form a cocoon covered in those green spikes. Then the cocoon burst open, and a new Merlot was standing in its place.**

"**As long as even one of my Grimm exists, I'll be able to assume control of them endlessly. I Doctor Merlot, have conquered death itself. I am the vanguard of mankind's salvation." The mad scientist grinned maniacally at them.**

"**This world is about to enter a new age. One where mankind is no longer bound by their physical limitations, and of course, as the one who brought the future to the present. I will be a god."**

"Such hubris, can he bring back those he murdered? Nothing but a mad man with delusions of grandeur." Roman glared at Merlot as his rage simmered inside.

"But given what he's accomplished, can you blame him for thinking that way? He's certainly playing god if nothing else, and without any magic or miracles to boot." Qrow said.

"This is insane, he's doing things that should never even be attempted. Humans and Grimm essence do not mix!" Ozpin raised his voice, Merlot's appearance and his goals… it was like he was trying to turn all of mankind into Salem copies.

Cinder stared mutely at the screen, wondering what it took to achieve such power as a human. A mere mortal was transgressing on her mistress' domain and doing quite well at that too.

"**You're a monster. The kingdoms will never bow to you." Ren said and raised StormFlower.**

"**I am perfection. What are a few measly kingdoms before a god? The four of them continue to lose ground to the Grimm every day, what are they against me? One who stands above the Grimm themselves. They will bow, or I will smite them all." Merlot replied.**

"**Like hell you will, I won't let you hurt Vale." Jaune snarled and fired his gauss rifle, taking Merlot's head clean off. Once again, the death didn't stick, another Grimm dropped from the ceiling and seconds later Merlot was back.**

"**Yes, the last Spectre I met said as much. Tell me Spectre, what is the worth of a human life?" Merlot asked while inspecting his nails, completely unconcerned with the hostility directed his way.**

"**What?" Jaune blinked in confusion, unsure if it was a trick question of some sort.**

"**In most cases, the answer is a negative number. The average human is a net drain on society. They consume precious resources, output nothing but negativity to draw Grimm and contribute nothing of worth in return. Parasites in other words. So why do you fight so hard for them? When the world would be a much better place with most of them gone." Merlot said.**

"**That's it? That's how you justify your actions? Everyone who died in the fall of Mount Glenn, your own subordinates… they mean nothing to you!?" Jaune spat out.**

"**Well of course they meant nothing. Why would they? Most of them contributed nothing to my cause and those that did couldn't offer anything more. Your efforts are futile, spent in service to people who can't and won't appreciate it, who don't deserve it."**

"**You've lost all of your humanity. I can't believe I prefer flesh bags over you." Adam shot back.**

"**Hmmph, humanity only holds us back in the end. It's why I've done away with it, I just thought you'd like to know that your lives and deaths are the same as the rest, ultimately, entirely worthless. The future is about to become the present, it's a shame you won't live long enough to see it." Merlot snapped his fingers and the ceiling came alive with activity as every single Grimm woke up, directed by Merlot's will to attack, Ren's semblance doing nothing while the doctor could direct them.**

**Jaune swore and fired his gauss rifle again, killing the Merlot vessel and hurrying his team forwards. "Run for it, we're dead if we stay here!"**

**Retreat was cut off when several Grimm fell and formed a solid wall between them at the way they came in from, leaving them no choice but to continue forwards, through the same tunnel the first Merlot entered.**

**The four of them charged through, firing on everything that moved. As they rushed through, Mercury dropped several grenades, rolling them back towards the entrance and bringing that section of the cave down, sealing the entry and preventing pursuit.**

"Woah, this is some action movie stuff right there." Nora said and shoved more popcorn into her mouth. The silencing cylinder had finally lifted and she could speak freely without leaving her seat again. Ren was next to her, having passed out from being hugged too tightly for too long.

"Yeah. It's a shame half of them are bad guys we need to beat up." Ruby shrugged before following Nora's example and snacking on some cookies. It was a good thing they already knew ALBA would escape just fine or this would be a lot more nerve wracking.

"Hey! I'm sitting right here!" Mercury complained after overhearing Ruby's comment.

"If you stop being a bad guy, we won't beat you up… although Yang might, since she's angry at you for planning to frame her." Ruby said, Yang echoed her words by running a thumb across her throat, glaring at Mercury with crimson eyes.

"**Fuck this is insane." Mercury yelled out as he slammed his shotgun boots into the side of Merlot's head. Aura flared when he fired but the doctor didn't go down, retaliating with claws instead. Mercury ducked and the claws raked harmlessly against the wall, carving out several long furrows in the stone.**

"**Aren't you supposed to be a doctor? What the hell is this crap!?"  
**

"**Sometimes, direct intervention is necessary. Even in the past, Grimm tend to be unruly test subjects. It's easier to break their limbs before heading to the operating table, to save time, I do it myself." Merlot replied.**

"**Then it's a good thing we aren't Grimm." Adam said and lopped off the offending limb with Wilt. While Merlot was off balance, he stabbed the doctor in the neck with Gambol Shroud, tearing through the remaining shreds of aura and then decapitating the abomination in one motion.**

"**What's the plan Jaune? We can't outrun him forever." Ren stabbed a Beowolf through the eyes with StormFlower's blades and ripped them free, leaving the Grimm to disintegrate.**

"**These tunnels are a network that runs throughout Mount Glenn, there has to be another exit somewhere. I managed to get a message through to the White Fang, with any luck, they'll be here to bombard the place soon." Jaune said tersely.**

"**An airstrike would collapse part of the city, but if this Grimm infestation goes deep enough into the mountain, it might not be enough." Ren said.**

"**I know. I hope it doesn't come… to… what… the hell am I looking at?" Jaune trailed off as the tunnels opened up into another massive cavern. This time, there weren't Grimm hanging from the ceiling.**

**There was just a single colossal one taking up most of the cavern. A titanic behemoth of a dragon lay in the centre, countless tubes and pumps were attached to it, some funnelling an unidentified green liquid into the Grimm, others taking away what could only be described as Grimm essence.**

"**Assuming direct control." Those words punctuated the arrival of a new Merlot. ALBA simply glared at the man as he stepped through the doorway, flanked by a boatload of mutant Grimm.**

"**I am beginning to detest those words." Ren said and started shooting immediately.**

"**Preaching to the choir. Adam, those tubes look important, charge up a Moonslice and get back to me." Jaune instructed and Adam nodded.**

**Once more battle was joined, the four members of Team ALBA fighting desperately against the Grimm hordes, using the slumbering dragon as cover, trying to get the Grimm to damage it through friendly fire.**

"**Why do you continue to resist? You should have seen the futility of your actions by now." Merlot chided as Jaune fended off his claws with his sword and shield while Mercury engaged with his boots.**

"**Yeah well I'm a stubborn bastard. People keep expecting me to give up and die, I continue to disappoint to this day." Mercury grinned and delivered a roundhouse kick to Merlot's face, sending the doctor flying back. Jaune didn't miss the opportunity to rush in for a straight thrust through his Grimm heart.**

"**Assuming direct control." Merlot reformed almost immediately, a look of annoyance plastered on his face.**

"**You are stubborn, and effective I'll admit. All the more evidence my path is the correct one. Imagine if you had the power of the Grimm at your disposal, just how much more you could do, that is what I intend to gift humanity."**

"**No thanks. How many times have we killed you now? If this is the power you're offering we don't need it." Jaune replied.**

"**So you've killed me multiple times, yet I continue to return at full strength while you grow weaker with every kill. You cannot beat me in a battle of attrition." Merlot's words elicited a growl from the Spectre.**

"**We'll see about that." Jaune caught Adam's signal that his Moonslice was at full charge. Jumping back from the swiping claws of an Ursa and a mass of spikes shooting up from the ground, Jaune regrouped with Adam and used his semblance on the faunus.**

**Adam didn't hesitate, swinging Wilt at full strength, he fired a wave of pure destructive energy enhanced by Jaune, the wave easily cutting through the reinforced cables connected to the Grimm dragon and into the Grimm itself.**

"**NO! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" Merlot roared as his prized specimen was damaged. It started as a low growl before transcending into a deafening roar as the Grimm dragon finally woke up from the damage.**

**Its form rippled and started bulging, the serum inside it reacting with the Grimm itself instead of just the bits being siphoned away to create more Grimm. Additional bone plating formed on the dragon, crystal spikes started growing out of it and its eyes burned a sickly emerald green. **

**And as if it wasn't large enough, it started growing even more, two growths appeared on either side of its neck, growing larger and larger until two additional heads sprouted from them, leaving ALBA facing down a titanic three headed dragon that was thoroughly pissed off.**

"**NO! The transformation is incomplete! I can't control it!" Merlot roared as the Grimm dragon shook off his attempts to shackle it to his will.**

"That's incomplete!? Then what the hell would the completed version look like!?" Jaune's imagination ran wild as he tried to figure out what could be worse than the monster on screen now.

"You don't want to know." Was Blank's only reply.

"**Damn you Spectre, you've destroyed years of work!" Merlot glared at Jaune for several seconds before returning to a calmer state.**

"**Ah, never mind. I have all the data I need. The loss of the Mount Glenn facility is tragic but ultimately inconsequential. I have other labs to attend to. But this isn't over Spectre, not by a long shot. I'll be back to settle the score. Releasing control." The Merlot possessed Grimm shuddered before crumbling to dust as Merlot's mind vacated the empty shell.**

"**I'll be expecting you Merlot, next time I'll kill you permanently." Jaune said before returning his attention to the dragon in the room. The thing was thrashing about, shaking off the remaining tubes on it in an effort to free itself.**

"**Boss! This thing is about to bring the entire mountain down on us! What do we do!?" Mercury looked to Jaune for orders, nothing in his training had every prepared him for something like this.**

"**Right, stay close to it, grab one of its legs if you must, I don't think it's noticed us yet. If the mountain collapses on us, under it will be the safest place to be. Something tells me it'll take more than a mountain dropping on this thing to kill it." Jaune shouted over the thrashing Grimm and collapsing rubble.**

"Sounds like suicide, but it's the only plan they've got." Roman said, his fists clenched from the tension despite knowing how it would end.

"Whatever their faults, it's a shame I can't have this team for Atlas." Ironwood sighed.

**Just as predicted, the Grimm dragon's relentless thrashing brought down the mountainside on top of them. Staying in the shadow of the Grimm, it served as a shield for much of the rubble falling on them and just as Jaune predicted, the Grimm dragon refused to go down.**

**With an unholy roar, the dragon raised its heads up and started charging balls of yellow lightning in each of them. Firing all three at once, the lightning bolts disintegrated whatever they touched, punched through the mountain and into air, carving several forked lines into the heavens. **

**Shaking its heads from side to side haphazardly to destroy the rubble raining on it, the Grimm thrust out its wings and flapped once, buffeting the area with gale force winds and forcing ALBA to cling tightly to its legs or be blown away and buried alive.**

**Then without warning, the dragon shot into the air, its wingbeats powering through the collapsing mountain to hurl it into the air, team ALBA still clutching on tightly.**

"**FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!" Mercury's eloquent swearing drastically understated their current mood as they were suddenly airborne and staring down at the demolished city from on high. And against all odds, that mood only worsened when the Grimm dragon was hit by canon fire and shuddered from the impact.**

"**You gotta be shitting me! They pick now of all times to arrive!? Call em off boss!" Mercury yelled at the top his lungs.**

"**Gah! I would, but my scroll's busted." Jaune removed the now useless piece of tech from his pocket with one hand, a rock or something must have smashed into it during their dramatic escape and broke the thing. Any thoughts of repairing it went out the window when the dragon took a nose dive and the howling winds ripped the device out of his hands and into the void.**

**Once the dragon hit the ground hard, the four of them were thrown free from the impact, auras flaring as they bore the brunt of the damage.**

"**This place…" Jaune matched their surroundings to the map of Mount Glenn he memorised and blinked when he realised they'd landed near the city's power plant. With it going offline as part of automated safety mechanisms during the fall, there should still be plenty of dust inside. Dust that he could set off and hopefully cause a big enough explosion to kill the Grimm.**

"**I got a plan, this is near the power plants, I'll cause a meltdown to kill this damned thing. The three of you stall this thing, stop it from sinking our air support, try to drive it towards the power plants if you can." Jaune ordered, pointing in the direction he needed to go.**

"**And how the heck are we supposed to do that?" Mercury yelled.**

"**Just keep hitting it. Ren, can you blind the dragon by using your semblance on it?"**

"**I… I don't know, I've never tried using my semblance on a Grimm before." Ren admitted.**

"**Try! If it doesn't work, then use it to cloak the three of you. Adam, keep it grounded, Moonslice its damned wings. Mercury, try to get a message to the White Fang, call for pick up and get them to drive it towards the plants. You're all stubborn bastards so I expect to see all of you alive once this is over." Jaune's words were greeted by three nods from his team and the Spectre dumped nearly all of his remaining aura into buffing them.**

"**Got it boss, go team All The Bastards." Mercury replied and the four of them sprang into action. Ren doing whatever he could to distract the dragon, Adam hacking and shooting at every exposed fleshy bit and Mercury spamming every frequency on his scroll to try and get through to the White Fang currently shelling them.**

**Jaune sprinted through the destroyed streets, the sound of battle ringing in his ears as he left his team behind to fend for themselves. "Come on, come on, luck don't fail me now."**

**Rushing into the power plants, he was glad to see some of the systems were still operational. Activating them and trying to trigger a meltdown was a lot harder than he expected, but that was a given, the entire point of all the safeguards was to ensure what he was trying to pull off didn't happen ever.**

"**Somehow, I don't think the engineers ever thought someone would be suicidal enough to trigger a meltdown to kill a dragon of all things." Jaune said as he smashed several consoles, taking their systems offline and kickstarting the meltdown.**

**Rushing through the facility in a desperate effort to increase the speed and scale of the meltdown, it was a mad race against time to destabilise all of the reactors. Even with his semblance boosting his own performance and his rapid aura regeneration, he was running on fumes and growing more tired by the second. **

**Finally, his comms crackled to life and Adam's voice came through. "Mea-Jaune, the three of us are on board a bullhead, the dragon is headed your way. Get out of there now."**

"**I'm just about done here as well. I'll make my own way out of the city, get the airships clear, the blast is going to be huge. I'll see you on the other side." Jaune replied and started sprinting again, his aura flaring as he pushed himself to the absolute limit, maximum speed to put as much distance between himself and the soon to be blast crater.**

**The minutes ticked down as Jaune continued running. Then the entire world turned white. The reactors exploded in a blast of heat and light, vaporising the three headed dragon caught at ground zero and sending up a mushroom cloud. Jaune was picked up by the blast wave and tossed into the air.**

**Crashing back down to earth was a painful thing, bouncing off destroyed buildings and abandoned vehicles, the strong winds picking him up several more times and smashing him against rocks and other hard places repeatedly.**

**By the time Jaune came to a stop, his right arm and both legs were bent at odd angles. His ribs were one massive bruise and Jaune was pretty sure he'd broken most of them. Coughing up blood several times, he stared into the blue skies overhead and marvelled at the beautiful view.**

**The colours were striking this day and he regretted not spending more time appreciating the view in the past. Oh well, what's done is done. The last thing he recalled before his vision faded away was Mercury's voice in his ear, something about them being on the way and not dying.**

'**Heh, relax, I'm a stubborn bastard. Ain't dying so easily… just need… a little… rest…' Jaune's last thoughts faded away as well as unconsciousness claimed him, delivering sweet relief from the pain.**

"So the dragon is dead. And most of Mount Glenn is gone. Not how I thought things would go." Ozpin admitted.

"I did say Spectres were known for collateral damage." Blank said.

"This… is beyond collateral damage, I think a new term might need to be invented for it." Winter said.

"Perhaps, but it's done. With the exception of Merlot's survival, the Mount Glenn incident is closed with this." Blank said.

"But that's… a lot of injuries." Pyrrha whispered as she mentally ticked off Jaune's injuries.

"Good thing other me makes a full recovery huh?" Jaune said to lighten the mood.

"That Jaune Arc ends up in a hospital for quite a bit but recovers eventually. That hospital stay is the one regret he has about forming team Alabaster though." Blank said.

"Why? Didn't they visit him in the hospital or something?" Weiss asked.

"On the contrary, they made sure to visit, and made doubly sure he resided for the full duration of the stay. Spectre Jaune Arc attempted to escape mandatory bed rest six times, each time he was arrested and returned by his team. He was not happy about that." Blank said.

"Oh. So like Qrow then." Summer said and Taiyang just sighed, remembering how difficult it was to get Qrow to stick around in the hospital.

"What does uncle Qrow have to do with it?" Ruby asked.

"Your uncle hates hospitals, we had to tie him up and carry him in or he'd run away. His bird brain doesn't realise his unluckiness just causes his injuries to worsen when he goes on the run." Summer chided. Qrow simply pouted and looked away with a huff.

"**And that's the incident in full." Jaune said to Ozpin, leaving the headmaster to stew in his thoughts. **

"**I thank you for your service in destroying the Grimm and Merlot's experiments under Mount Glenn then. I shudder to think of what would happen if he had gone unnoticed for even a moment longer." Ozpin said at last.**

"**I hardly need the thanks, my duty is the protection of Vale and her people. That Grimm was a threat so I eliminated it." Jaune replied.**

"**All the same, we owe you and the other Spectres a debt that can never be repaid, that most will never know even exists." Ozpin said.**

"**It is what it is. Spectres may be known to the public but we're all black ops. We fight in the shadows to uphold the light at any cost. As headmaster of Beacon, I'm sure you're aware of it, we're surrounded on all sides by enemies and we have precious few allies. What the people don't know might keep them alive to see another sunrise." Jaune shrugged.**

**Ozpin said nothing, choosing to sip from his mug instead. 'I wonder if you realise just how right you are. Maybe its time to add to our number? I'll leave that decision to another time.'**

"**And Merlot?" He asked at last to break the silence. Jaune's bitter smile returned in force and the Spectre shrugged uncomfortably.**

"**We don't know. It pains me to admit it but he's beyond the reach of Vale intelligence. Before recent events he was a ghost, and now he's a ghost story once more. But he'll be back, I made it personal when I destroyed his operations. He'll come for me if nothing else." Jaune replied.**

"**You're being awfully candid about this. What about the students?" Goodwitch said.**

"**I'm being truthful because I don't want the students caught in the crossfire. He might be back tomorrow or he might be back in ten years, if he is as immortal as he claims to be, time is on his side and he can play the long game. As much as I hate it, the ball is in his court, unless I get a lead on Merlot's location, it's a waiting game, I can only wait and plan my moves accordingly and hope I don't choose wrong. Lives are at stake and I will not bullshit you on this." Jaune's words once again reminded Ozpin of his shadow war against Salem.**

"**Hmm, I have some contacts in the other kingdoms, I'll see if they can't find something on the doctor. His is a threat that transcends national borders, if he truly plans to replace all of humanity with his Grimm hybrids… this isn't a problem Vale can tackle alone." Ozpin said.**

"**Perhaps so, but if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now. I still have work that needs doing." Jaune said.**

"**No that will be all, thank you for your time Spectre. I'll see that your team's enrolment is processed smoothly. God speed." Ozpin nodded as Jaune rose from his seat.**

"**To you as well headmaster." Jaune said before turning and leaving.**

And with that, the screen faded to black.

"That's it for the viewing everyone." Blank said.

"So. Million lien question, do they get the son of a bitch eventually?" Roman asked.

"Eventually, but that's another story for another time. Go refresh yourselves, the next viewing will be ready shortly. I have something a little more… unorthodox planned for the next one." Blank said and his audience shuffled out, all of them lost in their own thoughts.

* * *

Author's notes: Done. 20k words and 41 pages of writing. Finishing this chapter nearly killed me, 10k words written in a one Sunday long marathon session. This brings team ALBA to a total of 30k words, wow. I'm dead tired now so if you find any mistakes in the writing, leave it in review or a pm and I'll get to fixing it when I can. Mercury, Adam and Merlot were a lot of fun to write. Oh, and Ren isn't married to this world's Nora yet, it's more of an engagement kind of thing, fiancé sorta. Anyways, I hope this chapter was as fun to read as it was to write.

* * *

Inspiration list:

Jaune Arc as Renegade Shepard

Mercury Black as Jacob Taylor

Lie Ren as Thane Krios

Adam Taurus as Zaeed Massani

Lil' Miss Malachite as Nassana Dantius

Ilia Amitola as Seryna

The Albain brothers as Vido Santiago

Dr Merlot as Harbinger

Grimm dragon as human reaper/King Ghidorah

Ozpin as TIM


	25. Chapter 24: Isekai

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 24: Isekai**

**Inspiration: RWBY Chibi**

"Welcome back, this viewing is a more light hearted one compared to the previous few." Blank said and was greeted with a few sighs of relief from his audience.

"Oh good, less crippling depression is always fun." Yang nodded sagely and stroked an imaginary beard, eliciting a giggle or two from her team.

"Why are so many of these worlds so dark anyways?" Jaune asked.

"Hmm, most of them aren't actually that much darker than your own world, they have their own ups and downs. But conflict is more interesting, there's not much point to me devoting an entire viewing to say… a shopping trip or a dinner unless something interesting happens now is there?" Blank said.

"That's… fair. I guess." Ren said.

"So what are we watching today then?" Ruby asked.

"Another collection of shorts, this time starring Nora Valkyrie." Blank replied. He flickered once and a purple silencing cylinder appeared around Nora's seat before her cheering could deafen the audience.

"My ears thank you." Blake chimed in.

"Now, on with the show." The lights dimmed and the screen came to life shortly after.

**A chibified Ruby stood alone in the kitchen, a massive cookie in hand and bright smile on her face as she prepared to chow down on one of her favourite snacks.**

"Oh my god! She's adorable!" Yang squealed and immediately grabbed Ruby and pulled her into a bear hug.

"Gah! Yang! Can't! Breathe!" Ruby yelled out and started struggling against her sister's iron grip to no avail.

"**Hey Ruby!" Before she could chow down on her cookie, Ruby was surprised by Nora's sudden call out and accidentally threw her cookie into the air.**

"**AAAAH! Oh, uh haha… hey Nora." Ruby chuckled sheepishly at her overreaction and gave Nora a small wave.**

"NO! The precious!" Ruby wailed as the cookie went to waste. Any further complaining was put off as Yang intensified her hugging.

"**Would you mind… grabbing those **_**coffee beans**_** for me?" Chibi Nora asked, staring hopefully at a bag of coffee beans on the table.**

"**Sure!" Ruby agreed easily enough and shifted the bag over to Nora.**

"**Alright, so why don't you just… pop those bad boys in the coffee maker?" Nora made another request that Ruby was happy enough to oblige.**

"**Uh, okay!"**

**Nora slid over to Ruby's side as she poured the beans into the coffee machine. Her eyes held a hungry gleam that Ruby didn't notice. "Looking good… now, how about a little water? Those beans look **_**thirsty.**_**" **

"Okay… Nora, what are you doing?" Ren narrowed his eyes at chibi Nora, his imminent disaster senses were tingling and he didn't like it in the least.

"Getting Ruby to make me a cup of coffee? Did I get banned from the coffee machine?" Nora offered with a shrug.

"That version of you, yes." Blank confirmed.

**Ruby stared suspiciously at Nora's eager look, something was wrong here but she didn't what it could be. Still, she moved over to the tap to do as Nora asked, it was just adding some water after all.**

"**Ehhh, guess all that's left is to plug this sucker in and turn it on." Nora said.**

**Ruby's frown deepened but nonetheless turned on the coffee machine. If this was some kind of prank, she'd sic Yang on Nora for it.**

"**Mind pouring me a cup pal?" Nora requested next. Ruby hesitated slightly before attempting to follow through, for some strange reason, Nora seemed really determined to get her to make her a cup of coffee.**

**As she grabbed the handle of the pot of coffee, she was interrupted by Ren. "Wait."**

"**Ren? Nora's being weird." She admitted.**

"Yep, Nora's being extra Norary today." Ruby said once she finally extricated herself from Yang. Several seats away from her, choking noises could be heard as it was Ren's turn to be strangled in an inescapable hug.

"**Nora can't have caffeine. She has too much energy already. I told her she couldn't make coffee anymore so instead she's having you do it." Ren explained. **

"**Huh. Well… that's some bad logic Ren, this one's on you." Ruby said.**

"**This one!?" Ren raised his voice in slight alarm.**

"**Oh yeah, she drank all the coffee already." Ruby said.**

"**Huh!?" Ren gasped and looked over to Nora, the ginger haired girl was lying on the ground and convulsing, her eyes opened wide and staring into nothingness. An empty cup and the drained coffee pot lay next to her.**

"**Nora! Stay with us!" Ren shouted.**

"**We're losing her!" Ruby yelled and the camera zoomed in on Nora's eyes, going through and revealing another version of the scene with Ruby and Ren's places swapped.**

**And it didn't stop there, showing many more versions, one where their outfits had swapped, where Ruby had swapped out for Blake, Ren for Jaune, and even one where Roman and Neo were there.**

**Finally there was a blue flash and there was a new scene entirely. A slightly different Nora stood in a recording chamber next to a mic and with a script in hand. "Guys, why are you all looking at me funny? I'm totally fine! Seriously!"**

"**And cut, great job Sam."**

"**Uh, yeah, okay cool, let's take five and then we'll get back to it."**

"**Alright." The version of Nora named Sam picked up a cup of coffee and drank from it. immediately her eyes widened and pupils dilated, and the screen flashed again.**

"Okay...? What was that? And why does my brain hurt?" Weiss asked and rubbed her temples to ease the sudden migraine that sprang up from nowhere.

"Was that some kind of hallucination?" Ozpin asked.

"No. That is another version of Nora Valkyrie who can travel the multiverse, although not to the same level of control as the Nora who mastered Kaleidoscope." Blank said.

"Oooh, so am I going to travel through the multiverse now?" Nora asked excitedly.

"Indeed, we'll be revisiting a few worlds that we've already seen." Blank chuckled and fell silent as the flash faded to reveal a familiar cathedral.

**Jaune sidestepped a flaming fist that threatened to pound him flat. The beast's unholy screams tore at his ears as he raised Evelyn and fired on its head. When the retaliatory swings came in, Jaune backstepped away again. The transformed Lionheart reared up and roared at the top of its lungs, not a trace of humanity to be found in it.**

"Oh, what the hell!? I thought this was supposed to be lighter! Why are we back in this twisted world!?" Roman recoiled in shock as recognized the unsightly beast and wanted absolutely nothing to do with the sheer disgustingness of this world again. The rest of the audience was in full agreement.

"Relax, things won't be as disturbing as that viewing." Blank reassured.

"Yeah? I remember you saying something similar about ol Jimmy, excuse me if I don't really believe you on this." Qrow replied.

"What happened to me?" Ironwood asked, not having been around for that viewing.

"You don't want to know." Goodwitch sighed out and shook her head, trying to erase that disgusting abomination from her memories.

"It can't have been that bad." Winter said with a frown.

"Sister, however bad you're imagining it right now, it's at least ten times worse." Weiss replied.

**Jaune dodged again and struck with the Threaded Cane in whip mode, the serrated whip tearing through Lionheart's reinforced hide and sending a wave of burning lava blood everywhere. The flaming cleric beast roared and lashed out with a savage backhand, catching Jaune off guard and sending him flying.**

**Crashing into a heap, Jaune sprung back up and started sprinting away when Lionheart rushed him, flaming limbs swinging in a wide reach to try and grab him. Taking pot shots with his pistol wherever he could, Jaune managed to put enough distance between them to inject a blood vial into himself and start healing.**

**Exhaling in relief as the pain faded away. The hunter was about to reengage his prey when he felt a warping in the universe he'd come to associate with incoming otherworldly visitors.**

"Oh, here comes Nora!" Nora cheered for herself.

"**Oh, that is one big boy. Heheheh, Nora smash!" Chibi Nora popped out of thin air next to the cleric beast, Magnhild in hand. Without waiting for a sign, she rushed in hammer swinging, slamming it into Lionheart's legs repeatedly with all the force she could muster.**

**Not expecting the sudden assault that came out of nowhere, Lionheart took the flurry of blows without being able to brace himself and his legs were battered into oblivion. The cleric beast collapsed when its legs were no longer able to hold up its massive bulk and Nora continued wailing on it.**

"**Ahhh…" Jaune raised a finger as Nora's rampage failed to cease, the pint-sized powerhouse didn't even appear to need to stop for breath.**

"Yeah! Kick his ass! Break some legs!" Nora cheered again.

"Nora, calm down." Ren chided as he regained consciousness after being hugged into a blackout.

**Jaune's finger lowered as Lionheart's lower body gave up the fight, crumbling under the relentless onslaught. Lionheart screamed in pain as his upper torso detached from his legs completely, everything from waist down melting into a pool of lava blood as more continued spilling from the upper torso.**

**Chibi Nora backed away, an expression of disgust visible on her face. "Eww… that's disgusting."**

**She jumped away when Lionheart swung at her with his oversized arm. "Gah, ewww… don't come anywhere near me."**

"**Um, excuse me, but uh I can handle it from her-" Jaune's mouth clicked shut when Magnhild mechashifted into its grenade launcher mode and Nora gave the drum a spin.**

"**This is what **_**real**_** firepower looks like!" Chibi Nora cackled and opened fire, launching multiple high explosives towards the crippled Lionheart. The transformed hunter never had a prayer, crippled and unable to dodge, the grenades hit their mark and exploded.**

**As the smoke was clearing, Jaune felt the rush of blood echoes, indicating that Lionheart had been put down for good. "Okay… that was… unexpected."**

"What a very Nora way of handling things." Jaune sighed as chibi Nora continued laughing at her success.

"I'd be more worried if she tried talking sense into it." Pyrrha said with a shrug.

"Eh, at least she didn't try riding it." Ren offered.

"I'm the best! I'm the… oh my god, I forgot to turn it into a Noramobile!" Nora stopped cheering and started weeping at wasted opportunities, an action mirrored by her chibi counterpart.

"**Um, it's probably for the best? It was on fire." Jaune awkwardly comforted, nothing in his living or hunter's dream assisted experience had ever taught him how to deal with a situation like this.**

"**I guess… if only it was covered in lightning, than I could ride it and grow stronger by the second. Mwhahahahah!" Depression gone and replaced with more maniacal cackling. Jaune coughed and decided it was probably for the best he didn't mention the existence of darkbeasts.**

"**Right, uh. So, how did you get here? I don't recall using a bell to summon help." Jaune asked.**

"**I drank a cup of coffee." Nora said simply, getting Jaune to blink in surprise.**

"**Must have been some coffee. Well, Lionheart's uh… blown to pieces now, so that's that? You have any coffee on you to return?"**

"**Oooh… I'm out of coffee again." Nora's cackling died off and she slumped over in disappointment.**

"**Right, I don't have coffee on me, but I should have something that will send you back." Jaune said and pulled out a small pistol, unlike the normal guns used to fight the beasts, this one didn't fire regular bullets, only blanks.**

"**Silencing blank loaded and ready, thanks for the assist, I got it from here. Safe journey home." Jaune raised the pistol in the air and fired, immediately, light began shimmering around Nora as she started to fade from his world.**

"**Oh, bye Jaune-Jaune!" Nora waved goodbye as she disappeared completely.**

"**Goodbye to you too Nora. And you all as well." Jaune nodded to the screen and a blue flash signalled the end of that viewing.**

"Ugh, it will never not creep me out when he does that." Mercury faux shivered at the casual fourth wall break.

"So that one takes place after the uh Orphan thing was killed right?" Jaune asked.

"Indeed, this one happens a short time into that world's future. That version of you is busy tying up loose ends before heading for the final confrontation." Blank answered.

"So which world's next?" Ruby asked.

"Next up, the one with the drunk Jaune Arc." Blank said.

**Jaune slammed his head against his desk and released a long-suffering sigh. Raising his head up and smashing it down again and again repeatedly, he cursed the evil known as alcohol for landing him in this mess.**

**Lifting his head up again, bloodshot eyes stared at the massive pile of paperwork on the table, he swore the stack was growing every time he looked away. Muted sobs came from the paperwork slave as he slammed his head down against the hardwood desk again.**

"**Why? Why me!? What did I do to deserve this!?"**

"Got drunk, became a phantom thief, caused property damage, hijacked an Atlas battleship and took control of a cult, am I missing anything?" Yang listed off, looking to her team for answers.

"He stabbed Cinder to death and let uncle Qrow make Mercury and Emerald walk the plank." Ruby added in, ignoring Blake and Roman's protest of 'the White Fang isn't a cult'.

"What?" Cinder's group, the Atlesians and Jaune said at the same time with varying degrees of shock and horror. There was a moment of silence before the questions started flying.

"Cult? I'm a cult leader!?"

"Hijacked a battleship!? Why!? HOW!?"

"What do you mean stabbed to death!?"

"Walk the plank? What is he? Some kind of pirate?"

"Long story short, this Jaune Arc got very drunk, took control of the White Fang and became a sky pirate to upstage Roman Torchwick. Things escalated from there." Blank's answer was greeted by a whole host of incredulous stares.

**There was a knock on the door and a masked faunus carrying a new stack of papers entered. "Morning boss, I have the documents for the SDC settlement here. You just need to read through and sign them when you're done, just a few more class action law suits and they're finished for good! I must say boss, suing Jacques Schnee's pants off is the best idea you've ever had."**

"**Thank. You. Perry. Just leave the… paperwork… on my desk." Jaune said through gritted teeth, doing his best to not glare at the faunus as though he just murdered his first born. Shooting the messenger wouldn't erase the stacks and stack of paperwork.**

**Suing the SDC was the worst idea he ever had. The sheer amount of paperwork it dumped in his lap was astounding, and this was on top of all of his other duties as commander of the Vale White Fang. Sienna Khan was still pushing for him to appoint a successor and head for one of the other kingdoms to work his magic there. At the same time, General Ironwood was still trying to recruit him for the Atlas military so his insane plans wouldn't be at Atlas's expense anymore.**

**Then there was Ozpin. To be fair, the headmaster hadn't done anything to contribute to his headache but Jaune had the sneaking suspicion that his headmaster was laughing at his misfortune behind his back. Every time they met, Ozpin would always have that twinkle in his eyes and the infernal half-smile as he sipped from his mug that just irked Jaune to no end.**

"For the record, I'm pretty sure the other Ozpin isn't laughing at that Jaune Arc, we just know how to appreciate someone else being suckered into a position they never wanted." Ozpin said and lowered his mug, a twinkle in his eye and a half-smile on display.

"I don't follow headmaster." Pyrrha said.

"It's simple. I never wanted to be headmaster of Beacon. The amount of paperwork I have to deal with is insane and there was a time I swore I'd never do it." Ozpin admitted. Starting the academies was his idea yes, but he wanted nothing to do with the actual running. There were supposed to be four of his confidants running the schools, not three plus himself.

"You didn't want to be headmaster? I didn't know that." Qrow admitted.

"It was long before your time of course. Suffice to say, I got suckered into the position. It's ancient history now though, the paperwork situation has improved greatly." Ozpin said cheerfully.

"Gee. I wonder why." Glynda Goodwitch's dry tone was dripping with sarcasm as she glared at her boss. It didn't take a genius to figure out how Ozpin made his paperwork problem disappear.

"One of the most important duties a leader must learn is how to delegate work. Otherwise, they end up buried in it like that version of Mr Arc." Ozpin elaborated, missing Goodwitch's gnashing teeth and twitching eyebrow.

"**You okay boss, you look tired." Perry said as he noticed Jaune's eyebags.**

"**Perry. I like you. Out of all my minions, I like you the most. Don't make me get Qrow to walk you off the plank." Jaune said in a completely even tone, but his eyes were spitting fire, if looks could kill, half his office would be a burning hellscape now.**

"**I uh, ye look at the time. I have to go uh iron my dog." Perry dumped the stack of documents on the table and hastily made himself scarce.**

"I'm being used as a threat? That's just sad and depressing." Qrow muttered.

"Why? It's awesome!" Yang said.

"Not really. Reminds me of my Beacon days. Your dad would always use me as a threat to others, 'do this, do that, don't make me get Qrow to stand outside your dorm at night.' It's depressing to be used as a bad luck charm to threaten others." Qrow sighed.

"It worked! Just remember how many prank wars we won." Taiyang replied, having a more rosy view of those events than Qrow.

**Jaune sighed and was about to reach for the next set of papers so he could hopefully finish some time this year when there was a popping sound.**

"**What the?" Jaune looked around for the source of the noise but found nothing, until the source greeted him. Looking down to his side, there was a tiny version of his teammate waving at him.**

"**Jaune-Jaune, whatcha doing?" Chibi Nora greeted and Jaune simply stared at her for a moment before sighing.**

"**Oh, it's finally happening. I'm so tired I'm actually hallucinating now."**

"**What? I'm really here fearless leader." Nora protested.**

"**Sure you are. You're just a figment of my imagination my tired brain cooked up because I'm just so tired." Jaune said, his bloodshot eyes staring at chibi Nora with a haunted look in them.**

"**Meh. Chin up fearless leader! We just need to get your blood pumping, maybe some exercise." Nora punched the air several times to try and get Jaune to wake up a bit.**

"**Can't. No energy left." Jaune said.**

"**Huh. I got it! You, need, coffee!" Nora pointed one finger at Jaune and smiled brightly, before rushing over to the coffee machine Oobleck had gifted him for 'effortstofightracismandbringequality ' in the corner.**

"This is going to go horribly wrong for other me isn't it?" Jaune said in trepidation.

"Horribly wrong is a matter of perspective. To others, it's the best thing possible." Blank replied.

"But to Jaune Arc?" Jaune asked.

"Your worst nightmare come to life." Blank said.

**Jaune stared at the mug chibi Nora handed to him. "Huh, so my imagination can make me coffee now. Can it make my paperwork go away?"**

**Jaune glared at the stacks and stacks of papers but they didn't spontaneously combust or vanish into thin air. Just a chibi Nora standing there waiting patiently for him to drink his coffee while waiting for her own mug to cool.**

**Jaune shrugged and drank deeply from his mug, he'd need all the caffeine he could get to stay awake and power through his work. He coughed as a familiar burning feeling went down his throat. "Oh my god! Grah! What is in this thing!?"**

"**Meh, you look like you could use a pick me up so I added the energy drink I found in the cupboard to yours. See, it's working already, you're already fully awake. Up and at em Jaune-Jaune!" Nora pumped a fist into the air as Jaune turned and stared at the aforementioned cupboard.**

**A familiar bottle was there. One given to him by Sun a while back, half as a joke and half as an apology. And now the bottle was also half empty. As the Vacuon whiskey mixed into the coffee started to take effect and his vision began to swim, he saw Nora drain her mug, convulse and then disappear in a pop.**

**As the world faded to black, Jaune cursed his abysmally low alcohol tolerance. 'Aw shit, here we go again.'**

**When he woke up an indeterminate amount of time later, dressed in an expensive suit he didn't remember buying and in an office that was most definitely not his own, not even the pounding headache could keep the rising sense of dread down.**

**His eyes snapped to the door as there was a knock on it. When it opened, Dr Pietro Polendina stepped through, supported by his daughter Penny. Jaune's heart was in his throat as he waited for the man to confirm or deny his worst fears.**

"**Ah, good morning, I'm so glad you managed to find time to see me today. These old bones aren't what they used to be I'm afraid so I'll have to keep this brief." Dr Polendina said with a small chuckle.**

"**I must admit when you came to me with the idea to develop mechs and robots specially for mining dust to reduce mining accidents, I was a little sceptical. But I've read through the proposal you sent me and you've convinced me. You've got my support and I look forward to working with you, councilman Arc."**

**Jaune's face lost all colour as the words echoed inside his head. In the end, he did the only thing he could. Scream at the top of his lungs. "FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"**

The short ended mid scream, cutting to black with a perfect shot of Jaune's horrified expression.

"He's moving up in the world again. Man, I wish I could do that when I get drunk." Qrow mused.

"Me too. I'm tired of digging you out of the trash." Taiyang agreed wholeheartedly.

"That only happened four times!" Qrow protested.

"That's four times too many!" Taiyang shot back, the girls of the Rose-Xiao Long-Branwen family merely shared a laugh at the bickering.

"So which world is next?" Ren asked Blank.

"Next up, the one about Torchwick's nephew." Blank said.

"Oh, one of my favourite versions of the kid. This oughta be good, and no one eating my weapon this time." Torchwick said and glared at Neo, his partner in crime merely shrugged and licked her lips unrepentantly.

"Torchwick has a nephew?" Emerald asked in surprise.

"In this world, Jaune Arc is Roman Torchwick's nephew and he works with the three of you, although your methods are markedly different." Blank said.

"Different?" Cinder raised an eyebrow.

"You'll see."

**Jaune snuck through the mansion's defences easily enough with the optical camouflage his armour came with. Field work really wasn't his forte but a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. This mission was too important to hand off to anyone else and his uncle plus Neo were busy elsewhere.**

**Junior didn't have eyes here and if he didn't, Jaune's own fledgling network sure as hell wouldn't either. And that unfortunately meant donning the suit stolen from the council and doing the legwork himself.**

**Still, Jaune had to hand it to the former councilman, he at least had the presence of mind to set up backup residences out in the wilds before councilwoman Fall moved in to clean house.**

"Councilwoman Fall? Hmm… it does have a nice ring to it." Cinder said as she rolled the words around in her mouth and found that she liked them a lot.

"You're joking, she took over the council and purged the old one!?" Ironwood said in shock.

"She won the election fair and square on a promise to improve the lives of the people and weed out corruption wherever it may lurk. That she's made good on her promises by tearing apart the old council and exposing their misdeeds has made her a very popular woman." Blank said.

"Huh, that's uh, not something you hear every day." Mercury admitted.

"So what is Jaune doing all the way out here?" Blake asked.

"Not all of the councillors were incompetent or blind, some could see the writing on the wall and made preparations to vanish and consolidate power from the shadows. Jaune Arc is here to ensure that doesn't come to pass." Blank said.

**The stealth systems of the 5NK3 tactical espionage suit made the anti-intruder defences installed in the mansion laughably worthless as Jaune simply strolled through them and made his way to the Ex-councilman Nook's private office.**

**Standing outside the room and eavesdropping, he could make out his target speaking on the scroll to someone else, probably another one of his victims or beleaguered underlings. And the suit's sensors indicated there were two others in the room with him.**

"**Listen. Listen to me, I am so tired of your excuses. And your family does not matter to me. I will skin you alive in front of them if I don't get my payment this week. And then I burn your house down with all of you inside it, okay? Have a nice day, tell your wife and kids I said hi, I gotta go." Nook said as though he was discussing the weather.**

"Wow, just wow." Mercury whistled and gave a round of applause.

"Just like that version of Malachite we saw." Winter muttered.

"And a guy like that was a councilman?" Ironwood said in disbelief.

"Indeed, the level of corruption in that world is great enough that an agent of Salem is the lesser evil and given Cinder Fall's actions thus far, an improvement actually." Blank said.

"I'm hearing and seeing it, still working on the believing part." Qrow said drily.

"**Sorry about that, how are you doing Mr shopkeep, that loan of yours is already due right?"**

"…"

"**Yes, yes, business hasn't been good recently for all of us. But my boys are telling me something weird, see, they're saying I haven't got your lien yet. Now I'm telling them that must be some kind of mistake, you're smart enough to know to pay me on time, right?"**

"…"

"**Is… is that my problem? I don't see how you not being able to sell enough bowls of noodles is my problem."**

"…"

"**A month of delayed payment? Did I not grant you a loan to build your shop and house? Pay for your upgrades, greenlight your stall? Did I not do that for you? The loans are a promise, a promise that you made to pay me back. Just because I'm not on the council anymore doesn't mean that promise isn't valid."**

"…"

"**Sure, I'll give you another month, but I'll need something from you. Which hand do you mainly use to cook your noodles?"**

"…"

"**Oh, your left is it? Fine, I want you to break his right hand."**

"…**!"**

**And Jaune had heard enough. Throwing open the door with one hand and raising a silenced pistol with the other, Jaune was greeted with three surprised stares. The obese councilman in the back, a terrified old shopkeeper and a random thug in a face mask.**

**A two round burst and spray of blood later, it was two horrified stares instead of three surprised ones. "Sit down! Ex-councilman Nook. You, shopkeep, get out of here, consider your debt wiped clean."**

"…**!" The grateful yet terrified shopkeep bowed profusely and made a break for the door once Jaune was out of the way.**

"Good, it's leg breaking time." Nora said, eager to see the corrupt former councilman get his comeuppance.

"Nora, I'm sure Jaune won't be breaking anyone's legs today." Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, this one looks more like he'll just shoot the guy." Mercury chimed in, getting the champion to glare at him.

"Well, you're both right, it is leg breaking time, just not by Jaune Arc."

"**You are a bloody pain in the ass to track down you know that? Twelve empty decoy safehouses in the middle of nowhere. Twice, my boys almost caught you, but you gave em the slip." Jaune smirked as Nook backed away.**

"**If you want something done right, do it yourself right? I have questions about your remaining pals in hiding, and you better have answers."**

"**Y-you can't do this! Do you know who you're messing with!?" Nook sputtered out in a mock show of bravado.**

"**Yeah, a dead man." Jaune said and started playing with his yoyo, making a show of garrotting an invisible victim.**

"Man, I wish I had a son like that, I'd be the happiest man aliv-GAH! Neo! What was that for!?" Roman yelped and clutched at his foot after Neo stomped on it with all her strength.

"**I'm n-not telling you anything!" Nook cast his eyes about his office, searching for something that would get him out of the situation. His search was interrupted when there was a burst of light and chibi Nora appeared, Magnhild in hand.**

"**Hmm? Where am-ah Jaune, what's up?" Nora greeted Jaune, the professional criminal simply stared at her, mute from the surprise.**

"**Hmm? Who's this? A bad guy?" Nora said and pointed Magnhild at the ex-councilman.**

"**Yes? Yes. A really bad guy indeed." Jaune agreed.**

"**Oooh… can I break his legs?"**

"**Yeah sure why not, he doesn't need them, he's got a wheelie chair I can push him around on." Jaune agreed after a moment to think.**

"**W-wait! Aren't you supposed to ask me questions first!?" Nook yelled out.**

"**I tried, but you said you weren't going to answer any of them. Nothing I can do now but get to the leg breaking. Go on uh… small Nora, do your thing."**

"**Yes! Hammer time! Nora smash!" Nora raised Magnhild in the air and brought it down on Nook's right kneecap, shattering it in one hit and causing him to start screaming.**

"**Ahh nothing like beating up bad guys to start the day. Oh, coffee yay!" Nora picked up a mug of steaming black gold and started drinking from it.**

"**Start the day? It's close to midnight. I'm not sure this is the best time for coffee and… she's gone." Jaune blinked as Nora vanished in another burst of light. Now only two of them were left in the room.**

"**I wanted to break both your legs but you got off with just one, now let's try this again. I wanna know about ya pals. Where are they hiding and who else is working with them." Jaune grinned and advanced on the doomed ex-councilman as the short ended.**

"Umhmm, beating up bad guys is the best way to start the day, next to Renny's pancakes of course." Nora nodded sagely, ignoring her team's heavy sighs.

"One day, we'll get you into therapy." Jaune said in a resigned tone.

"Violence isn't always the answer Nora." Ren chided.

"You're right." Nora agreed.

"I am?" Ren blinked.

"he is?" Jaune and Pyrrha said at the same time.

"Yep! Violence is the question." Nora said.

"And the answer is yes!" Yang and Nora chorused together, exchanging a high five afterwards. The groan from the rest of the audience was audible. Blank simply chuckled as the next short started playing.

"**Good afternoon class, I'm Dr Arc, your professor, welcome to explosives 101." Captain Jaune Arc of Atlas greeted the students of Beacon in his class.**

"**Tch, you a professor? What kind of joke is this?" Cardin Winchester mocked, getting some laughter from those who didn't know Jaune. Those who did were completely silent, there were easier ways of self-flagellation than insulting Jaune to his face and Cardin was about to learn things the hard way.**

"**Not a full-time staff of Beacon it's true, I'm here on attachment from the Atlas military. Got my doctorate in dust engineering and I've been an active huntsman for over a year now. Sure, I'm not as experienced as the other teachers in Beacon, but I'm sure I have something to offer." Jaune said, not allowing his annoyance to show.**

"**You an active huntsman? What a joke, I could kick your ass without even breaking a sweat." Cardin jeered and his team joined in.**

"**Is that so? Care to put your theory to the test?" Jaune challenged.**

"**Come on down to the field then." Cardin rolled his eyes and gave his team a cocky smirk, expecting an easy walkover.**

"Oh, it's bomberman Jaune. This is gonna be good." Yang rubbed her hands together and cackled along with Nora.

"Cardin's dead." Weiss said simply.

"He did ask for it." Blake replied.

"**And bomberman makes his first kill in Beacon. Ten lien says Winchester goes down in ten seconds." Yang said to Weiss, Blake and Ruby.**

"**No bet, it's a given." Blake said and started reading her book again, not at all interested in the imminent one-sided beatdown.**

"**Meh, you're no fun kitty cat." Yang complained and slumped over to watch the show.**

**Down on the field, Cardin still had no idea what he was dealing with, hefting his mace with one hand and giving it a few test swings. "Where's your weapon doc?"**

"**I won't need Ascalon for this. I have everything I need on me." Jaune replied. **

"**Tch, your funeral. This will be over in a flash." **

"**Yes, yes it will. We'll begin on your move, come whenever you're ready." Jaune agreed and made a 'come here' motion with his left hand.**

**Cardin growled and charged in swinging. The next thing he knew, the world was white with pain.**

**Jaune had stepped into his reach the instant he raised his arm for a swing. In his right hand, the Atlas specialist held a simple taser… and promptly jabbed it into Cardin's crotch… and continued pushing through with the attack even when the sucker folded in on himself.**

**Gasps and horrified whispering filled the classroom as the males winced and shifted their legs together in phantom pain. Jaune dusted himself off and returned the taser to his pocket while Cardin rolled on the floor in a fetal position screaming his lungs out.**

"God damn, what the hell happened to nothing below the belt!?" Mercury winced and crossed his legs, most of the males in the audience also shifting uncomfortably.

"I don't know, but I'm taking notes." Emerald grinned and committed the sight to memory, it'd make for a useful illusion if nothing else, and maybe one day she'd get to do it for real when Mercury was being particularly annoying.

"Woah, that has to be the fastest take down in… ever I think. How fast was that?" Ruby said in slight awe.

"2.34 seconds from Winchester's first move. Very impressive. Very underhanded." Ozpin said.

"Meh, I think he did a great job." Qrow said.

"Of course you'd think that. Come to think of it, you trained that version of the kid didn't you, did your counterpart have something to do with that?" Summer asked.

"Indeed. One of the first things that Qrow Branwen taught Jaune Arc was to never give his opponents a fair fight because they won't either. If that means tasing them in the groin, then so be it. Needless to say, Jaune Arc took the advice literally and used it in his very first spar." Blank said.

"Jaune, I take back every complaint I ever had about you not being trained before this." Weiss said, glad that her version of Jaune wasn't anywhere this dedicated to victory.

"Thanks? I think?" Jaune said, mind still frazzled about his counterpart's sheer underhandedness.

"**Normally, the match ends here. But I'm here to impart some life lessons to you all too, out in the real world, battles don't end when one side has their aura in the red. When your enemies are Grimm or dangerous criminals, they won't stop until you're dead and stopping your own attack because you're afraid of causing permanent harm to your opponents is a dangerous mentality. It _will_ get you killed." Jaune said and pulled out a grenade.**

"**I'm the bad guy who'll do anything to win. Winchester underestimated me and now he's on the ground for me to finish off." Jaune primed the grenade and let it fall next to Cardin before jumping away.**

**The explosive went off as several horrified screams came from the students, not expecting to see one of their teachers straight up execute a student for underestimating them. When the dust settled, Cardin was still there although screaming and clawing at his flesh.**

"**Very low grade and yield fire and lightning dust grenade, no killing power. But put together, makes for an incredible skin irritant. In other words, super itching powder." Jaune smirked evilly as the students gulped.**

"**As Winchester here so kindly volunteered to demonstrate, not all explosives have to cause a big boom. Explosives are a tool and it is up to the user to pick the right one for the right job, case in point, this itching powder explosive may look and sound like a joke, but it is a very effective riot control weapon, especially since it works against targets who still have aura." Jaune said and the students gulped again, noticing Cardin's condition and the lack of his aura breaking. They couldn't help but wonder what else Dr Arc had in his arsenal of tricks.**

"Itching powder as an effective weapon… only a truly twisted mind would be able to come up with something like that and make it work." Mercury started clapping again, no sarcasm this time, just plain awe.

**Jaune was about to continue speaking when an explosion occurred next to the downed Cardin, tossing him into a wall and rendering him mercifully unconscious. "Okay? That wasn't one of mine."**

**Chibi Nora stepped out from the smoke and waved it away coughing. "Why is there so much smoke?"**

"**Nora? What happened to you? Why are you… tiny?" Jaune said as whispering spread throughout the classroom.**

"**I'm not tiny fearless leader, you're just tall." Nora shot back.**

"**Fearless leader? What? I'm not your leader." Jaune said in confusion.**

"**Of course you are, fearless leader is fearless leader. Anyways, what are we doing?"**

"**I'm holding a class on explosives?" Jaune said.**

"**Oooh… big boom time. So I got these grenades for Magnhild here…" Nora displayed some of her ammunition and the two of them descended into their own world of bombs and explosions and bigger and better booms, leaving the students to watch on in a mix of horror and disbelief as there were now evidently two explosive nuts who existed on the same wavelength.**

**The mix transitioned into pure horror when Jaune started upgrading chibi Nora's arsenal on the spot. Field testing them on several of Professor Port's captured Grimm led to bouts of insane laughter from the both of them. Several of the students beginning to pray they weren't about to witness the end of the world as things wouldn't stop exploding.**

"Right, I remember now. I have a drinking problem in this world. Nice to know what caused it." Ren said as he stared at the screen. Ren sighed and rubbed his eyes, holding back the urge to go into a full-on nervous breakdown. Jaune and Pyrrha weren't in much better states.

Nora though. Nora was being Nora.

"**And that's everything you should need. Coffee will help get you back right? Then here you go, farewell fellow walker of the path." Jaune handed chibi Nora a thermos of coffee that the ginger started chugging immediately. Once she was done, Nora vibrated in place before vanishing in another explosion.**

"**Making explosions with coffee… hmmm now there's an idea. No one ever suspects the coffee." Jaune mused to himself before filing the idea away for further research. He still had a class to teach, and... heh several of his students were on their knees praying.**

"**I am a true prophet." Jaune hummed to himself, happy with having converted several students to the church of the bomb without even trying. And with that, the screen faded to black.**

"Coffee bombs? That's a horrifying thought." Ozpin said, about to sip from his mug before thinking better of it.

"Got a point though, we don't check our food and drink for poison often enough even when we're stuck in a shadow war." Qrow admitted and everyone had to agree to that. Not even Cinder's group was paranoid enough to check everything for poison or sabotage.

"One last short to go through." Blank announced.

"**Salem is a goddess! You! Are! Nothing!" Tyrian roared as he swung his armblades at his opponent. Jaune didn't even bother dodging, taking the hits head on and letting Tyrian try to use his semblance to tear a gap in his aura to deliver a fatal hit. **

**It didn't work, Jaune had layered his aura over himself multiple times, every time Tyrian tore through one, another was waiting. And when he tried going after that, the first shield layer was already regenerating.**

"**She is most assuredly not. And are you quite done? This is getting boring." Jaune yawned as Tyrian switched to shooting at him point blank, the bullets bouncing off harmlessly.**

"**Fine, if you can't take a hint, I'll end this now. Have a date with Pyr later that I don't want to be late for. Jaune said and in one swift motion, he'd drawn Excalibur and thrust it straight through Tyrian's heart busting through the faunus's aura instantly.**

**The scorpion faunus gasped and clawed at the weapon embeded in his chest. Jaune leaned in close so he could watch the light in the assassin's eyes die out. "Where is your goddess now?"**

**No answer came, Tyrian had already gone limp. Jaune lowered Excalibur and allowed the corpse to slide off the end of the blade, hitting the ground with a thud. "Nowhere, that's where."**

"He killed Tyrian just like that?" Cinder blinked in surprise, she didn't like the man, but she could at least respect his strength. For a Jaune Arc to end him so easily…

"Oh, it's the King Jaune timeline this time." Pyrrha said, blushing slightly at the mention of a date.

"Hmm, this is the one with the kaleidoscope, right? I ran into a Nora from this world in the testing range, she was the one who gave me the Noramobile blueprints and the thing about weaponised coffee… no, did she already know this was going to happen?" Jaune's eyes widened as he recalled that meeting.

"Yes, yes she did. Hiya everyone." A second Nora greeted from her seat at the back of the theatre.

"Nora!? When did you get there?" Jaune asked.

"Oh you know, sometimeish." Kaleido Nora waved her hands in a non-committal manner.

"Were you watching us?" Ruby asked.

"I'm always watching, and so are they." Nora pointed at the screen.

"Who's they?" Yang asked in confusion, unable to see the screen Nora was pointing at.

"Oh don't worry about it. You don't have enough eyes on the ins… no what did Renny say it was again? Oh yeah, you don't have enough insight to see the readers, it's fine, just go back to watching, shoo shoo, lemme enjoy my pancakes." Kaleido Nora waved them off and started snacking on a plate of pancakes that magically appeared in front of her.

**As Jaune was about to leave, there was a small poof and chibi Nora appeared in front of him. "Nora? Why are… is this another one of those interdimensional things again?"**

"Yep!"

"**Can you deal with this?"**

"Not yet!"

"**Fine. So… you're a Nora from another world, right?" Jaune asked the chibi version of his teammate. **

"**I think so, I've seen quite a few worlds already and this doesn't feel like a dream." Chibi Nora said.**

"**Hmm… I got time to kill, anything you want to do?" Jaune asked.**

"**I want to ride a Noramobile." She said easily, all they'd need to do was find a Grimm and she'd take it from there.**

"**Nora! Can you send Pete please?" Jaune called out.**

"Sure thing fearless leader!" Kaleido Nora snapped her fingers and a heavily modified cyborg Deathstalker appeared next to Jaune and chibi Nora.

**The Deathstalker screeched and chittered before bowing down to allow Jaune and Nora to board. Jaune doing so as if this was a commonplace thing to do and Nora with all the excitement of a kid tearing open his Christmas presents.**

***So which group of fuckers we blowing up today? Grimm or bandits?***

"**Heard there's an ancient Geist lurking around here somewhere possessing a massive golem body, let's go test out your new disintegrators, shall we?" Jaune gave Pete a small pet and the Grimm rumbled forwards, in search of its unlucky targets.**

"This… how is this possible? This is beyond what that Merlot managed to do." Cinder sputtered out as she stared at the living superweapon that used to be a simple Deathstalker.

"Don't question it, it's easier if you just accept some things. Think too much and your brain will fry." Kaleido Nora said.

**Chibi Nora was having the time of her life as the Noramobile blasted away at the Grimm hordes. They didn't find just one Geist, they found a whole convention of Grimm. Pete's weapons unloaded on the Grimm, sowing death and destruction among their ranks.**

**Nora cheered as she added to the mayhem with her own upgraded grenades, Magnhild spewing death and destruction wherever she aimed.**

**Jaune smiled softly and allowed Nora to have her fun, simply using his semblance to buff them all to the point where they wouldn't even feel pain from direct hits. Nevermore quills bounced right off the invisible barrier as Nora filled the heavens with explosions next.**

"Well, think it's about time to call it a day. Bye other friends, bye Blank." Kaleido Nora waved and vanished, returning to her home world.

"Heheheh… bye Nora." Blank chuckled and returned the farewell.

**Once the last of the Grimm were ashes in the wind. Kaleido Nora popped up next to her chibi version.**

"**Whoa, there's another me here." Chibi Nora whispered and started poking at her counterpart, testing if she was real.**

"**Yep, I'm here to get you back home. Jaune, you can ride Pete the rest of the way back. I already told Pyrrha and Ren you're on your way back." Nora gave a small wave before grabbing her chibi version and disappearing.**

**Jaune simply nodded and directed Pete in the direction of home and the short came to an end.**

**The screen came back to life shortly after, showing chibi Nora back in the chibiverse and slowly waking up from her coffee induced coma.**

"**Ohhh… thank goodness! That was crazy! I travelled through a bunch of parallel universes, it was so weird. Did you guys see any of that?" Nora spread her arms out and asked. Ruby and Ren exchanged a glance before turning back to Nora.**

"**Nope, that does sound pretty crazy though." Ren said… but it was Ruby's voice coming out of his mouth.**

**Then Zwei walked over and started speaking too. "You doing okay Nora?"**

**Chibi Nora stared at the talking corgi and groaned, looks like she wasn't home yet. Oh well, nothing another pot of coffee couldn't fix. And with that, the viewing came to an end.**

"That's all folks, go refresh yourselves, next viewing will be ready shortly." Blank said and his audience got up to leave.

"That ending was truly bizarre. But still… traveling to parallel universes." Cinder mused to herself quietly, wondering which versions of her had achieved her destiny. Then again, it didn't matter, the only thing that did was that she arrived at her own.

* * *

Author's notes: Thanks for reading. Here's another experimental chapter, revisiting some of my older more original flavour works. Hope you enjoyed it. So, confession time, lots of request to do Doom Eternal, and I will be doing a chapter on it eventually. It's just I'm too busy writing this and Atlas Arc to actually play the game, so yeah... In other news, I might be doing a small 4 chapter fic on Team ALBA covering their individual origins in the future since I'm not really planning to expand into that world. Merlot is too OP and I have no idea how to actually have him be beaten.


	26. Chapter 25: Standoff

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 25: Standoff **

**Inspiration: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Stardust Crusaders**

"Welcome back, the next viewing is ready. Once again, I will be having Jaune Arc step out of the theatre. There isn't much for you either General Ironwood, Specialist Schnee, you're free to step out as well." Blank said.

"Very well then. I would very much appreciate a closer look at some of the weapons, they would go a long way to improving our efforts to fight against the Grimm." Ironwood said and rose to his feet.

"I shall step out as well, until later Weiss." Winter gave her sister a nod before dusting herself off and waiting for them to be transported away.

"Huh, okay then. Bye guys." Jaune waved goodbye to his friends as he got to his feet. After giving Pyrrha and Yang a kiss each, there was a flash of light and they were gone.

"So, what's on this time?" Qrow asked.

"The continuation of a world some of you have seen before, specifically, the one with Stands." Blank said.

"Yes! It's about time!" Yang cheered, eager to see more of the bizarre world of Stands and the completely fearless Jaune.

"Stands? Why do I get the feeling that word doesn't mean what I think it does in this context?" Emerald asked.

"Stands are superpowers, similar to semblances but quite distinct at the same time." Blank answered.

"Yeah… just no more soul stealing please." Roman said before falling silent as the screen came to life.

"**There he is, get closer to them, even closer. If I'm not close enough, I can't use The World." Tyrian reclined in his seat as his car started to catch up with the truck in front. The corrupt senator he'd pressed into service on pain of death continued laughing and babbling nonsensically as he floored the accelerator.**

"Even in another world, he's still as repulsive as ever." Cinder snorted and turned up her nose at the scorpion faunus.

"**He's getting closer… it's that car behind us, Tyrian is in there." Ozpin said, glancing at the blood splattered car gaining on them in the rear-view mirror.**

**Pyrrha nodded and immediately summoned Hierophant Green and sent it to attack. The emerald Stand shot towards Tyrian's vehicle and immediately moved to attack once it had visual confirmation of the monster's presence.**

"**Take this Tyrian, Emerald Splash!" Pyrrha roared and had her stand fire a barrage of emeralds at Tyrian, aiming to perforate him for an instant finish.**

"**Hmmph." Unperturbed by the sudden attack, Tyrian's easily picked out the incoming emeralds with his enhanced senses and flicked his finger once, sending an emerald bullet flying towards the others. It kicked off a chain of ricochets, deflecting the entire barrage and sending the emeralds through the door instead, leaving Tyrian completely unharmed without him having to dodge once.**

"Woah… that… was that the power of Tyrian's stand?" Roman asked.

"No. That's just his own ability." Blank said.

"That's insane, and that's without aura?" Roman shook his head in complete disbelief over Tyrian's display of power.

"That's because he's not human." Blank followed up.

"Yes, we noticed the scorpion tail. He's clearly a faunus." Mercury rolled his eyes at the obvious.

"Not anymore. He's a vampire now." Blank said.

"He's a what?" Cinder stared at Blank, not believing her ears.

"A vampire. In search of power and immortality, he threw away his old faunus self to become a vampire. That and he stole this universe's Ozma's body."

Ozpin started choking on his drink as his coffee went down the wrong pipe. "He… ack… stole what!?"

"Yep. Ozma is the grandfather of this universe's Ozpin, he sacrificed himself to kill Tyrian in the past, but it didn't stick. Tyrian came back eventually after taking over Ozma's corpse by attaching his head to Ozma's body to rebuild himself stronger than before."

"That's disgusting." Cinder summed up the thoughts of the audience with those two words.

"**W-what!? He didn't even have to move from his seat! And he still managed to evade the attack!?" Pyrrha sputtered in surprise as Tyrian no-selled her attack completely.**

"**Kuh! How about this!" Pyrrha fired off another Emerald Splash, this time, a more concentrated burst of emeralds to avoid Tyrian's ricochet trick.**

**Once more it didn't work. Tyrian merely smirked and flicked all his fingers outwards, knocking away the entire barrage and sending it through the roof of the car.**

"**No way, even when I concentrated the attack, he still managed to block it!?" Pyrrha cursed as Hierophant Green failed again, that anger and frustration transformed into shock when a humanoid in gold armour appeared inches away from her stand out of nowhere.**

"**What!? When did he release his Stand? How did I not notice!?" Pyrrha hastily brought Hierophant Green's arms up to block The World's punch. The force of the blow sent her Stand rocketing backwards, crashing through several lampposts and flying back towards Ozpin's truck.**

"**Hmm… she was still a bit too far away, it went flying out of The World's range." Tyrian scowled at being unable to finish of Pyrrha with that hit. Wiping away the scowl as he instructed the senator to continue driving, he smirked as Ozpin's truck drew nearer and nearer, he'd waited over a century for his revenge at the bottom of the ocean, he could wait a few more minutes.**

"…Is he truly immortal? A century at the bottom of the ocean?" Taiyang asked.

"He is ageless and very hard to kill, but fortunately, not a true immortal." Blank said.

"Good, so they don't have to deal with another Salem then." Ozpin said.

"That is… debatable. He fills the same role in this world since the Salem of this world never went evil thanks to Tyrian contributing to both Ozma and her own deaths. He doesn't have your world's Salem's total immortality but he has other abilities that make him a far more terrifying opponent." Blank replied.

"Tyrian… killed Salem? That is all kinds of wrong." Cinder murmured, unable to reconcile the fanatic who worshipped Salem as a goddess and a Tyrian that actually killed a version of Salem.

"Heh, hard to kill just means he's in for a bigger ass kicking." Yang said, punching a fist into her palm in anticipation of the inevitable beatdown.

"Correct." Blank affirmed.

"**Be careful Pyrrha, you got too close to him." Ozpin chided as Pyrrha started breathing hard from the damage Tyrian inflicted.**

"**I'm sorry. I couldn't help it." Pyrrha said as blood started flowing from several wounds that opened up on her.**

"When did Pyrrha get injured?" Nora stared at the screen in concern.

"…I'm guessing whatever damage a Stand takes is transferred to its user?" Ren asked.

"Indeed. Stands give their users incredible abilities, but they also present a major weakness at the same time." Blank said.

"Oh. That's not good." Ruby said quietly.

"**Did you see it? The World?" Ozpin asked.**

"**Yes, I attacked from around ten metres away. If I'd been any closer, I'd have been done for. It's obvious his Stand has some kind of secret to it, I didn't even see him deploy. But I've managed to figure out two things, one, it can't attack over distance like Hierophant Green or Hermit Purple. It's a close-range power type like Star Platinum with a range of about ten metres." Pyrrha said as she struggled to regain her breath from the beating her Stand took.**

"**Second, it attacked with its fists, that means it doesn't have a range attack like bullets or anything. If we can get within ten metres of Tyrian without him noticing, we might have a chance of beating him."**

"Woah, to figure out all that from a single exchange? Guess P-money is P-money no matter what world it is." Yang said with a shrug.

"**We'll have to investigate carefully, there's no such thing as being too cautious when it comes to him." Ozpin said before looking back to the rear-view mirror. Tyrian's car had abruptly crashed for no reason and there was no sign of pursuit.**

"**That's… odd… his car is stopped."**

**Pyrrha looked back as well to try and get a better look at what the rear-view mirror couldn't show. Her eyes widened as a shadow fell over them and she spotted the corpse of the senator flying straight towards them. "Look out! Something's flying right at us!"**

**Her warning came too late, the body crashed through the hood and impeded Ozpin's driving, sending the truck careening into a nearby building and exploding into flames.**

**Tyrian grinned as he approached the destroyed vehicle, the senator was so much more effective as a bullet than as a driver, he should have done it from the start. But hindsight is 20-20, the immortal vampire ripped off the door of the battered truck and stared into it, finding only the useless corpse inside, his prey had escaped at the last moment evidently. Looking up to the roofs, he noticed Pyrrha and Ozpin being winched up by their stands. **

"**Hmmph." Prey was always more interesting when they tried to run.**

"That's… he just murdered his own driver?" Weiss was no stranger to being accused of coldly disregarding those who worked for her family but this was on a different level entirely.

"He sees himself as the one individual fit to stand at the top of the world. All other humans and faunus in it are nothing more than tools to serve his will, to him, being a tool is the highest honour anyone can ever achieve." Blank said.

"He clearly has the power to back it up." Cinder said, unhappy with having to concede the insane scorpion had any kind of point, but the Tyrian on screen was clearly beyond anything her own could do.

"Tch, of course you wouldn't see anything wrong with that. Newsflash bitch, keep treating everyone like tools and you'll find that we tend to fail when you need us the most." Roman sneered at Cinder while Neo again pantomimed running a knife across her throat.

**Ozpin was about to continue their escape when he noticed Pyrrha had stopped. "What are you doing? We need to get moving before he catches up to us."**

"**I've got a plan to reveal what Tyrian's stand truly is." Pyrrha breathed in deeply and got to work with Hierophant Green, setting up a kill box that would hopefully put the monster down or failing that force him to reveal his secrets.**

**As she set up the nigh invisible wires to form a barrier, Pyrrha stared at her stand, the ever-present loyal shadow that never left her side since she was a child. For years, she never could form any kind of meaningful relationships with others since no one could see Hierophant Green.**

**Then she met them, Jaune, Ozpin, Weiss, Yatsuhashi… the past couple of weeks were the best in her life. Despite the danger lurking at every turn, she wouldn't trade it in for anything. They'd given her empty isolated existence meaning and now it was her turn to repay that kindness by helping to bring down Tyrian once and for all.**

"I'm… not surviving this am I?" Pyrrha asked.

"This version of you, no." Blank said.

Pyrrha sighed before shaking the negativity off, she was starting to see a trend and it was a little morbid that she was getting more and more sued to seeing worlds where she didn't make it. The invincible girl took it in stride and offered Nora and Ren a small smile when she noticed their worried looks.

"**Ho? Only Nikos and Ozpin… they must have split up for a pincer then. So Jaune and Weiss must be coming to ambush me from behind." Tyrian grinned, if they were planning a pincer attack that meant that he wouldn't have to hunt them down one at a time like rats after all.**

**He was jolted out of his thoughts as soon as he landed on a roof, there was a slight almost imperceptible pressure on his foot before landing. The next thing he knew, an Emerald Splash was shooting right for his face out of nowhere.**

"**Hmmph!" Unconcerned, the vampire deflected the emeralds with his arms and leapt into the air. Once again, there was a slight pressure as he moved, this time at the back of his shoulder. Another volley of emeralds fired his way and he again deflected them all.**

"**Nikos's Hierophant. Hmmph!" Tyrian grumbled as he continued to dodge mid-air and deflect the emeralds that constantly fired at him without any set pattern or tell.**

"**Hierophant's barrier… it's… this is…" Tyrian's eyes widened as he kicked away a volley of emeralds. The threads were too thin, completely invisible even to his vampire senses, but when he used The World to amplify his senses, he could see the threads clear as day. They formed a wire cage surrounding him in all directions, restricting his movements by ensuring he would be met with emeralds no matter which way he moved.**

"**So you see it, that's right, it's Hierophant's barrier that activates as soon as its touched. It surrounds you in all direction for twenty metres, you're not escaping this." Pyrrha said.**

"**Take this Tyrian, a twenty metre Emerald Splash!" Pyrrha roared and manually fired off emeralds from every thread, all aimed towards Tyrian in an omnidirectional attack.**

"**How foolish. Now you will know The World's true power is indeed the power to reign over this world! THE WORLD!" Tyrian yelled as he activated his Stand.**

**Pyrrha's eyes focused on her target, trying to use both her sight and Hierophant Green's senses to pinpoint Tyrian's actions, to figure out the secret of his stand. Right as the emeralds hit their target, Tyrian vanished and Pyrrha's world exploded in a white flash of pain.**

**The entire barrier had been ripped apart instantaneously and a massive force sent her rocketing backwards. Crashing into a water tower several blocks away hard enough to rupture the thing, Pyrrha coughed as her vision started fading, the fist sized hole in her chest a fatal wound.**

"What was that? That wasn't super speed." Ruby said, staring at the screen with wide eyes.

"He just disappeared, how? There was nowhere for him to dodge." Roman chimed in.

"That is the power of his stand." Blank said.

"**W-what was that? Did he get me?" Pyrrha stared at the vampire in the distance, too weak to even move her fingers now. She turned to stare at the nearby clocktower, wondering if her parents were currently asleep and mentally apologising to them for everything she put them through and her one final failure.**

'**I can sense the movements of anyone who touches Hierophant's barrier but he ripped apart the entire thing at the same time… how? Why wasn't it done strand by strand?' Pyrrha's thoughts shifted away from her parents as he tried to figure out the puzzle before her.**

'**There wasn't even a millisecond of delay between strand, all of it cut at the same time. How could he have hit them all at the same time? The World is a close range stand it's impossible for it to cut them all at the same… time… time… no.' Pyrrha's attention returned to the clocktower as she figured out the terrifying ability of The World at last.**

'**What an absurd ability. Have to… get the truth… to Ozpin, otherwise… everyone's going to be defeated.' Pyrrha looked towards Ozpin, the old man facing off against Tyrian and keeping him distracted.**

**Mustering the last of her strength, Pyrrha coughed once before firing off one last attack with her stand, destroying one of the clockfaces. "That's… my last Emerald Splash… it's all… I can do now… Ozpin… please… understand the message…"**

**Pyrrha's eyes closed as the light in them faded forever.**

"I don't get it, what kind of a message is that supposed to be?" Emerald asked.

"Hmm… I see… that's a troublesome ability alright." Ozpin murmured.

"You know what The World's power is Oz?" Qrow asked.

"I have a hunch. We'll see if it's correct." Ozpin replied.

"**Pyrrha… no… Tyrian!" Ozpin fired off a purple tendril with his Stand and wrapped it around Tyrian before channelling his Hamon through it, trying to fry the vampire with the power of the sun.**

**The scorpion simply laughed and tore his way free with The World before the sun's energy could reach him. "Hahahah! Your stand is the weakest of them all Ozpin, you're next!"**

"**Kuh!" Seeing the disadvantage, Ozpin switched strategies and began retreating from Tyrian, using Hermit Purple to pull himself from roof to roof while Tyrian flew after him in pursuit.**

'**Why shoot the clock face? What kind of message were you trying to get across? Did you figure it out? The secret of Tyrian's Stand?' Ozpin glanced back at his pursuer momentarily before returning his attention to the buildings in front.**

'**She shot the clock face, destroyed the clock's hands… why? Why stop the clock? Stop… the… clock? No… impossible, such a thing… could it be?' Ozpin shook his head before halting his flight to face Tyrian.**

"**The World's power is to stop time!?"**

"As I thought." Ozpin sipped from his mug as his counterpart came to the same conclusion he did.

"He can stop time for everything but himself, that's how he was able to rip apart the barrier instantly."

"If he can stop time, then why didn't he just use it during the car chase?" Blake asked.

"There's probably a maximum range where he can affect things or a limit to how long he can pause time." Ozpin said.

"But still, how's anyone supposed to fight that? It's unfair!" Yang protested.

"Coincidence of the highest order and genetics." Blank answered to the confusion of his audience.

**Several minutes ago.**

"**THE WORLD!" The world flickered into negative colours for a brief instant as Tyrian activated his Stand. All around him, the emerald bullets bearing down on him had frozen mid air and not a single sound could be heard in the world of stopped time.**

**Using his Stand to clear the way forwards, Tyrian swept aside the emeralds in his path and sliced apart the threads blocking his way. Ending up at the still form of Pyrrha Nikos, he smirked and looked down upon the doomed woman. "This is The World. But since time has stopped for you, you can neither see nor feel him."**

**The World raised an armoured fist as Tyrian's mad grin widened. "Die here Nikos."**

**The fist punched forwards and went straight through Pyrrha's form instantly, dealing a fatal blow without anyone capable of even seeing it let alone interfering.**

"**You don't even realise you've been killed. There's no way for you to even know what has happened." Tyrian stared at the non-responsive face of his latest kill before turning away. One down, three to go.**

"**Time has started to move again."**

**Pyrrha's fatally wounded form went flying into the water tower.**

"Ice cold." Mercury shrugged, on the one hand he could appreciate the cold efficiency, on the other, something about Tyrian just rubbed him the wrong way.

"Grrr… Jaune-Jaune's gonna kick his ass right?" Nora asked.

"Indeed. In a very satisfying manner too." Blank confirmed.

**Ozpin blinked in surprise when Tyrian suddenly vanished from sight. The next instant, he felt the menacing presence right behind him.**

**Spinning around, he was met with the sight of one of The World's fists bearing down on his face. But Tyrian pulled the punch, not allowing it to land. Ozpin bit back a curse before leaping away to put some distance between them.**

"**Heh, what's wrong? Not going to hit me Tyrian? Weren't you going to take my blood?" Ozpin taunted, trying to get Tyrian to try again.**

**The vampire hung back, unamused with the old man's antics. "You've suffused your body with Hamon to guard yourself, Hermit Purple, infused with Hamon… it's like a high voltage wire wrapped around your body isn't it? You're quite the schemer, cunning old geezer."**

"**Tch, I could say the same about you." Ozpin growled as his plan to bait Tyrian into a suicide attack failed. If The World had landed the punch, the Hamon stored inside Hermit Purple would have activated immediately and hurt if not kill the vampire.**

"**You realised I was using Hamon and made sure not to touch me, how attentive of you. But I've figured you out, you can stop time with The World can't you? But you can only do it for a short period… about three to four seconds, otherwise you'd have finished us off inside the mansion."**

**But contrary to what Ozpin might have expected, Tyrian barely reacted, an unimpressed expression on his face. "So, you figured out The World have you? Hah. I'll give you some praise for that, but so what?"**

"**It was Pyrrha who figured it out, I won't let her death be in vain." Ozpin swore.**

"**And I'm asking you, so what?" Tyrian's mad grin had returned.**

"**What good does understanding my Stand's power do for you? What can your Hamon possibly do now? I don't have to touch you to attack you!" Tyrian laughed as he had his Stand destroy a section of the roof they were on, sending a wave of rubble flying towards Ozpin hard enough to bat aside the incoming infused tendrils and throw Ozpin off the roof.**

"Talk about overpowered, but what's the Hamon thing anyways?" Mercury asked.

"Another form of supernatural power in this universe, it's an energy similar to that of the sun and therefore an antithesis to a vampire." Blank answered.

"If only they could get it to actually hit." Taiyang grumbled.

**As Ozpin fell to the street below, he managed to use Hermit Purple to slow his fall by grappling onto a balcony railing, preventing him from shattering his bones on contact with the earth. Several bloody coughs wracked his frame as Tyrian's attack still did quite a fair bit of damage despite his attempts to mitigate it.**

**Ignoring the drunk heckling of several café patrons nearby, Ozpin struggled back to his feet and was about to continue running until he could come up with a plan to beat Tyrian when he saw Jaune approaching from the street ahead.**

"**Old man." Jaune had clearly noticed his grandfather's state and was rushing over to help. In Ozpin's opinion, that was the worst possible outcome, Jaune still didn't know about Tyrian's Stand, if he tried to fight now, he'd lose.**

"**Jaune! Stay back, don't come anywhere near me now!" Ozpin yelled out, halting Jaune in his tracks.**

"**It's time! The World is a Stand that can stop tim-"**

**The world rippled negative for a moment and time was frozen again. Tyrian landed on the ground and began walking towards Ozpin. "In the beginning, I could only stop time for a brief moment, but as my neck wound healed, I could stop it for two seconds, then three seconds, and now the limit is five seconds. Eventually, I'll be able to stop time for a minute, ten minutes, an hour… then as long as I want."**

**Tyrian raised his hand and brought it down in a chop, aiming to decapitate Ozpin before time resumed. He paused when he remembered Ozpin was still infused with Hamon, frozen time or not, it would still damage him if he came into contact.**

"**Oh that's right, you were using Hamon to protect yourself weren't you? A hundred years ago, that gave me quite a bit of trouble, but Hamon is nothing before the power of The World." Tyrian stepped back and whipped out a knife.**

"**Mudamudamudamudamudamuda MUDA!" Hurling the knife with all of his strength at Ozpin's throat, Tyrian cackled manically as time for the knife slowed to a crawl before stopping just shy of piercing Ozpin's throat.**

"**Ozpin, grandson of Ozma… you are now dead. One second left… zero." Tyrian lifted a finger before lowering it as time resumed.**

**Ozpin gasped as the knife that wasn't there before embedded itself in his throat, blood spurted from the wound as the old man collapsed instantly.**

"Yeesh, that's rough." Roman muttered.

"Oh, so I'm dead too." Ozpin shrugged and continued drinking from his mug.

"At least I didn't get my soul stolen this time."

"Is… that really much better headmaster?" Pyrrha raised an eyebrow at Ozpin's nonchalance.

"Your status is… strange even by the standards of this universe. Right now you're dying and you'll be dead soon, but not all the way dead." Blank said.

"So… there are levels of dead now?" Goodwitch asked.

"Sort of, don't think about it too hard." Blank replied.

"**Gramps!" Jaune started moving forwards again as he saw Ozpin go down from an attack that came out of nowhere.**

"**S-stay back… run away… Jaune… don't… go… near… hi…" Ozpin gurgled out before falling silent, slipping away into unconsciousness.**

"**hahahhahahehaha! I've already taken care of Nikos too, I don't see Schnee around so she must be hiding somewhere waiting for a chance. But it doesn't matter, you're next Jaune Arc." Tyrian pointed at Jaune and grinned as Jaune's glare intensified to murderous levels.**

"**Bastard…" Jaune growled out and clenched his fists tightly before walking forwards. Heading right for Tyrian.**

"What!? What is he doing!? His grandfather said to run away, not head for the vampire!" Weiss all but screamed out.

"So the boy either has a death wish or is foolishly overconfident. I suppose it doesn't really matter." Cinder said with a small shrug.

"Yeah! Go get em fearless leader! And hey wait a minute, is it just me or does he look bulkier than the last time we saw him." Nora halted her cheering to stare at Jaune's appearance suspiciously.

"**Oh? You're approaching me?" Tyrian held his arms out welcoming the challenge.**

"**Instead of running away, you're coming right to me? Even though your grandfather Ozpin told you the secret of The World, like an exam student scrambling to finish the problems on an exam until the last moments before the chime?"**

"**I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer." Jaune shot back, unwavering in his advance.**

"**Oh ho! Then come as close as you like." Tyrian grinned and began walking forwards as well, the distance between them shrinking rapidly.**

"The balls on the both of them, unreal." Qrow muttered as the tension raised with every step, he was sweating just looking at them while both Jaune and Tyrian were perfectly calm.

"Language aside, Mr Arc is doing remarkably well under pressure." Goodwitch commented.

"So this is it, the big showdown." Ruby leaned forwards and rapidly shoveled popcorn into her mouth.

"Uh huh, uh huh, just lemme write this down first." Yang was scribbling more notes into her notebook on proper trash talking.

"Commence the ass kicking!" Nora cheered as the tension reached a fever pitch.

**Right when it looked like both of them were about to bump into one another, their Stands materialised and traded a single hit. Star Platinum threw out a punch while The World lashed out with a kick.**

**The ground shattered from the exchange of blows and Jaune took a step back as The World connected with its kick. His pants ripped below the knee and the skin was raw, matching the damage Star Platinum took as the Stands disengaged.**

"**Too slow, too slow, The World is the ultimate Stand, even without his ability to stop time, his speed and power far exceed that of your Star Platinum." Tyrian mocked, his grin oozing arrogance after drawing first blood.**

"**So, it's the same type of Stand as Star Platinum then, not much range but immense power and precise movements." Jaune muttered.**

"**I wanted to try a little test to find out just how much more powerful The World is compared to your Stand. Though it appears a test was hardly necessary." Tyrian said.**

"**Test? Is that what you call that light tap that wasn't enough to hurt? Well, I guess you did rip my two thousand lien pants though." Jaune shrugged off the damage and glared at Tyrian.**

"**Why are you Arcs so stubborn about admitting defeat? Hmmph, I suppose I'll rise to your silly provocation and test you a bit more." Tyrian grinned and threw The World at Jaune again.**

**The golden armoured Stand launched a flurry of punches that Star Platinum blocked. It dodged away when Jaune responded with a barrage of kicks. Clashing with their fists again, The World was put on the backfoot as Star Platinum switched to slower but heavier and more precise blows.**

**It dodged the first punch, but the second scored a line across its cheek. A corresponding cut appeared on Tyrian's face, leaking a little blood. The vampire noted the cut with some annoyance before directing The World to match Star Platinum's techniques.**

**The two Stands continued trading punches until their fists met in a stalemate, neither budging an inch despite continuing to try and overpower the other.**

"Ha! So much for being more powerful." Ruby cheered as Jaune matched Tyrian's Stand, taking the vampire down a peg.

"Yes, but there's still the problem with his ability to stop time." Summer said, bursting Ruby's bubble instantly.

"That is a hack ability." Taiyang groused.

"It is, but there are actually stronger Stands in that world." Blank said.

"Bullshit, how do you get more broken than being able to freeze time itself?" Qrow said.

"The ability to turn back the clock, erase time itself, affect the entire universe at the same time. Yeah, in the grand scheme of things, The World isn't actually all that powerful, it just happens to be an outside context problem no one's dealt with before." Blank said.

"…And again, I'm glad those Stands don't exist in Remnant." Roman said quietly

"**Ho? Shall we compare the speed of our attack rushes?" Tyrian asked as he raised a hand to wipe away the blood on his cheek. When it lowered, the cut had already sealed up and healed completely, leaving only flawless skin behind.**

"**Mudamudamudamudamudamudamudamudamudamuda!"**

"**Oraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraoraora!"**

**As the two Stands continued exchanging punches, the air itself began to quake from the rapid fire blows, creating a howling gale around the two combatants and slowly raising them into the air.**

**Tyrian smirked as soon as he caught an opening in Star Platinum's barrage. Feinting to one side, The World managed to slip a fist past Star Platinum's guard and land a solid punch to its face. Jaune coughed up some blood as a corresponding wound appeared on his cheek.**

"**hahahah, as I thought, The World's power and precision is greater. I've seen enough, time to end you." Tyrian mocked Jaune as their Stands continued fighting.**

"**You Arcs are a pain, I've long ago decided to never show mercy to one of your accursed bloodline and kill you all quickly. And the best way to finish you is with The World's true power. THE WORLD! Time has come to a stop."**

**Silence gripped the world once more as time halted for everyone except Tyrian. "With this, the Arc bloodline will finally come to an end. My archenemies who dared stand in the way of my destiny… farewell."**

**Tyrian's coup de grace was interrupted when he saw Jaune's finger twitch momentarily. His eyes widened further when it twitched again. Caught off guard, Tyrian immediately put some distance between the two of them. "Wha… what the hell!? He just moved! I-impossible, but his finger moved!"**

"Okay… was not expecting that." Emerald admitted.

"How can he move? Time itself is frozen." Mercury asked but got no response as Blank elected to remain silent.

**Tyrian paled upon recalling Jaune's earlier words, about their stands being the same type. "No… it's can't be… they're… the same!? The World and Star Platinum are the same type of stand?"**

**Tyrian hung back as he continued to observe Jaune, the Arc's steely glare boring holes into him as he hung in the air. "Can he see me? Or is he moving subconsciously? Tch, time's up."**

**Time resumed and Star Platinum's fists found air as Tyrian and The World had already shifted positions. Jaune turned to face the vampire, waiting for him to make the next move.**

"**Could you see me?" Tyrian asked.**

"**I asked if you could see me Jaune Arc!" Tyrian roared when Jaune refused to reply.**

"**Who knows? I don't know what you're talking about Tyrian." Jaune shrugged back, pissing Tyrian off further. Before the vampire could start attacking again, Jaune had already shot off into the air, carried by Star Platinum as he lured Tyrian to where Weiss was preparing an ambush.**

"**Kuh! It doesn't matter if you can see me or not, if you can move in the world of stopped time, then let me see it!" Tyrian growled as he chased down the runaway Arc.**

'**It's been six months since I gained this ability. I had one of my subordinates shoot me with a shotgun to test The World's ability, then for a split second it looked like everything had stopped. At first I thought it was an illusion, trained fighters and those who are in accidents feel each moment as if it were several seconds or minutes. I thought it was something like that, but, The World was able to step around the pellets that hung suspended in the stopped time… and it could grab the pellets.' Tyrian grinned as he recalled that first moment his destiny became reality.**

"**I Tyrian Callows have truly surpassed all forms of life and all Stands! Now I can stop time for five seconds, those intervals are growing longer and longer, Jaune! I shall see just how powerful you truly are! THE WORLD!" Tyrian activated his Stand and froze time again, freezing Jaune in place.**

**As the vampire approached, Jaune's hand twitched again. Tyrian breathed out slowly before extending his left arm towards Jaune. As he did so, Jaune twitched again. "Ha. Hahahhah. hAHHahahehaHhEAHAHH! HAHHEHAHEAHH!"**

**Tyrian burst out into mad laughter as he drew his arm back. Lifting his left arm up, Tyrian continued laughing as he peeled off the magnet attached to his hand. Reaching out again, the magnet shuddered before attaching to an identical one concealed in Jaune's sleeve.**

"**You placed a magnet on me… when we were testing our Stands earlier? Looks like a magnet taken from a wallet or some planner. Heh, you completely fooled me, I'll give you that. Can't take your eyes off an Arc indeed. BUT! The fact that you had to use such a trick means you can't move in the world of stopped time after all! All you succeeded in doing was add a few seconds to your life! This time you die JAUNE ARC!" Tyrian swooped in with The World, ready to deal the final blow.**

"Cheap tricks only get you so far I guess." Cinder shrugged.

"That can't be right. That magnet isn't powerful enough to affect his hand at that kind of range." Pyrrha narrowed her eyes at the screen, as a user of polarity herself, she knew what a magnet could and couldn't do and she was convinced Tyrian had made a mistake somewhere.

"It's a trick of some sort…" Pyrrha mused as the gears in her mind continued to turn, bringing her to the only logical conclusion she could think of and she smiled.

"Heh, a double bluff, how very Jaune."

**As Tyrian closed to striking range, Jaune's hand moved again. Tyrian had already committed to the attack and had no way to disengage now, the vampire could only stare as Star Platinum manifested and punched a hole clean through The World's chest.**

"**He… really can move! Only for an instant but he moved!" Tyrian gasped out as his internal organs were pulverised by the strike.**

"**The magnets weren't there to trick me into thinking he could move, they were there to trick me into thinking he couldn't! Arrghgh! Of all things, this descendent of the Arcs managed to invade my world of stopped time!?" Tyrian cursed as his time stop ceased and the momentum of the blow caught up with him, sending him crashing into a shop, busting through the window and losing a leg in the process.**

**Jaune himself landed on a sign board, grabbing hold of the edge and hanging from it. "I could move, only for a moment. just… a moment. Only enough to get one punch in."**

**Letting go of the signboard and returning to street level. He was greeted with the sight of Tyrian casually strolling out of the destroyed shop without a care in the world, the wounds inflicted by Star Platinum already healing.**

"**Looks like I have to destroy your skull otherwise it'll be like nothing ever happened. You've already regained your energy." Jaune glared as Tyrian tossed his latest victim aside. The desiccated corpse of the shopkeeper drained dry of blood, the last drops of it just dripping from Tyrian's fingers.**

"Oh boy, another joker that heals by absorbing blood. You know, I liked it better when it was just the kid doing it even if everything else was disgusting in that world." Roman complained.

"**Ho." Tyrian vanished from his position before reappearing on a lamppost nearby. Jaune's eyes already following him to his new location.**

"**Your eyes did follow me in the world of stopped time. So you truly can see my movements Jaune."**

"**So it seems." Jaune agreed and turned in full to face the vampire.**

"**Nikos really did you a favour, by figuring out The World's secret, you were able to figure out you could move in the world of stopped time and invade my world." Tyrian vanished again and Jaune spun around to meet his new location on top of a building.**

"**That makes me think, just how long can you move within my world of stopped time? Two seconds? Three? Or perhaps you can move five seconds just like me and you're just pretending you can't. Hahahhaha… how about it?" **

'**This… isn't good, I could move longer if I had more practice, but right now, a moment is all I can manage.' Jaune thought, keeping a poker face on as Tyrian continued to monologue.**

"**But… I think a moment is all you can manage for now. Since you've invaded my world though, I won't underestimate you and get close again. Especially not when I still have the overwhelming advantage. And so I've decided on just how to kill you, an instant of movement won't save you from this." Tyrian grinned and pulled out two handfuls of knives.**

"**Shit." Jaune took a step back as Tyrian brandished his way of making up for The World's lack of ranged attacks.**

"**Oh, you've gone pale. Have you realised you're about to die in a far more horrific manner than that geezer Ozpin?" Tyrian asked.**

'**Bastard, how the hell does he come up with stuff like this!? This… might be a bit dangerous.' Jaune allowed none of his worry to show as he continued glaring in silence. Then without warning, Jaune used Star Platinum to give himself a power jump into the air to put distance between them.**

"**There's no escape! THE WORLD!" Tyrian chuckled as time froze before Jaune could escape his range. Rising into the air himself, Tyrian began chucking knives towards Jaune with The World, each knife speeding towards the Arc before becoming frozen in place, waiting for time to resume before they continued on their path.**

"**At this range… I wonder if even Star Platinum is enough to stop all these knives when time resumes." Tyrian chuckled and added even more knives to the barrage, just to make sure.**

"Damn, that's… a lot of knives. And he can see it happening? That's messed up." Qrow muttered.

"His Stand is fast, but is it fast enough?" Goodwitch asked Blank.

"No it isn't. But fortunately, he thought ahead." Blank replied.

**Midway through the time stop, Star Platinum manifested and punched away several of the closest knives before freezing in place too.**

**"Hahahahah! Two seconds to go, I guess that proves it, you really can only move for a single moment. Too bad." Tyrian sat on a chimney as the countdown hit zero and time resumed.**

**Jaune continued deflecting the knives as best he could with Star Platinum but there were simply too many of them coming at him from all angles to knock them all down. Several of them broke through his guard and embedded themselves in his chest, arms and legs.**

"**It's over, but, I'll add one more just to be sure." Tyrian casually threw one more knife with The World, the projectile ricocheting off Star Platinum to pierce Jaune's hat and draw blood.**

"**Hahhahha… headshot. To be honest, I'm glad I could defeat you so quickly Jaune Arc, to think you'd be able to invade my world. If I'd left you alone any longer, you might have become a problem, but in the end, only I Tyrian Callows should have power over time." Tyrian watched Jaune crash into the street below, sending several civilian bystanders running away screaming.**

**Jaune lay on the ground, managing to supress a groan of pain. Summoning Star Platinum at the last minute managed to keep the fall from being fatal but crashing still hurt. Not to mention all the knives stuck in him.**

"**God damnit, throwing all those knives at me… now my clothes are full of holes. Good thing I stuffed some magazines and books inside my clothes just in case he tried throwing anything." Jaune stared at the bunched-up books under his shirt that had blunted the attack, leaving him with nothing more than flesh wounds aside from the knives in his limbs.**

"I knew it! I knew Jaune-Jaune was looking bulkier than normal." Nora crowed happily as Jaune's foresight came in clutch again.

"So what now? Play dead and hope he goes away?" Weiss asked.

"Probably play dead and sucker punch the bastard as soon as he comes to check. He did it before and if it ain't broke…" Yang offered.

"**But damnit I wasn't expecting him to throw so many knives." Jaune adjusted his hat, dislodging the knife stuck in it and shifting it into a more comfortable position where it wasn't digging into his forehead that much anymore.**

'**Playing dead and waiting for a chance to strike is the best chance I have right now, have to find a way to destroy his head completely or he won't die.' Jaune froze in place as Tyrian landed nearby, sweat beaded on his forehead as he hoped Tyrian wouldn't notice he was still alive.**

"**I'd better play it safe, these Arcs have proven themselves pretty damned lucky over the years. He might be playing dead to trick me again." Tyrian mused to himself as he held back from approaching, the magnet fake out still fresh in his mind.**

"**I must end him without a doubt… by chopping his head off with this." Tyrian uprooted a street sign and waved it around as a makeshift axe.**

"**Goodbye Jaune Arc." Leaping into the air and bringing the street sign down for an overhead smash, that was the moment Weiss made her move.**

**Leaping off the roof she was hiding on, her Stand Silver Chariot manifested behind her with rapier in hand. "Go to hell Tyrian!"**

**Silver Chariot's surprise attack landed, piercing all the way through Tyrian's head and destroying part of his brain.**

"I… I got him!?" Weiss blinked in surprise as her counterpart landed what she thought was a fatal wound.

"Go Weiss-cream!" Yang cheered her on.

"Not exactly." Blank replied.

"What do you mean not exactly!? That sword is all the way through his skull, there's no surviving that!" Mercury protested.

"He is a vampire, unfortunately, the wound is just too small to be immediately fatal and Tyrian can recover from it." Blank said.

"That… is bullshit." Cinder said.

**Reality rippled into negative colours for a moment before time froze. Weiss's follow up slash to completely destroy Tyrian's brain was halted by the time stop and the scorpion simply walked forwards, allowing the rapier to slide cleanly out of the puncture wound.**

"**The World, time has stopped. As I thought, you were hiding around somewhere waiting to attack me from behind Schnee." Tyrian reached up to rub the already healing head wound before ramming a fist into Weiss's side.**

"**Time moves again." The time stop came to an end and Weiss went flying into a wall from Tyrian's counter attack. She coughed in pain as she felt several of her ribs shatter instantly from a hit that she never even saw coming.**

"**Too bad Schnee, just another moment and with just a bit more force, you could have torn apart my brain with that rapier. How very unfortunate." Tyrian grinned as Weiss struggled to rise again.**

"**B-bastard! T-this is impossible!" She coughed again before falling unconscious from the pain in her side.**

"**Hhahahahah… you cannot assassinate Tyrian Callows. And now all four are accounted for, with you gone, this little band of yours will be finished." Tyrian grinned and started advancing with the street sign still in hand.**

'**Damnit, at this rate, Weiss is going to get killed too. I wanted to play dead as long as possible until I could get a chance to land a blow to his head, have to draw him away but if he suspects me, he'll never enter Star Platinum's attack range, he'll just throw his knives again and eventually one will get me. Have to keep him in the dark… as long as he doesn't realise I'm alive, my chance will come.' Jaune wracked his brains for a way to save Weiss without simply delaying the inevitable.**

'**Tch, talk about irony, I was trying so hard to move in his world of stopped time and now I have to do my best to stay still when time is moving. Gah, here goes…' Jaune settled on a simple plan in the end, deciding to play off of Tyrian's vampire senses and paranoia. **

**Jaune's fingers scratched the brick sidewalk, his nails clawing along the pavement. The sound it produced was imperceptible, impossible for a normal human to hear, but to a vampire like Tyrian who had The World for a Stand, it was louder than a gunshot.**

"**What!?" Tyrian tossed away the sign and leapt away from the comatose Weiss. Taking up position on some rubble nearby, Tyrian glared at the prone body of Jaune Arc.**

"**You… you're alive… or you're coming around, aren't you?" Tyrian's musings were interrupted by the sound of guns cocking. Turning back, he noticed two human policemen shakily pointing their pistols at him.**

"**D-don't move! We're the police and we have guns pointed at you! Put your arms up slowly." One of them shouted out.**

**Tyrian ignored them for several seconds before deciding to use them to test Jaune's survival. The World activated and he reappeared behind the officers, one of them he murdered immediately with a backhand hard enough to snap the man's neck, the other, he jabbed his fingers into the man's throat, using him as a meat puppet.**

"**Alright, perfect timing actually. There's something I'd like you to shoot with that gun of yours. Shoot that man lying on the ground over there." Tyrian manhandled his puppet into place as the pistol slowly aimed towards Jaune.**

"**His leg, his torso, wherever you want. Just, shoot him." Tyrian instructed, the officer gurgled as his body was forced to respond against his will.**

"**Come on, be sure not to miss."**

"What a bastard. He's doing this just for fun." Qrow sneered, the needless cruelty filling his mouth with a nasty taste.

"Hmm, he always was one for theatrics. Some things never change." Cinder said.

"Jaune has a plan for this right?" Ren asked.

"He's making it up as he goes along, there really isn't anyone who can plan for something like this." Blank replied.

**The pistol fired as the cop couldn't resist the compulsion any further. The bullet lodged inside Jaune's coat and the body failed to react at all. There wasn't any visible blood but that could have just been his clothes absorbing the initial amount.**

"**Hmmm? Maybe I was just imagining that sound?" Tyrian asked himself before ripping his fingers free from the drained policeman. The bloodless corpse fell to the ground with a thud as Tyrian shrugged.**

**Unbeknownst to the vampire however, the bullet had not penetrated the coat at all. Star Platinum had caught the bullet before it could impact and reveal the ruse. Jaune glared at the psychopathic vampire and his newest victims. 'You fucking son a bitch, what a sick thing to do. Nothing I can do for those cops now, but at least his attention is on me and not Weiss. He's suspicious as fuck and he'll make damned sure I'm dead, guh… just come closer so I can knock your head off.'**

"**The sound of his breathing… I don't hear it." Tyrian listened for Jaune's breathing but could find nothing, the Arc having held his breath as soon as Tyrian turned one ear closer to him.**

"**He's not breathing, then… what about his heartbeat?" Tyrian got on his knees and pressed an ear to the ground, trying to pick out the vibrations in the dirt that indicated Jaune was still alive.**

'**Oh fuck me, are you serious!?' Jaune swore in his mind before directing Star Platinum to grab hold of his own heart and manually still his heartbeat.**

'**Fuck, this is ridiculous! If I blackout here I really will die. It won't be funny if I die because I used my own Stand to stop my heart.'**

"He… he stopped his own heart with his Stand!? That's…" Weiss trailed off, unable to find a word to accurate sum up the insanity she was witnessing.

"Totally hardcore! No way that dumb scorpion won't buy it this time." Nora said.

"A very risky gamble, if Tyrian continues listening, either Mr Arc will have to break his cover or he'll actually die from having his heart stop for too long." Ozpin murmured.

"Outside of truly desperate situations, I will ask that none of you try this in combat. The potential for such gambits to backfire on you is immense, and I will not tolerate such actions in my class either." Goodwitch stated, normally she wouldn't have to say something like that out loud but with these two teams, there was no such thing as too careful.

"**Hmm, no heartbeat. He's definitely dead. That sound must have been my imagination, but, just to be sure, I'll lop off his head just so I can rest easy." Tyrian said and picked up his abandoned street sign again.**

**As Tyrian approached, Star Platinum's fist started pumping rapidly, kickstarting the still heart and revitalising Jaune. When the stop sign came down, Star Platinum emerged in full and smashed the sign, denting it and keeping it from decapitating Jaune.**

"**WHAT!?" Tyrian yelped as a massive fist was suddenly in his face.**

"**Time sto-" He never got to finish when Star Platinum landed the punch, caving in part of his skull and severely damaging the brain inside. The World's time stop was rendered useless at such close range, the instant of movement afforded to Jaune more than enough for the punch to land.**

"**I went through hell there thanks to you. But even if you stop time, I'm still going to blow your head off Tyrian!" Jaune roared as he got back to his feet.**

**Tyrian screamed in anger and pain as he was punched across the alleyway, crashing into the dirt and digging a long furrow in the pavement before finally coming to a stop near the road.**

"Hell yes! Punch his face in fearless leader!" Nora cheered.

"I will admit… that was… satisfying to see." Cinder reluctantly admitted, Tyrian getting beat up was always a plus in her books.

"It gets better." Blank said.

"**Finally, finally I was able to bash his head in." Jaune staggered towards Tyrian as he started to recover from his near-death experience.**

"**But still, Tyrian is a monster who managed to survive at the bottom of the ocean for over a hundred years, I don't believe he's dead just yet. It's too soon to relax."**

**True to Jaune's words, as the dust cleared up, Tyrian was already sitting up, his head wound still leaking copious amounts of blood but he was most definitely still alive.**

"**Aaaahhh… kill you… I'll kill you…" Tyrian growled out as he tried standing up. He gasped when he fell over instead, his legs refusing to respond to his mental commands.**

"**Wh-what is this!? M-my legs! I… can't move… my legs! Aarrhhghg I have a… headache and nausea… how can this be!? Me, Tyrian Callows feeling sick!? My head wound… is that why I can't stand!?"**

"It's still absurd, that should have… would have killed anyone else, and all it did was make him dizzy? What does it take to kill this guy?" Taiyang asked.

**Jaune ripped a gas tank free from a parked car and approached Tyrian. Ripping the cap off, Jaune dumped its contents all over Tyrian, soaking him in the dust infused liquid before discarding the empty tank.**

"**I've covered you in the fuel, this way even if you run, Star Platinum can track your stench. I feel bad kicking a guy when he's down-no actually, I don't feel bad about this at all. My friends and a lot of innocent bystanders are dead because of you." Jaune pulled out a lighter and the flickering flame at the end gave no illusions about just what he was planning.**

**But Tyrian just started laughing, unconcerned with Jaune intending to burn him alive. "Nyehahehahhehahehah! Ahhehahhaehah! The WORLD!"**

**He held out his hands as time froze again, right as a taxi drove by them. His legs hadn't recovered but his head injury had healed enough for him to use his Stand again and he still retained control over his arms.**

**Crawling along the ground towards the Taxi, Tyrian laughed as he latched onto the Taxi's back, his escape route secure. Jaune growled and tried following but his moment of free movement simply wasn't enough to catch Tyrian.**

"**If I can get to that place, time, time has started to move again." Tyrian deactivated The World, allowing the taxi to speed off and carry him with it.**

"**Bastard, you're not getting away that easily." Jaune had already divested himself of most of the knives Tyrian stuck in him, ripping the last one free, he handed it off to Star Platinum and returned the favour from earlier.**

**The Stand's aim was true as always, the knife soared through the air like a bullet and punctured the one of the taxi's tire, sending the vehicle skidding and dislodging Tyrian.**

"**Ahahrhharhh! That place… that place… just a bit more… if I can just get there…" Tyrian slowly crawled towards a manhole, attempting to escape into it. As he pulled the cover open, he gasped when Jaune's face met him inside.**

"**Sorry, this place is taken, you're not escaping this way." Jaune had seen Tyrian making for the manhole and after everything the vampire put him through, decided messing with Tyrian in exchange was only fair.**

**Entering through another manhole and popping up to block of Tyrian's escape was child's play with Star Platinum. The shocked look on Tyrian's face was just the icing on the cake.**

**Tyrian grit his teeth and repositioned himself as Jaune rose out of the manhole. He could still salvage things, the Arc didn't appear to realise just where they were yet. Now to get him to play along. "The World! Stop ti-"**

**Just as expected, Jaune didn't give him the chance to use his Stand, launching a barrage of blows that wrecked Tyrian's body completely in the blink of an eye. The vampire was sent flying with multiple sections of his body completely obliterated, but despite all that, he was still smiling.**

"**Ahahahahah! You fell for it Jaune Arc! This **_**is**_** my escape route! You have lost this battle of wits against me Tyrian Callows! Hahahahaha doesn't this street look familiar!?" Tyrian laughed as Star Platinum powered flight sent him straight to his destination.**

"I don't get it, what's so special about the street?" Ruby tilted her head quizzically, unable to solve the puzzle.

"Hmm, I do believe that's the street where my other self was murdered." Ozpin said.

"How does that help him?" Blake asked.

"Hmm… earlier there was mention about him stealing my blood… I assume he's going back for it now?" Ozpin replied.

"Again, it is really creepy how you can talk so calmly about something like that." Qrow muttered.

"**This street… no it can't be." Jaune's eyes widened as he recognised the café in the background.**

"**That's right. It was my escape route to take the blood of Ozpin." A fully healed Tyrian rose to his feet as he ripped his fingers free from Ozpin, having drained enough blood to not only erase the damage taken but give him a power boost.**

"**You son of a bitch." Jaune growled out as Tyrian laughed maniacally.**

"**As I thought, Ozpin's blood suits me well. It suits this body perfectly, what a filial grandson, supporting his grandfather stolen body so well even after all this time. Hahahaha my power is recovering even faster than before. It suits me, it suits me ahahahaha!" Tyrian cackled as he started clawing at his own face and chest with his nails, tearing long bloody furrows into his flesh and allowing blood to run free.**

**The self-inflicted wounds healed up even faster than before as Tyrian turned back to face Jaune. "This body belonged to Ozma a hundred years ago, taking Ozpin's blood gave me even more power… and the one who allowed me to make it this far? You. Jaune Arc. You Arcs are truly the best tools to achieving my goals."**

"Oh come on! That's bullshit! He was already beat!" Yang roared in frustration.

"In trying to stop him, he just made Tyrian more powerful. Ironic." Cinder shrugged, she wasn't all that invested in the fight since she detested both parties.

"This isn't looking good. How is Jaune going to win now?" Pyrrha asked.

"In this world, the arcs are a funny bloodline, in fact it's downright bizarre how simple logic doesn't apply to the things they do. Tyrian got a boost from Ozpin's blood, but, he isn't the only one." Blank said.

"I… don't get it." Weiss said.

"I won't go into details, but suffice to say Stands work in weird ways, Jaune and Ozpin of that world got theirs after Tyrian gained his, because Tyrian's body is still Ozma's, that magic if you will, transferred down the bloodline. It is still in effect." Blank replied.

**Before Jaune could do anything rash, he had a vision of Ozpin's ghost leaving his body. "No matter what Tyrian does, you mustn't lose your cool Jaune. Don't worry about me, things happened because they had to happen."**

"**Gramps… soul?" Jaune stared at the ghostly apparition in disbelief.**

"**Pyrrha solved the secret of Tyrian's Stand, I got her message to you, if we had all fought him at once, he would have wiped us all out. You've become able to move while time is stopped now, you should have two or three seconds of movement. Use that time wisely. No matter how he provokes you, don't get angry, if you lose your cool and make the first move, you'll only put yourself in a bad situation."**

**Ozpin's ghost turned away with a small smile and started to fade away. "Jaune, this trip was really something else huh? Really, these last fifty days really were fun."**

"**What… was I seeing things?" Jaune wondered.**

"**Oi! Where do you think you're looking!?" Tyrian roared at Jaune to get him to refocus his attention on him. Laughing madly as he formed a wedge with his fingers and rammed it into Ozpin's chest, the vampire started draining the body of all its remaining blood until all that was left was a shrivelled husk.**

"**B-BASTARD!" Jaune charged at Tyrian immediately, unable to retain his calm after that.**

"**Gramps said to not lose my cool no matter what, but that's impossible! No one could stay calm after that!" **

"**It's the final round Jaune Arc!" Tyrian grinned and started sprinting towards Jaune as well, meeting the charge head on.**

"**The World! Stop time! WRYYYYYYY!" Tyrian froze time as both of them leapt into the air. Revelling in his newfound power, he neglected to attack immediately in favour of simply counting down the seconds.**

"**One second, two seconds have passed, three… four seconds…"**

**At the four and a half second mark, Star Platinum manifested and the two Stands began exchanging blows again. Jaune's pure rage gave Star Platinum a boost to its strength and allowed it to smash through The World's fist.**

**Tyrian grunted in pain as his hand was mangled instantly and Jaune followed up with another barrage of blows with his remaining one second of movement. But the pain passed and Tyrian allowed himself to float backwards slowly while Jaune froze in place again.**

"**Six seconds have passed, seven seconds have passed!" Tyrian yelled as his injured hand fixed itself completely.**

"**Not yet, I can still feel the power, I can still keep this up! But you Jaune, you can't move anymore can you, you gambled on the two seconds before time started to move again but you miscalculated. Hahahah! What a magnificent feeling, I feel like I could burst out into song." Tyrian cackled as his Stand continued to display its increased power.**

"Singing from that lunatic? I would appreciate if my ears aren't blistered by such a monstrosity." Weiss hissed out.

"Really? That's what you're focused on?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, I sing, I have standards you know." Weiss said.

"Are we just gonna ignore Jaune being in trouble?" Ruby stared at her bickering sister and partner in mild disbelief.

"He'll find a way to win. He's already one upped that vampire a few times. One more time should do the trick." Yang shrugged in response.

"**Eight seconds gone. A hundred years ago, I gained immortality, but I didn't feel as wonderful then as I do now. Arc blood suits me well, it truly is the ultimate high!" Tyrian cackled as he dug a finger into his head, drilling a hole into his own skull and brain just because he could, the wound sealing up nigh instantaneously without any adverse effect on him.**

'**Damnit, you were right gramps, getting angry did get me in trouble. But, not yet, I have plenty more rage to throw at him!' Jaune's body began to vibrate minutely as he struggled against the time stop, trying to force his body to move on sheer force of will alone.**

"**I've stopped time for nine seconds, but it looks like nine is currently my limit. So here we go." Right before the time stop finished, Tyrian threw The World at Jaune again, launching a rapid fire barrage of blows into the frozen Arc, breaking more than a few bones with them.**

"**Ahhahrgh!" Jaune went flying across the night sky from the attack.**

"**This is the limit of your rage Jaune! Now to show you the true power of my Stand!" Tyrian dashed off in pursuit, easily catching up to his target. This time, The World utilized a barrage of lightning fast kicks to attack, forcing Jaune to block with Star Platinum and grunt in pain as the force of each kick was transmitted to his arms.**

"**Muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda! MUDA!" Breaking through Jaune's defences, The World landed the last of its kicks and sent the Arc crashing through a building and shooting straight for the street far below.**

**Jaune summoned Star Platinum again at the last minute to break his fall. Somehow surviving all the punishment dealt to him, Jaune coughed and struggled to rise as pain wracked his body.**

"**And now, for the final time stop you'll ever see. With my nine seconds of frozen time, I shall end this once and for all! THE WORLD!" Tyrian roared. **

"**Tch." Jaune remained where he was as he waited for Tyrian to reappear. But the vampire had disappeared and the seconds ticked down without him reappearing. Until he showed up again, he wouldn't waste his limited window by moving early.**

**And while Tyrian was missing, he might as well focus on his stand. Something about Star Platinum had changed, in his raged filled state he'd attributed his Stand's increase in power to his mindset but now that he was calmer, he could tell something was different. But whatever the case, the only thing he absolutely had to do, was ram Star Platinum's fists into Tyrian over and over and over again in his window of movement and destroy the son of a bitch for good.**

**At the seven second mark, Tyrian made his move. A shadow fell over Jaune as Tyrian descended from above. "ROADO ROLLER DA!"**

**Jaune's eyes shot wide open and summoned Star Platinum to defend himself while Tyrian did his level best to smash him into paste with the road roller he'd picked up from somewhere. Trapped between the asphalt and the falling vehicle, Jaune had no choice but to have Star Platinum continuously punch away at the road roller in the hopes of keeping it off him until time resumed and he could fight as per normal.**

"**TOO LATE! There's no escape now! Muda muda muda muda muda muda muda muda!" Tyrian began pounding on the road roller with The World as well, adding more crushing force to the improvised weapon as Star Platinum began to lose ground.**

"**Eight seconds! Ahahaha! I'll smash you flat!" Tyrian punched one final time and the road roller impacted into the ground below with a resounding crash.**

"**Nine seconds. At last, Star Platinum has been defeated by The World."**

"Okay… how the heck is he supposed to survive that?" Emerald asked, wincing a little at the visible blood spatter around the road roller.

"Not too difficult actually." Blank replied.

"The heck? He just got squashed like a bug by a freaking road roller! How is that not too difficult to survive!?" Mercury protested.

"Thing about road rollers is it's meant to flatten roads. It doesn't do too well at crushing things when say, there's already a depression in the ground from a crash, a depression that got dug in deeper by two stands battling." Blank said.

"You're kidding. So basically, Tyrian fucked up by trying too hard?" Qrow muttered in disbelief before sighing and slotting more lien into the swear jar jingling in front of him.

"In effect."

"**Hahhahaha… hahahah…. HAHAHAHAHAH! This proves that no one can surpass Tyrian Callows! Puny humans, I shall rule over all! Ahhahahahah! Now I should find Jaune's body and drain his blood too… if there's anything left that is. Hahahahah-eh?" Tyrian's glee was replaced by confusion and a little bit of panic as he felt his movements slow to a crawl and finally halt completely.**

"**Wh-what? My body's movements a-are slowing down? No, this isn't a slowdown, it's… ahgrgh, can't… move! Im-impossible! I can't move at all!"**

"**Tyrian. It's been eleven seconds. I guess that's your limit right now." Jaune's voice penetrated into Tyrian's skull as the Arc landed behind him, glowing with raw power.**

"I see, so they really are the same type of Stands all the way through." Ozpin smiled as he sipped from his mug.

"Huh?" Qrow looked to his boss for an explanation.

"It would appear Mr Arc is also capable of stopping time, and now he's giving Tyrian a taste of his own medicine." Ozpin replied.

'**W-what!?' Tyrian screamed inside his own mind, his mouth unable to vocalise those words.**

"**I stopped time at the nine second mark, that's what let me escape. Yare yare daze." Jaune adjusted his hat and dusted off some loose rubble on it, freezing time at the nine second mark had halted the rubble from crushing him and allowed him to dig his way out from under the road roller without Tyrian noticing.**

"**Now, it won't even take a second to finish you off!"**

"**J-Jaune! I-impossible! You stopped time!? Right at the end of my nine seconds of movement!?" Tyrian asked, having regained control over his mouth but nothing else.**

"**How does it feel Tyrian?" Jaune asked mockingly as he approached from behind the vampire, not allowing Tyrian to see him to mess with the scorpion's paranoia.**

"**Having someone approach from behind while you can't move a muscle. If I had to describe it, it's like a guy who can hold his breath underwater for a minute finally coming up for air at the last second." Grabbing hold of Tyrian's shoulder, Jaune began squeezing, crushing the flesh beneath his fingers to inflict pain on the sadist.**

"**When suddenly he feels someone grab him, and he's dragged back down into the water. Does that sound right?" Jaune asked before leaning back.**

"**But for you, I feel no pity at all. ORA!" Jaune lashed out with a Stand enhanced kick, shattering Tyrian's legs at the knees and almost tearing the limbs off from the force of the blow alone.**

"**Time has started to move again." Jaune intoned as Star Platinum's time stop came to an end. Tyrian went skidding across the gravel, bouncing several times as his shattered legs flayed around helplessly.**

"**I don't feel even the slightest bit of compassion for you. Not even an ounce of pity. But just finishing you off by beating you to death now would leave a bad taste in my mouth. How many seconds will it take your legs to recover? Three seconds? Four? The instant you've healed, I'll throw Star Platinum at you, so bring it on." Jaune challenged his fallen foe.**

"Foolish, why waste time gloating when you can just finish him off. That's just asking for trouble." Cinder rolled her eyes and made her thoughts.

"Hehehehe… more than you know. But, most people have problems practicing what they preach." Blank said.

"**If I were a gunslinger in a western, I'd say 'Draw. Let's see which of us is the fastest gun in the west.'" Jaune stood at the ready, waiting for Tyrian to get back up.**

**The vampire just started laughing as his wounds knit back together. 'Only human in the end Jaune Arc, I am beyond such miserable concepts like honour. Only one thing matters, to conquer and rule all, that alone is enough for satisfaction.'**

**Tyrian rose shakily as he felt his leg wound heal to the point he needed. "Winning is all there is! How I achieve victory doesn't matter!"**

**Twisting his leg and forcing blood to spurt from the wound, Tyrian grinned as his aim was true. The blood splatter landed right on Jaune's face, blinding him temporarily, giving him the opening he desired.**

"Ew. Just ew." Nora grimaced at the disgusting sight, her expression shared by most of the students.

"Oh, that is messed up. It's just plain disgusting." Roman blanched at the sight and pushed Neo away when the short stack decided to use her semblance to give everyone in the theatre an instant replay in slow motion.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I prefer my world's Tyrian to this nutjob. At least he isn't so… disgusting." Cinder said.

"**I've won! Die!" Tyrian summoned The World while Jaune was blinded and kicked at Jaune's head.**

**But once more, he miscalculated. Jaune had been blinded, but Star Platinum could still see and transmit the visual to him. Cocking his arm back, Jaune punched forwards, guided by Star Platinum. "ORA!"**

**Star Platinum's fist met The World's shin and both Stands were locked in a stalemate once again. Then Star Platinum's fist cracked, causing blood to burst from the corresponding wound on Jaune.**

"**Tch." Jaune grunted as Tyrian smirked at him. That smirk was wiped away when another crack appeared, this time on The World's shin, a crack far larger than the one on Star Platinum.**

"**W-what!? WHAT!?" Tyrian roared as the cracks continued spreading until they covered all of The World, his Stand was falling apart and taking the vampire with it.**

"**NO! THIS CANNOT BE! I AM TYRIAN CALLOWS! I AM… TYRIAN!" The World crumbled completely and Tyrian's body exploded into pieces. Energy began leaking from the vampire in the form of a ghostly white flame and Jaune exhaled a sigh of relief. It was done, Tyrian wasn't coming back from this, his body was technically still alive but with The World completely destroyed and nearly all of Tyrian's head missing, the vampire was brain dead and no longer a threat. **

"**Now I just have to wait for the sun to rise and you'll be ashes in the wind. The reason you lost Tyrian? Simple, you really pissed me off."**

And with that, the screen went dark and the lights came on.

"That's that, did you enjoy the viewing?" Blank asked.

"Yup! Except that vampire's last move, it was gross." Nora said.

"I'm curious, so what happens to my counterpart now? Am I… all the way dead now?" Ozpin asked, not quite believing the words coming out of his mouth.

"No, you get resuscitated after Jaune has your stolen blood transfused back into your body and jumpstarts your heart with Star Platinum. He made it in time to pull you back from the grave and with both Hamon and a Stand, you go on to make a full recovery." Blank answered.

"But I'm still dead." Pyrrha said.

"Unfortunately yes."

"…Can't win them all I guess." Pyrrha shrugged and offered her team a wan smile again when they looked at her with some worry.

"Relax, I'm not intending to die on you all any time soon." She reassured them.

"Good, you'd better not. If I have to find some kind of dimension jumping coffee to break into the afterlife and pull you back, I will." Nora threatened, Ren was going to chide her for it before deciding otherwise. Nora would probably take it as a challenge and do something about it.

"In any case, feel free to refresh yourselves while I get the next world ready." Blank said as his guests filed out.

* * *

Author's notes: Hope you enjoyed the chapter, the next two or three chapters will be revisiting some universes I've already shown. Until next time, stay safe. Ninja edit, added a reaction for the most memed scene since I missed it on the first run.

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as Jotaro Kujo

Ozpin as Joseph Joestar

Ozma as Jonathan Joestar

Tyrian Callows as Dio Brando

Pyrrha Nikos as Kakyoin Noriyaki

Weiss Schnee as Polnareff


	27. Chapter 26: Too angry to die Pt 1

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 26: Too angry to die (Part 1)**

**Inspiration: DOOM Eternal**

"Welcome back, this viewing is the continuation of a world we've already seen before." Blank said once his audience had taken their seats.

"Oh which one is it?" Goodwitch asked.

"The Doom Slayer one." Blank answered.

"Awesome! More demon killing!" Nora cheered excitedly.

"Guns, guns, guns, guns…" Ruby was locked into a trance, chanting softly in anticipation of all the guns about to be shown off in all their glory.

"So, even after being sent to who knows where by Jimmy, he still fought his way back huh. Just as well since that Jimmy is a few wires short a full circuit." Qrow muttered.

"Indeed, and he came back with a fortress of his own, although the mental state of Ironwood isn't as clear cut as you think it is. He's more than he appears to be, but that's all I'll say on the matter. I'll begin the viewing now."

**Jaune stood alone on the viewing platform, staring at the blue planet beyond. Once a magnificent jewel hanging in the void of space, now it was marred by demonic taint, their sigils burned into the surface of the planet, visible even from space.**

"**Attempting to acquire Hell Priest signal." Penny's voice sounded over the intercom as Jaune walked over to a weapons locker. The casing peeled back to reveal his trusty shotgun within. Grabbing it and several shells, Jaune turned back to a map where Penny had identified the first Hell Priest to taste his wrath.**

"**The target is marked but the signal will not hold for long." Penny reported as Jaune performed final equipment checks. The Doom Blade on his arm extended with a satisfying 'schlick' before retracting.**

"Penny's back!" Ruby cheered, glad that her friend managed to return after all despite the meltdown.

"Where'd all this come from anyways? How'd he get a fortress, one that can host Penny? Isn't she supposed to be very difficult to run?" Weiss asked, a small frown on her face.

"He's the Doom Slayer, he does the impossible on the regular." Blank answered.

"Yeah, we have a Jaune that's killed so many monsters hell itself is afraid of him, and the first thing you ask is how he got all his cool stuff?" Yang asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's a valid question." Weiss huffed and fell silent.

**Grabbing his helmet, Jaune put it on, sealing his blond locks inside. A section of the viewing platform shifted, unveiling a portal array. Lightning sparked between the pylons and the azure portal formed, the path ahead cleared. Jaune pumped the shotgun once and got to work.**

**Materialising inside a building, he was met with several possessed zombies immediately. Upon granting each former human the sweet release of death with a face full of buckshot, the door opened up to reveal another zombie beyond. Doom Blade deployed, stabbed through its chest and ripped upwards, bisecting its head, before the corpse hit the ground, Jaune was already moving to engage the new demons in the room with him.**

**Imps and corrupted soldiers arrived to impede his progress. The Doom Slayer responded with guns, fists, blades and chainsaws, tearing through every demon in his path towards the first of the Hell Priests without breaking stride.**

**Sweeping the legs of the last imp alive out from under it, Jaune brought his armoured boot down and smashed the head to pulp. Marching onwards, he felt the demonic energies in the area indicating his target wasn't far now.**

**Coming to a large doorway, Jaune kicked it open and strode through. Looking around, he found his target standing there completely unprepared for his arrival. Deag Watts, first of the three he needed to kill to halt the demonic invasion.**

"Ah, Watts is a dead man." Cinder said, a vindictive smile plastered on her face.

"Umm… we're cheering for him now?" Emerald asked.

"I don't appreciate this Doom Slayer killing my other self, but I can appreciate him giving Watts the same treatment." Cinder replied.

"**You!" Watts screamed out as he noticed Jaune's entrance. His scream became choked gasps as Jaune cleared the distance between the two of them in the blink of an eye and wrapped his hands around the Hell Priest's throat.**

"**Ahhg! My soul remains guarded! You can't ahhagr!" Watts choked out as the grip tightened.**

**Even through his burning rage, Jaune felt the urge to chuckle in amusement. After everything he's done and achieved, did one of his betrayers truly expect him to come all the way here and leave without a successful kill? Had they truly forgotten who they were dealing with or were they just that arrogant?**

**What ridiculous nonsense. The Hell Priest believed himself immortal, that as long as his soul was bound elsewhere and out of his reach, he was untouchable. Time to remind the unholy lich otherwise.**

**Jaune pulled out a single glowing blue token and held it up to Watts's face, allowing the gentle glow to illuminate the side of the Hell Priest's ugly visage. It's existence meant Watt's chosen guardian had already fallen to the Doom Slayer and his soul was no longer guarded like he thought.**

"**You can't!" Watts stared at the token in terror as the truth dawned on him. His struggling intensified, pounding on Jaune's arm as the Doom Slayer slowly but surely tightened his grip, until Watts's head popped right of his neck.**

**A memory from long ago played out in Jaune's mind, of his first meeting with the order of Deag, before their corruption and betrayal. With an almost casual flex, Jaune ripped Watts's head off his neck in a spray of blood, holding up his grisly trophy, he adjusted the lopsided crown for presentation purposes before stowing it away.**

"Okay, didn't think he was the kind to take trophies." Taiyang muttered.

"Maybe he needs it to open a door or something? He did do something like that the last time we saw him." Summer replied.

"Oh, yeah, he did. Damnit I almost forgot about that. Still what was that about betrayal?" Taiyang asked Blank.

"The Hell Priests weren't always Hell Priests, once they were loyal protectors of their realm, among the leadership of the Night Sentinels. But then they discovered hell and Argent energy, became corrupted with the lust for more power. It created a schism in the Sentinels, some remained loyal to the Deags despite the corruption, others chose to fight against the demons alongside the Doom Slayer despite orders to stand down. The Hell Priests' treachery eventually led to the fall of Argent D'Nur and the deaths of all the Night Sentinels who stood with the Doom Slayer. Needless to say, he has one hell of a grudge against them." Blank answered.

**Jaune kicked another door open and exited the rumbling structure. Leaping off the balcony and landing on more solid ground. He rose to his feet and stared grimly at the barren wasteland around him, once a thriving metropolis filled with millions, now only the ruins of a once proud people were left.**

"**The first Hell Priest has been terminated. The demonic consumption of Earth has be reduced by 36.8%. There are two Hell Priests remaining." Penny said.**

**Jaune sucked in a deep breath and stared a giant titan lumbering off into the distance. Much as he wanted to kill it that instant, he had more pressing matters to deal with, namely a meeting of the remaining Hell Priests to crash. **

**The demonic invasion of Earth had been cut by more than a third, but it wasn't enough, as long as even one of the three remained, Earth would meet its end. Only once all three of them had tasted his wrath could the world begin to heal from its ordeal.**

**Fighting his way across the ruined city, butchering every demon in his path, it wasn't long before he ran into an unexpected but familiar sight. Arachnotrons arrived to impede his progress forward, their turrets sending wave after wave of boiling red plasma his way.**

**The Doom Slayer simply shrugged off the hits and returned fire, destroying their turrets by landing sticky bombs with his shotgun and then moving in close to finish them off. Eons ago, he faced their predecessors in battle. It was nice to see that even after all this time, they still went down easily enough when you went for the soft squishy bits. **

**Ramming their forelegs into their eyes and twisting hard to rip the brain behind it to pieces did an excellent job of ending them. Otherwise, feeding them one of their own grenades made pretty explosions of blood, gore and grey matter.**

"Why, why is it always the eye!?" Emerald moaned.

"They look a lot like that thing Cinder turned into." Pyrrha mused.

"That would be because these Arachnotrons are lesser clones of the Spider Mastermind she transformed into. After the Doom Slayer was sent away, Cinder's corpse was retrieved and they attempted to clone it to harness its power. They only succeeded at creating weaker copies before they lost control of the project and everyone present died." Blank answered.

"Why exactly would they even try something like that?" Blake asked in a flat tone.

"Do remember, these are the same people who thought stealing energy from hell was a good idea. One part too dumb to live, one part actively selling out the rest of humanity for the favour of hell's overlords." Blank replied.

"Oh sure, because that totally won't blow up in their faces or anything. At least we don't have anyone that lethally stupid here." Roman clapped sarcastically. He looked down when Neo jabbed him in the side and pointed at Cinder.

"Ah. Never mind, I stand corrected immediately."

**Jaune rammed his Doom Blade through the eye of a possessed soldier and out the back before tearing it free and dropping the corpse. Walking through the ruins of what might have once been an office building of some kind, a hologram of a UAC spokeswoman appeared.**

"**Behold, the fruits of our labours!" The hologram spun around with her hands wide open, oozing pride at their achievements. Jaune paused in his tracks and looked back to the wasteland outside. Destroyed buildings everywhere, glowing demonic sigils hung in the air above several skyscrapers. And a few destroyed human mechs could be seen in the distance.**

**Oh, he beheld the fruits of their labours alright. Once he was done eliminating the Hell Priests and pushing the demons back to whatever foul pit of hell they had the audacity to crawl out of, he would have to pay the heads of the UAC a visit and have a few words with them.**

"Heheheh… I'd pay good money to see that conversation actually. Nothing like a bunch of corrupt assholes getting what's coming to them." Roman said.

"How would such a conversation go really? Would he just shoot them immediately or let them piss their pants first?" Mercury asked.

"Hmm… I'd say shoot the small fry, let the big fish sweat, then off them." Roman replied.

"Be entertaining to watch either way." Mercury said.

"Huh, for once we agree." Roman groused.

**The combat shotgun snapped up, firing a sticky bomb straight into the open maw of a cacodemon. When the explosive blew, the demon visibly ballooned up as its insides sustained major damage. Leaping upwards, Jaune grabbed hold of the demon and gripped its eye, tearing it free from its socket and causing the oversized balloon to go pop in a shower of blue blood.**

**Another satisfying kill down, Jaune moved among the demons seeking to overwhelm him. Shredding several with his shotgun in full auto mode and occasionally mixing in a barrage of micro missiles from his heavy cannon. A few grenades shot into the mix from his shoulder mounted launcher shredded any hope the demons may have had of mounting an effective resistance to his rampage.**

**The Doom Slayer didn't even slow down as he blitzed the demonic ranks. At least up until he ran into a veritable firing line. Soldiers, Arachnotrons and several cacodemons greeted him with a barrage of attacks the instant he emerged from cover.**

**Blown back several feet from the attack, Jaune dusted himself off as the smoke cleared. Enough firepower to shred just about anything in existence didn't even put a scratch on him. True, there was a slight stinging sensation from being hit by so much firepower in such a short instance, but it was nothing to the anaesthetic that was his unbridled rage.**

"He's completely unstoppable." Yang said as they watched Jaune systematically reduce the firing line to bits and pieces of unrecognizable gore.

"That he is. The Doom Slayer is fuelled by his rage, as long as he has no desire to stop fighting, he cannot be stopped, only slowed down temporarily at best." Blank answered.

"So much anger, it's a little tragic." Ozpin murmured.

"**The Khan Maykr is nearby. She is inside that demonic citadel. I will mark her location on your HUD." Penny said helpfully as Jaune executed the last Arachnotron in the area by shoving both its front legs into its eyes.**

**A crimson portal opened up several feet away as Penny tapped into the latent demonic energies in the area to plot a course into the heart of enemy territory. Jaune didn't hesitate to march through the swirling nexus of energy, the crimson lightning that would have vaporised any normal mortal barely even tingling.**

"**The gathering of Hell Priests is located just above your location. My scans indicated there is a lift at the centre of this facility." Penny's words merely got Jaune to nod. The Doom Slayer remained silent as he strode inside and made his way to the lift. Forcing the skull activation switch in with more force than was perhaps necessary, the platform began to ascend.**

"**The Khan Maykr is present at this gathering. But when outside her domain, she is by all accounts indestructible." Once more Jaune simply nodded. The Khan Maykr was a problem for sure, but if she couldn't be killed on Earth, he'd just have to break into Urdak itself to off her.**

**The platform slowed as it reached its destination. As the Doom Slayer rose through the opening, the last two Hell Priests came into view. Deags Tyrian and Merlot stood on their own platforms, awaiting the arrival of the last member of their unholy trinity.**

"Ah, so that repulsive scorpion bites the dust too. Excellent." Cinder grinned in anticipation, eagerly awaiting Tyrian's demise.

**The two Hell Priests didn't react at first, not looking up and assuming it was just Watts arriving late. When no familiar greeting came however, both looked up and were shocked to see Jaune standing there.**

"**H-how can this be? No man can pass through the gate! It is…" Merlot was the first to find his voice, shifting the staff in his hands unsurely as the Hell Priests regarded the interloper. He quickly shut up when Jaune pulled out Watts's severed head and threw it between the two of them.**

"**Ooohhh! This… this stops nothing!" Tyrian blustered, still convinced in his own protection, unaware of the medallion Jaune possessed.**

"**The sacrament of this world to the great Khan Maykr will be made. And the energy will be restored once again." Merlot boasted, emboldened by his compatriots confidence.**

"**As it is written, from the souls of the non-believers!" Tyrian mocked. Jaune said nothing, simply circling the priests, a barrier protected them from his weapons for now, but it wouldn't last forever.**

"**You will not save them from their judgement!" Merlot crowed. Their bravado faded away instantly as Jaune spun around with shotgun in hand and casually pumped it, the sound of a new shell being chambered seemed to remind them of just who they were dealing with.**

"Sacrament? Judgement? Do they think they're serving some kind of god or something?" Ren asked.

"Goddess actually. And yes, they are that arrogant and delusional." Blank answered.

"Fanatical moron." Cinder chimed in.

"Goddess? Ah… it's her, isn't it?" Ozpin sighed.

**Two beams of bright light surrounded the two Hell Priests and when they faded, both had been warped away to safety by the power of the Khan Maykr. A golden sigil appeared on the ground just beyond where he tossed Watt's head and a hologram of Salem appeared.**

"**You go too far this time. You cannot interfere. This is humanity's chance to repent, to give service to us. You cannot resist the will of the Khan Maykr." Salem's giant projection said as Jaune spun on his feet and walked away. For all of his power, the Doom Slayer remained allergic to bullshit and he'd heard enough of her crap for a lifetime back when the Sentinels still existed.**

"**Activating the portal now." As though sensing his thoughts, Penny spoke up and a blue portal leading back to the Fortress of Doom opened up.**

"**For it was you who was meant to enforce it." Salem said in a vain attempt to sway Jaune from his path. The Doom Slayer simply strode into the portal without a single backwards glance, their reckoning would have to wait.**

"He used to work for Salem?" Goodwitch asked.

"Not exactly. The Night Sentinels were always servants of the Khan Maykr, that version of Jaune Arc joined their ranks and rose to the top. In the beginning, he had no quarrel with her and didn't have a problem carrying out her will. But after the Khan Maykr tried to sell out to hell, he went rogue alongside all Sentinels who would fight against the demons." Blank said.

"Why didn't she just kill him then? I mean, not that I'm supporting hell or anything, but considering everything he's done, he really doesn't seem like the kind of guy who'd negotiate or even change course." Roman asked.

"There is the part where the Doom Slayer is functionally unkillable. Then, his strength alone makes for a valuable asset to whoever he sides with. Having him relent on his quest and join her would make conquest of other worlds far easier." Blank answered.

"Ha! Like fearless leader would ever join her, go kick their asses Jaune-Jaune!" Nora cheered.

"**I do not have the means to locate the second Hell Priest. Your celestial locator is missing a component, we will need a replacement." Penny said once Jaune rematerialized in the Fortress of Doom.**

**Jaune exhaled slowly and processed the news. Heading over to a nearby console, he began inputting the coordinates for the next warp. It'd been awhile since he returned to Sentinel Prime but that was the only place he could get what he needed.**

**Stepping back once the teleporter was locked onto Exultia, Jaune shook away lingering regrets before striding through the portal. Another ruined and abandoned city greeted him on the other side. Unlike with Earth, there was no blazing hellscape consuming everything, just a ruined city overgrown with ivy. Time had worn away much of its splendour but enough hints of it remained to clue in the uninitiated on the tragedy of what was lost.**

**Wiping out the few stray demons unfortunate enough to cross his path. Their violent deaths calmed the Doom Slayer's rage not in the least, instead just the sight of the demons prowling these once sacred grounds only pissed him off further.**

**Once this stood at the heart of the resistance against hell. Then the Deags arrived with their lies and false promises, scattered the remaining legions of loyal Night Sentinels to the winds, left them easy prey for the demonic tide. Cut him off from Exultia, leaving the last bastion of resistance against Salem's tyranny open to invasion. Even now, that treachery and his inability to see it before it was too late stung something fierce. **

"What did those Hell Priests do?" Pyrrha asked.

"The pretended to turn traitor to the Salem. Offered the Night Sentinels a supposed straight shot to the heart of her operation for a quick end to the conflict. It was a trap, as soon as the Sentinels stepped through, they were scattered and immediately besieged by demons. The Doom Slayer was the sole survivor and by the time he fought his way back, the war was effectively over and they had lost." Blank explained.

"That explains the grudge." Taiyang said.

"It is part of it yes, but it runs a lot deeper than just that one betrayal." Blank replied.

"**Why are you here?" Ozpin's voice resounded through the throne room Jaune found himself in. A small light on his praetor suit glowed blue for a moment as a hidden panel fell away and the missing piece of the celestial locator rose out of the ground.**

"**It is not yours to take." Jaune pushed aside Ozpin's words as he grabbed the contraption and stowed it away.**

"**You cannot kill the priests." This time, Jaune turned back to the throne, the ghost of Ozpin sat it.**

"**You know our laws, despite their transgressions against the covenant, they are still of Sentinel blood." The ghost of king Ozpin intoned as Jaune fell to one knee in respect for his predecessor.**

"Okay. So, I'm a ghost. Interesting." Ozpin said and sipped from his mug.

"He's kneeling!? Damn, I didn't think he knew how to kneel to anyone." Mercury commented.

"Ozpin was the leader of the Sentinels before Jaune. Despite their disagreements, the Doom Slayer still respects the strength of his predecessor." Blank said.

"**What you interfere with now is bigger than you can imagine. It is written. It is their time to give penance. If you continue, you will bring down the heaven's wrath." Ozpin said and Jaune slowly rose to his feet and turned away.**

"**You are but one man. They are no longer your people to save." Jaune turned back one last time, but by the time he did, the throne was empty again. Shaking his head, Jaune continued forwards, his resolution unwavering. Ozpin's warning was appreciated but it ultimately changed nothing.**

**One priest was dead. Why stop there?**

"I… don't get it. Do I not want him to fight against the demons?" Ozpin asked.

"Not exactly, that Ozpin is more concerned with ensuring the Doom Slayer knows what he's getting into. The Sentinels who stood with him in the past are long dead, all who remain are uncaring at best and enemies at worst. If he continues on his crusade, he will inevitably turn all who remain against him completely and he will be alone again." Blank said.

"Why would they not want to fight the demons? Salem's grip can't be that tight on all of them." Goodwitch queried.

"They have no choice. Some are loyal to the word of the law and not the spirit, others are completely dependent on the power of hell. In any case, the Maykrs have set themselves up as gods across countless worlds, with Salem as the top god. Opposing her naturally puts him at odds with the faithful since her deal with hell isn't common knowledge. And no one would believe it anyways." Blank elaborated.

"Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't huh? Sounds rough." Qrow muttered and took a large swig from his flask.

**Heavy boots thudded into the ground, leaving imprints in the dry sandy dust coating the rocks. One more ghost from his past awaited somewhere around here as Penny helpfully informed. Much as Jaune would prefer to leave the betrayer to whatever penance he sought in hell, right now, he was the only one capable of powering up the celestial locator.**

**Eventually locating the entrance, he was greeted with a mesh of lasers and several artillery cannons pointed in his direction. One by one, the lasers faded away and he was allowed passage once the betrayer noticed his presence.**

"**I told you all to leave me here." Hazel spoke up while seated next to his campfire. Several automated turrets tracked the Doom Slayer's movements while a single giant mech hung inert by the side.**

"**I am where I belong."**

**Jaune's only response was to place the deactivated contraption down next to Hazel. The giant of a man simply stared at the Doom Slayer for a bit before rising to his feet. "Saving your people will not bring you peace. Only make the burden you carry worse."**

**Grabbing the celestial locator part, Hazel shuffled off and began to work while Jaune simply stood and held silent vigil. Once he was done, Hazel lifted the now glowing device and handed it over but didn't immediately relinquish his grip. "And now you seek to defy the Khan Maykr herself? It is your people's time now to give penance, just as it was mine."**

**Hazel smiled bitterly as Jaune simply ripped the device free and began making his way out. There was too much bad blood between the two of them now and Jaune not shooting him in the face for his sins was about as much goodwill as he was ever going to get.**

"What's his story?" Cinder asked, slightly curious about the fate that befell the one member of Salem's underlings that she didn't outright hate.

"Lost his sister in the war against the demons. Turned traitor to have her brought back. Now he resides in hell as penance." Blank said.

"I'm surprised the Doom Slayer isn't offing him right now. I mean, he is after the Priests so why not him?" Roman asked.

"Eh, man's already in hell." Qrow said.

"Ah. Fair point." Roman conceded.

"And what happened to his sister?" Yang asked.

"The demons upheld their end of the bargain, but as with the Cinder Fall of that world, not in the way he wanted. That's all I'll say for now." Blank answered.

"**Hear me Slayer, when her heart is laid to rest, then her soul will be at peace… and so will mine." Hazel reached into his pocket and retrieved a small handheld device. Tossing it to the Doom Slayer, Jaune plucked it out of the air and stared at it for a bit before stowing it away. A single nod of thanks was his only response as he began to walk away, whatever the truth of Hazel's words, there were demons in need of killing now and no time to wallow in his own self-pity.**

**Leaving Hazel's self-made prison behind, the Doom Slayer started making his way across the hell scape, heading for the extraction portal Penny had set up elsewhere. Jumping across floating platforms and dodging flaming obstacles as well as butchering the occasional group of demons, the world faded into a nice lull for Jaune as eviscerated several imps standing in his way.**

**Absorbing a pocket of Argent energy to give himself a boost, the Doom Slayer felt the rush of power flood his system. And promptly shared that power with a nearby hell knight, setting it on fire with his flame thrower and then ramming the Doom Blade home. Several Arachnotrons met their end when he shot off their turrets, got in close and introduced their own explosives to their oversized brains. Once the rush of power faded, he was the only thing left standing amid a field of corpses.**

**Again.**

**With the blue portal heading back to the Fortress open, Jaune walked on home. There was still more fighting to be done.**

"It's kind of tragic. How long has he been fighting alone?" Ruby asked, despite the never-ending reservoir of rage powering the Doom Slayer, there was a certain melancholy to his endless, lonely crusade.

"Long enough to go insane and fight his way back to sanity." Blank said.

**Biting cold assailed the Doom Slayer as soon as he touched down. Jaune inhaled sharply and slowly exhaled, the arctic chill was a nice refreshing change of pace from the burning hellscapes of his last excursions. But there was no time to relax now, Merlot had been tracked to this base at the frozen tip of the world. Time to go knock on his door.**

**Scaling the side of a cliff surface to get to the main entrance of the base. Jaune found several soldiers and revenants using a bunch of possessed zombies as target practice. Any thought of hanging back and waiting for them to kill their own dissipated when he noticed their abysmal accuracy.**

**The Doom Slayer sighed and got to work, showing them just how it was done. Shooting the back cannons of the revenant off with the heavy cannon's precision bolt, the third shot removed the rest of its skull like head.**

**Angry roars and growling rose into the air as the demons searched about for their attacker, challenging him to appear.**

**The Doom Slayer obliged.**

**Launching a frag grenade into the mix to reduce the soldiers to bloody chunks. Jaune vaulted over the obstacles in his path and set the zombies on fire with the flame thrower, leaving them to scream in agony before he finished them all with a single heavy punch.**

**One last revenant sought to kill him. Jaune looked over to where all the rockets were coming from and stood still, daring the demon to take its best shot. It did. And despite everything, Jaune failed to suppress a sigh when not a single missile managed to hit a stationary target. It was kind of pathetic if he was being honest. **

**Pumping a few shells into the demon to stun it and overload its jetpack controls. Jaune sliced the demon in half at the waist, leaving it to spin about in circles thanks to its malfunctioning jetpack for a bit before exploding.**

"Now that I think about it, some of those demons aren't all that good, are they?" Emerald commented.

"These are nothing but fodder, their elites are exactly what you'd expect from a demon strong enough to rise through the ranks. But most of these converted or fodder demons can fall anywhere on a large spectrum. What makes them dangerous is their sheer numbers." Blank said.

"Hmm… so the difference between ancient Grimm and more common species like Beowolves then." Summer said.

"That's a valid comparison I think." Blank acquiesced.

**As Jaune fought his way through the base, he idly wondered exactly what the plan for the place was. Firing a single bullet at a green panel suspended from the ceiling, pendulum blades came swinging down and instantly obliterated the demons charging towards him. And the demons just didn't learn, they kept coming and the blades kept swinging, until eventually the ground was covered in blood and unidentified masses of meat.**

"**Welcome Slayer. Is my time at an end? Let's see if you're strong enough to survive this cursed citadel." Merlot's mocking voice boomed from behind Jaune. Turning back to look, Jaune noticed that the way back was barred and a hologram of the Hell Priest stood in the room he just left.**

**Not for the first time since meeting Merlot, he wondered if the priest had a few screws loose. Generally, most agents of hell who knew of the Doom Slayer wanted to keep him the hell away from them, not lock him in with them. Then, there were the 'traps', and he used that term loosely, scattered around the place. Mere annoyances to the Doom Slayer but extremely lethal to the citadel's guards and oh so easy to trigger.**

"Real smooth brain play right there." Mercury snickered.

"Not very bright, is he?" Roman asked.

"This particular Hell Priest is more mad scientist than competent general." Blank said.

"Still a terminally stupid move." Ozpin muttered.

"No arguments there." Blank replied.

**Fighting his way deeper into the complex, Jaune encountered mancubi trying to block his way forwards with their unsightly girth. But, given where they were waddling towards, Jaune simply rolled his eyes and shot the switch above them, pendulum blades came down and his path forwards was clear again.**

"**The Slayer has arrived. All mortally challenged personnel please be advised." The placid voice of the pre-recorded announcement playing on the intercom got Jaune to pause in his step. Looking to the mangled unrecognizable remains of the demons that used to be guarding the passage then to the ceiling in search of the hidden speakers.**

**Shrugging, he picked up the pace again. Early warning or late, it didn't matter in the least. Just one minor gripe with the announcement, demons weren't mortally challenged individuals, at least not until they met him.**

"Mortally challenged… heheheheh." Taiyang chuckled and Summer just sighed and slapped the back of his head.

"Why would anyone design a fortress like this? Last time I checked, if your defences can be used against you by design, something has gone seriously wrong somewhere." Weiss muttered.

"Power doesn't always correlate with intelligence. I'm guessing that priest thought it'd be a good idea and with the demons being so… bestial, there wasn't anyone to inform him that his ideas are… lacking." Blank said.

"In essence. Merlot is more concerned with whether or he can do something as opposed to whether he should, or if there's even a practical purpose to it." Blank said.

"Ah, so no different from the one we know then." Goodwitch's nose twitched in annoyance as she recalled her ex-colleagues more… questionable projects before his ill-fated departure for Mount Glenn.

**Jaune pried the Paingiver from its resting place, the rocket launcher of demonic origin would make an excellent addition to his arsenal. How nice of Merlot to just leave it lying about for him to take. After field testing his newest toy on a nearby bunch of demons, the explosions he wrought against the mancubi, gargoyles and cacodemons almost made him regret the need to kill the priest. Almost.**

"Huh, I wonder if I should modify Magnhild to have burst fire and the remote detonation." Nora mused quietly.

"That's a little overkill." Ren sighed.

"If it's worth killing, it's worth _overkilling_." Nora said in a faux sagely tone and stroked an imaginary beard. The wide grin on her face merely caused Ren to sigh again, her mind was set and any further arguments from this point on was an exercise in futility.

"**The beast draws near to me my brothers and sisters, but he is weak! Your hate must match his will, only then will you be truly saved." Another giant hologram of Merlot extolled the demons in the area to fight harder.**

**Several soldiers carrying energy shields tried to form a shield wall to rush him, Jaune thanked them for grouping up with a volley of plasma bolts that overloaded their shields and caused a violent chain reaction that destroyed them all. As the Doom Slayer mopped up the resistance, he wondered just how far removed from reality Merlot actually was.**

**Preaching about salvation to the damned? There would be no salvation for the demons, not from their dark masters, not from the priests or the Khan Maykr and certainly not from him. And there was no one who could match his hate.**

**Grabbing the last surviving whiplash in the area, Jaune snapped its arm hard enough that bone protruded from torn flesh. Its cries of agony were silenced when the bone spur was shoved into its head in one swift motion. Tossing aside the corpse like the garbage it was, Jaune wondered if the Priests had been lying about his effectiveness against the demons to keep up morale for so long they were starting to believe their own falsehoods.**

**Even as the Doom Slayer systematically dismantled every bit of opposition and drew closer, Merlot showed no fear, completely wrapped up in his delusions that the next set of demons would succeed where the nigh endless legions before them had failed.**

"**Your salvation lies in his destruction. The myth of the Slayer's strength is exposed to us now. Can you see it brothers? He has lost the resolve to continue." Another giant projection of the doomed Hell priest preached to his worshippers.**

"**Eat his soul. I must survive this. Protect me in my time of need and you will secure your place in the new world."**

**Ah yes, eternal servitude with a one hundred percent chance of painful demise or worse as Cinder found out. What a wonderful place the new world was. As the Doom Slayer massacred the cultists arrayed before him, he idly considered that maybe his actions were salvation considering the fate he was sparing them from. If so, then he'd gladly grant salvation through a baptism of buckshot and plasma to the unclean.**

"Is Merlot lying or just that delusional?" Cinder asked.

"A mix of both. The Hell Priests have been spreading propaganda about the Doom Slayer to the unenlightened masses for a long time now. This one has bought into their own lies and forgotten exactly what kind of individual the Doom Slayer is." Blank answered.

**Deeper inside the base, Jaune found something that sparked his interest. Evidently, these cultists had come across one of his old weapons and had stashed it somewhere inside the base for him to pick up. How very polite of them, to show his gratitude he decided against immediately destroying their projects in favour of showing them just how effective they could be in the right hands.**

"**Neural connection successful. You are now in control of the revenant drone, you may use it to reclaim your property." Penny's voice sounded directly inside Jaune's head as he experimented with his new demon puppet.**

**The possessed demon strode out into the testing arena and announced its presence by unloading a rocket barrage against an unaware mancubus, reducing it to mincemeat before anyone could react. Piloting the drone was a strange experience to be sure but Jaune warmed up to it quickly enough, there was just something about raining death from above that appealed to him greatly.**

**Mancubus, Arachnotrons, cacodemons and other lesser revenants were promptly blown back to hell as Jaune put his puppet through its paces. Sadly, all good things must come to an end and the Doom Slayer eventually ran out of living targets.**

**Directing the drone to retrieve his gun and bring it back to his real body, Jaune released the neural link once the demon was kneeling before him and offering up his prized super shotgun. Tearing the weapon free from the demon's shuddering grip, Jaune inspected the weapon and grinned, it was still the same work of art it had been before he was sealed inside the sarcophagus.**

**And as for its effectiveness...**

**One shot to the drone's head reduced it to a fine red mist.**

"Ooooh… that's a nice gun. That's a _very_ nice gun." Qrow mumbled to himself, as a shotgun connoisseur himself, he knew a masterpiece when he saw one.

"Yes, yes it is. Me want." Yang agreed whole heartedly.

"Needitneeditneeditneeditneeditneedit." Ruby was chanting over and over regardless of the fact she preferred sniper rifles over shotguns.

"Ah, looks like being a gun fanatic runs in the family after all." Weiss muttered, slightly put off by the hungry looks on the trio's faces.

"**Are you growing tired Slayer? We will break your will yet." Merlot taunted from wherever the hell he was hiding. Jaune paid him no attention, for the time being content with using the base's own traps against the demons. Satisfying was the only word he'd use to describe bisecting a hell knight right down the side with a pendulum blade. Maybe he'd tire of it in time, but for now, it was entertaining as hell.**

"**I do not fear you. This match is not won yet. Come find me Slayer, I will be waiting." Merlot snarled in frustration as Jaune's progress wasn't slowed in the least despite everything thrown his way.**

"You know, this is normally the part where he starts panicking and trying to run away." Roman muttered.

"Speaking from experience Torchwick? Too much of a coward to stand a fight?" Emerald couldn't resist the jab.

"Say what you want girlie. I'm not a coward, just an expert on staying alive. Between the two of us, you're the one who should be worrying about your life expectancy." Roman fired back and Neo helpfully conjured up an illusion of the Doom Slayer ripping Emerald's eyes out of their sockets. The pint-sized henchwoman grinning as Emerald's face lived up to her namesake.

"**It was not easy to find an opponent worthy of the slayer, but I think you will be impressed." Merlot's projection appeared to taunt the Doom Slayer once more after he'd slaughtered his way into the heart of the Hell Priest's operation.**

**The sheer arrogance the priest was putting out was nauseating and Jaune seriously doubted the truth of his words. If he had something that could stop him, he'd have used it by now. Nothing left to do now but kill his way in and prove the mad scientist wrong.**

**Deeper inside, he got his first hint as to what foul abomination Merlot was using as his final line of defence. Carcasses attached to mechanical walkers and kept in a vile state of half-life, their decaying torsos reanimated by machines in a twisted mockery of life.**

**Once again desecrating the dead for their own nefarious purposes. Jaune wondered if the forces of hell had some kind of plan when they did half the shit they did or if it was simply a case of 'done because we could' kind of deal. If still 'living' demons couldn't kill him with all their demonic magic, what hope in hell did a few undead cyborgs have?**

**None at all. But, their energy shields proved to be a major nuisance. If they were made to annoy him, they were succeeding at their task, Jaune would give them that.**

**Finally reaching the inner sanctum, Jaune waited for the Hell Priest to reveal his trump card, he didn't have to wait long. There was a slight hissing sound as several containers opened up, one of Merlot's masterpieces rising out of them. **

"**I thought you would appreciate the sentry I chose. The great Agaddon Hunters from the Telos realm. Though long thought to be extinct, created to hunt only the Slayer and his Night Sentinels during the unholy crusades. Some improvements on their design have been made. Enjoy what is undoubtedly my finest work." The satisfaction and glee was positively dripping from Merlot's voice as the body of the Hunter was installed into a mechanical chassis armed to the teeth.**

**Jaune was decidedly less impressed. If his hands weren't full holding his gun, he'd have given the Hell Priest the slow clap. He remembered these Agaddon Hunters alright, he remembered them all too well. **

**First the cyberdemon and now this. One day, he'd find a way to make sure the things he killed actually stayed dead permanently. Ah well, just as with the cyberdemon on Mars, these reanimated demons wouldn't matter in the end, a few extra manmade guns and armour counted for very little in reality.**

**As the demon came to life, Jaune once again questioned how tenuous Merlot's grip on reality was. Considering he was the one who personally rendered the entire race extinct in the first place, exactly what made the Hell Priest think bringing them back for round two would change anything?**

**Something something same thing over and over, something something expecting shit to change, something something insanity.**

"I take it back, he doesn't a smooth brain. Pretty sure his head is completely hollow." Mercury chuckled.

"Sure looks that way. Damn, he made the entire race go extinct? A few extra guns or rockets won't really make a difference to someone who casually genocided an entire race." Emerald said.

"It's… honestly open to interpretation. Personally, I see him as more of a hopelessly optimistic individual." Blank replied.

"Optimistic or not, all of them have reached an evolutionary dead end called the Doom Slayer." Ren said.

**The fight went just about how Jaune expected it to go, the hunter fired on him with everything it had and tried slashing him with the chainsaw whenever he got in close. Easy counter, just strafe to the side and unload into its sled until the thing blew up.**

**Ignoring the Hell Priest's angry yelling in the background. Jaune continued shooting away at the flying Hunter, occasionally stopping to refill on ammunition by chainsawing the demons dumb enough to wander into their arena.**

**Eventually, the reinforced Hunter was stunned in place from taking one too many hits to the cranium. Seizing the opportunity to close in, Jaune fired the grappling hook on his super shotgun, latching onto the beast and pulling him in close. Doom Blade extended and came down, once, twice, and the Hunter's torso was nearly split in half.**

**Jumping down to a lower level in pursuit of Merlot, two more Hunters arrived to fight him as soon as Jaune's boots hit dirt. The Hell Priest's angry voice denying the inevitable. "We are not done yet."**

**In Jaune's expert opinion, they really were. Nothing much changed with the addition of one more Hunter or the shift in arenas. Dodge the missiles and fireballs, retaliate with plasma until their shields were down then hit them with rockets or micro missiles, when needed chainsaw a random fodder demon before continuing. Rinse and repeat until everything except him is dead.**

"He makes this look easy. I'm pretty damned sure that thing would give most huntsmen a challenge actually." Taiyang mused.

"They would, on their own the Hunters are actually very strong even when compared to other demons. The only problem is, they exist to kill the Doom Slayer and their success rate is non-existent for obvious reasons." Blank said.

"So, given Merlot's pride over them, I'm guessing they're hard to produce and since they can't succeed at the one thing they were built for. They're all useless wastes of resources." Ozpin thought aloud.

"Essentially. There's nothing other demons can't do just as well as them and the one thing they were supposed to surpass other demons at, they end up performing on an equal level."

**Once Jaune ripped his Doom Blade free from the final Hunter's corpse. He turned and glared at the Hell Priest, dark glee blossoming in his heart as he could feel the fear radiating off the man. Forced out into the open by the battle with nowhere left to run and no Khan Maykr around to save him again, he was a dead man walking and they both knew it.**

"**Th… the… the Beast… does he… hehe… not seek enhanced power? Gifts to aid him in his… noble conquest?" Merlot tried bargaining, slowly backing away as Jaune advanced step by step. He was just realising sending his soul guardians to their deaths against the Doom Slayer and not vacating the premises during the slaughter wasn't his best idea.**

"**Perhaps in return for my-" The sound of the Doom Blade slicing through Merlot's neck brought sweet silence back to this little corner of the world. His body remained standing for a few seconds more, propped up by his staff before it fell to the ground with a thud.**

**Tossing the expended talisman onto Merlot's corpse, Jaune turned and walked away without a backwards glance, Penny's portal already open for him. At the end, Merlot remembered the Slayer's strength, pity he didn't remember the bit about it being impossible to bargain or negotiate with him.**

"Hehheheheh… two down, dear old Tyrian is next, I can barely wait." Cinder smirked in anticipation. Just a bit more and that insufferable git would get what's coming to him.

"Tch, I still think he got off easy." Roman complained, wanting a more violent and drawn out death for the mad scientist.

"Well, killing is what this Jaune Arc does best, torture isn't really in his skillset. But if it helps." Blank flickered once and Neo's scroll beeped once.

"You can watch that scene however many times you want in glorious 4k 120 fps."

"What?" Roman looked confused for a moment.

"Ah. Never mind, just feel free to re-watch it." Blank said.

**As soon as Jaune returned to the Fortress of Doom, the lights began to play havoc as a gold lightning arced across various surfaces.**

"**Our system is being corrupted." Penny informed him as she did her best to fight off the remote hack. Jaune stowed his weapons and stood at the ready, this was the Khan Maykr's work no doubt, utilizing Sentinel systems in the fortress provided a number of benefits, but its aging hardware and software also left it vulnerable to attack.**

"**This game has gone far enough." Salem's voice broadcasted through the speakers and the onboard projectors came to life, displaying an image of her.**

"**I will have her transmission removed in a moment." Penny continued to fight against Salem's influence, wresting control back one subsystem at a time.**

"**Despite the loss of the priests. Earth will fall and my people will survive. I will answer the humans' prayers, reward those that believe." Salem continued speaking, unconcerned with Penny retaking control from her.**

"**This hub is of Maykr design, she knows the systems well." Penny muttered, a small trace of frustration detectable in her friendly voice as the hack proved a little more difficult to counter than initially expected.**

"**The final priest will be moved to a more discreet location, so our work can continue without further disruption." Salem finished with a smile and her hologram faded away, willingly ceding control back to Penny and the Fortress's systems returned to normal.**

"**The third Hell Priest's signal is no longer visible to us." Penny said, running the celestial locator multiple times yielded the same result. Tyrian was nowhere to be found on the planet. Jaune frowned at the news, the Hell Priests were the ones sustaining the demonic invasion, with the three of them on Earth at the same time, the devouring of the planet was at its fastest. **

**But even with two dead and the last one off world, the portals wouldn't close. The invasion was slowed, not halted and it couldn't be as long as Tyrian drew breath. If Salem had transported her final priest to some far-flung corner of hell or one of the many worlds the Maykrs had under their sway, tracking him down would be problematic to say the least.**

"**There is a 41% increase of demonic activity at the nexus of the initial invasion. That is the largest gore nest on Earth. I will set the coordinates for the super gore nest now." Penny said as her scans identified the sudden uptick in demonic activity, there was a chance there would be some clue as to Tyrian's whereabouts there.**

**Jaune nodded and readied to sortie again. Hell Priest or no Hell Priest, demons were still invading and a good culling was needed to give what was left of humanity some breathing room.**

"Hmm so Salem can hack their systems… that can't possibly end well." Qrow muttered.

"What was that about her people surviving though?" Goodwitch asked.

"Exactly what it is, present day Maykrs are parasites who can only exist by sacrificing billions to hell." Blank answered.

"And rewarding the believers?" Blake spoke up.

"Collecting potential pawns who'd mindlessly obey and damn others. The only one benefiting from the reward would be Salem herself."

"You know, with the way all of them except Jaune are acting, is she… actually a goddess? Or powerful enough to be one?" Pyrrha asked.

"No, not by a long shot. A lie perpetuated endlessly to ensure easy access to sacrifices, where victims are too thankful for her 'mercy' saving some of them from the demons. Heaven, god and angels, that's what their kind have set themselves up as and it's a lie only upheld because of the deal with hell. In truth, without the Doom Slayer and his sentinels, they don't stand a chance against the forces of hell." Blank said.

"Why would she save anyone from the demons? Aren't working together?" Weiss frowned in confusion, unable to make sense of it.

"Heh, isn't it obvious? Both hell and these… Maykrs whatever they really are, clearly gain strength from slaughtering their victims. They could just kill everyone but that leaves them with the problem of finding new victims. So much easier to just leave some alive, enough to repopulate for future harvests." The answer came from Cinder, the fall maiden slowly working through their plans by sounding it out.

"Hmm, a false rescue, inspiring greater devotion to their saviours. Getting the survivors reliant on them for 'protection' and when its time for harvest again, it'll be written off as some kind of holy judgement where only true believers are spared. Huh, that's one way of keeping the farms in line."

"…Now that's a disturbing thought. They're all bloody farmers and we're the pigs for slaughter." Qrow shook his head to ward away the disquieting images of oversized farms with human cattle smiling stupidly as they walked willingly to the slaughter.

"**Please remain calm, you may notice a slight change in the environment. Fear not, it's all part of the plan." The blatant lies of a UAC spokeswoman reached Jaune's ears as he arrived inside the destroyed remains of a subway system.**

**Exiting it to take in his surroundings proper, the outside world was more hell than Earth now. Destroyed buildings, lava lakes everywhere, demonic sigils in the sky and giant tentacles reaching for the stars, slight change in environment indeed.**

**According to Penny, this was where the initial breach happened. Humanity gave it their best shot at pushing the invaders back but were overwhelmed by the endless numbers. Once the super gore nest was built, it was too late for them to stem the tide.**

**Jaune glanced back to where the UAC spokeswoman's hologram used to be and shook his head. Treacherous elements seeded within humanity's ranks probably didn't help the war effort in the least.**

**Fighting through the hell growth infested lands was disgusting to say the least. The hostile terraforming agent the demons used to alter the environment to their liking and render it toxic to all terrestrial forms of life covered damned near everything. Every time he stomped down on the vile growth, wet squelches assaulted his ears and the stench that came along with it was truly foul.**

**The one thing the Doom Slayer had going for him were the demons rushing to their deaths, it was much easier to not dwell on the environment in favour of ripping and tearing. Especially when the dread knights appeared, hell knights augmented with UAC technology and given two energy blades on their arms.**

**Their antics were amusing at least, foolishly believing that two energy blades to his one ordinary looking one would give them the advantage. Jaune helpfully educated them otherwise by introducing his sharp pointy tool of mass slaughter to their fleshy bits. Punching one in the face to stun it, Jaune rammed the Doom Blade up its chin and into its brain, punching through the armoured skull instantly while their own energy weapons barely scratched his Praetor suit.**

"Eh, gotta respect the classics I guess." Ruby shrugged.

"Less the weapon, more the user, I guess. Any reason the Doom Slayer doesn't use energy swords on his own? It's not like he doesn't have the technology." Qrow asked.

"The Doom Blade serves the purpose he needs it to. It never dulls, never breaks and you can see proof of its sharpness yourself, there's not a lot more he can ask from it. Being a physical 'low tech' weapon also means there really isn't a need for maintenance. As to not using energy swords at all, well…" Blank trailed off with a chuckle.

"**This is the heart of the nest. It has taken root in this facility's main power generator. Reactivating the generator will destroy the nest." Penny informed him after running a thorough scan of the super gore nest.**

**Jaune eschewed replying in favour of lobbing a grenade and several rockets into a throng of demons taken shelter behind a shield wall. The Doom Slayer wondered if taking over the generator was an accident or a deliberate attempt to cut off human support.**

**As he exploded a frozen prowler demon with the super shotgun, Jaune guessed that however the nest formed here it didn't matter. The whole thing was going boom anyways.**

**And the sooner that happened the better. Multiple sections of the former human installation barely had any hint of their origin left. The hell growth had covered everything completely and it was less like fighting through a building and more traversing the innards of some giant creature.**

"Ergh, that's foul." Weiss complained after getting a close up of some of the more disgusting parts of the super gore nest.

"At least Grimm don't leave anything like that behind. Small mercies huh?" Yang said.

"I'd much rather we not have to deal with Grimm at all actually." Blake replied.

"Ah who cares about all that gross stuff! Jaune-Jaune's gonna blow it aaaalllll up! Gimme a big boom!" Nora was visibly vibrating in her seat from excitement, occasionally throwing popcorn in the air as the Doom Slayer scored a particularly brutal kill. Pyrrha and Ren had both given up trying to calm her down at this point, leaving her to have her fun.

**The dread knight let out a mournful wail as a hail of bullets shredded its armour, then its flesh and then finally reduced it to red paste. The chaingun winded down and Jaune stowed it away with a smile. After finding it lying where it had been abandoned when its previous wielder had fled or more likely been slaughtered by the demons, it still worked perfectly.**

**It was similar to the weapon he wielded back on Mars during that outbreak except this one was clearly an advanced model. A superior cooling system, more powerful ammunition and its mobile turret mode had **_**four **_**barrels, a whooping one extra from the old one.**

**There was now 33% more gun on his gun and that made Jaune a happy Doom Slayer.**

"Ah, he's a man of culture. See, more gun is always a good thing, now partner o mine just-" Ruby began and Weiss immediately held out her hand to keep Ruby's overly eager face away from hers.

"No! For the last time no. You will not be modifying Myrtenaster."

**The grin on Jaune's face was positively sinister as he threw the last switch needed to bring the generator back online. The giant demonic heart growing around the generator was already beating erratically from his actions, as several addition pylons descended and surrounded the heart, sparking with electricity, it was all Jaune could do to not rub his hands together gleefully.**

**With the heart of the super gore nest in such close proximity to the main generator, this would save him so much ammo and or hours of just tearing away at it until it stopped regenerating. Throwing the final switch and pumping it all the way to the max, lightning crackled in the air zapping the giant heart while the generator itself spun faster and faster, tearing at the flesh growing on it.**

**The heart beat faster and faster before ruptures in the flesh started leaking tainted blood. Every pump brought it closer and closer to the end as it started deflating, spraying blood and flesh everywhere as the generator literally tore it to pieces.**

**Jaune held his hands behind his back and felt the satisfaction of setting what was quite possibly the world record on largest case of cardiac arrest ever.**

"**The generator is overloading, I've marked your exit potal." Penny's words drew the Doom Slayer out of his reverie. The entire place would self-destruct soon with the generator going into full meltdown and it was time to leave.**

**The entire facility was rumbling as Jaune made his way out, partly from the generator suddenly coming online and going critical immediately, and partly from the super gore nest itself reacting to its sudden heart attack. For once, Jaune ignored the demons in his path, they'd all be ashes in the wind in about… seventy seconds or so, no need for his intervention.**

**Taking shortcuts through the facility by way of teleportation network the demons had set up, Jaune exited the super gore nest and made his way to where the fabric of reality was stable enough for Penny to set up the portal back to the Fortress.**

**Before he left though, he turned back to witness the fruits of his labours. The yellow portal spewing demons onto Earth shuddered, failed, and collapsed in a flash of gold light. The rest of the fleshy bits making up the gore nest ruptured and burst as well once the buildings they used as support went down with the self-destruct. **

**Nothing but a pile of decaying flesh now, Tyrian still lived but with the super gore nest gone, that was one less vector of invasion for the demons. They weren't stopped yet, but they were definitely slowed. Salem's little plan to make up for the lost priests by funnelling more demons through the hard way had gone up in flames.**

**Just as planned.**

**Jaune smiled to himself before turning back and stepping through the blue portal.**

"Awesome! Hmm… how hard would it be to give a Grimm a heart attack that way?" Nora wondered aloud.

"Let's… not go there please." Ren muttered.

"Uh Nora, giving a Grimm a heart attack that way means doing it from the inside, and that means being eaten." Pyrrha added.

"Do Grimm even have hearts? They die when you stab them there, but has anyone actually seen a Grimm heart before?" Ruby asked.

That brought out a round of whispers and muttering as no one had a definite answer for that. Not even Cinder.

"Questions for another time I suppose." Blank said.

"**The final Hell Priest's location remains unknown. The demonic consumption of Earth will not be stopped until the last priest and his guardian are destroyed." Penny's voice confirmed Jaune's fears and the Doom Slayer simply sighed. **

**The super gore nest was a 'win' for humanity but it hadn't provided him with any clue on Tyrian's location. His hope that Penny would have found the priest by the time he retuned had also gone unfulfilled.**

"**We will require assistance in order to locate the final Hell Priest." Penny said and Jaune perked up immediately. He didn't think there was anyone who could help their quest but perhaps he'd forgotten something. Any help was welcome at this juncture.**

**Penny's next words however caused him to reconsider that last statement. "I believe Dr Ironwood can help us with our search."**

**Jaune killed the growl before it left his throat. Penny was just being helpful, no point in getting angry at her. But Ironwood… the man who allowed the demonic invasion of Mars to happen under his nose, stole the crucible from him and was almost definitely responsible for this entire debacle in some way. To say that the Doom Slayer was unenthused about working with the inhuman cyborg again would be a severe understatement.**

"Oh, he's holding a grudge against ol Jimmy, isn't he?" Qrow chuckled.

"To be fair, James didn't exactly get painted in a good light considering their parting. Did… did he cause the invasion?" Ozpin asked.

"The matter is a little more complicated than the Doom Slayer's understanding of it. The invasion would have happened anyways, hell's agents were already working behind the scenes long before the Slayer's awakening. Case in point, that world's Cinder Fall, Merlot was the one who brought her into the fold, and he's done the same to countless others." Blank answered.

"Oh. So he's the one who turned me into that spider freak, pity he got off easy." Cinder muttered, her eyebrow twitching in slight frustration that Merlot got a 'clean' death for his actions.

"With such subversion and corruption going on, Ironwood's plan was to fight fire with fire, defeat the demons with their own power. It… didn't go as planned." Blank said.

"Yeah, I think we got that since you can literally see the hell corruption from space." Roman replied snarkily, pointing at the giant sigil burned into the planet's curst in the distance.

"**I will calibrate the portal to the ARC's command station." While Penny worked to set his next destination, Jaune listened to a broadcast from the resistance detailing his efforts against the demons.**

**Despite the corrupt UAC continuing to deny his existence, the results of his actions were being felt evidently. People had noticed the super gore nest coming down and the sharp decrease in demonic activity after the elimination of two priests and the last one going into hiding. Eye witness accounts of Merlots execution from spies in the cultists ranks had also spread like wildfire.**

**Jaune sighed as the blue portal formed. How long had it been since his presence brought hope to anyone? He couldn't remember anymore, usually people were too dead to be hopeful by the time he arrived, always too late where it counted.**

**But not this time.**

**Humanity was struggling, but they still held on and he wasn't about to let Earth fall the same way Argent D'Nur did. If that meant working with Ironwood, so be it. Pumping his shotgun once and chambering a new shell, the Doom Slayer strode through the portal, ready to face whatever was waiting on the other side.**

And with that, the screen faded to black.

"Awwww… is that it? I wanted to see fearless leader kick that stupid Khan Maykr's butt." Nora complained.

"That's it for now. We'll continue this world's story soon, for now enjoy a short break." Blank said.

"Hmmph, guess that Tyrian gets to live a bit longer. Fine, as long as I get to watch him die." Cinder muttered.

Blank simply chuckled and started preparing the next viewing as his audience dispersed.

* * *

Author's note: Been feeling under the weather recently but here's the chapter. I might do a different franchise for next chapter before continuing Doom Eternal's story, not too sure yet, it'll depend on my muse.

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as Doomguy/Doom Slayer

Penny Polendina as Vega

Salem as Khan Maykr

Arthur Watts as Deag Nilox

Merlot as Deag Ranak

Tyrian Callows as Deag Grav

Ozpin as King Novik

Hazel Rainart as the Betrayer/Valen

James Ironwood as Dr Samuel Hayden


	28. Chapter 27: Too angry to die Pt 2

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 27: Too angry to die (Part 2)**

**Inspiration: DOOM Eternal**

"Alright, welcome back, we're continuing the previous viewing so sit back relax and I'll get this started right away." Blank said as his audience took their place. the lights dimmed and the screen came to life immediately after.

"**Dr Ironwood is just across the complex. This industrial complex was once the headquarters of the resistance." Penny said as Jaune exited the portal, finding himself in yet another ruin. Jaune exhaled softly before shaking his head, so much for the demons not reaching this place.**

**Rubble strewn all over the place and sections of the wall had already crumbled away. The place was a mess, but the holo projectors still worked evidently. "Good news for the faithful, the deceiver James Ironwood has fallen, the ARC is no more."**

**Jaune was becoming really tired of the UAC spokeswoman, but if her words held any truth to them this time, it didn't exactly bode well for his mission. Ah well, he'd find out the truth of the matter for himself. The Doomslayer shrugged and jumped down an elevator shaft, busting through the roof of the elevator and kick starting it on its descent.**

"That's one way to catch a ride." Blake muttered.

"So what happened to Jimmy, or was blue lady lying?" Qrow asked.

"As I said before, he tried fighting fire with fire and it didn't go as planned and he's not in the best of shapes at the moment." Blank said.

"But, he definitely had contingencies in place." Blank added as an afterthought.

**As soon as the doors opened, he was immediately greeted with a wave of plasma fire when the demons rolled out the red carpet for him. Cracking his neck, the Doom Slayer got to work, blowing away the nearest demons with the super shotgun and sniping the rest with the heavy cannon.**

**Pushing through the abandoned complex, more and more demons surged towards him in a vain attempt to halt his rampage. Mancubi, hell knights, revenants, one by one they came, and one by one they died. The tight corridors of the complex leaving them little to no room to dodge his grenades, flamethrower and ice bombs, making them easy pickings for the Doom Slayer.**

**Pushing down to the lower levels, two whiplashes arrived to challenge him. Setting one on fire and freezing the other in place. Jaune drew the Paingiver and fed them both a salvo of rockets each. The closest one was blown to pieces instantly while the other managed to survive. Jaune rectified the issue by bringing it to the ground and stomping its skull in.**

**Upon reaching the ground floor, the fighting spilled out onto the streets and intensified. Demons clamouring for the taste of prey flocked to him. They were rapidly dissuaded of that notion when the Doom Slayer reminded them just what roles they belonged in. Mobile turret deployed and unleashed burning hailstorms upon his hapless foes, tearing down rank and file demons and their elites alike. From the most powerful dread knight to the lowliest of possessed zombies, Jaune didn't discriminate and baptised them all with pure firepower.**

"That's a lot of firepower, but bullet efficiency is debatable, more so than the three-barrel version." Roman said.

"Who cares, he can make more ammo come out from demons by chainsawing them. They're like piñatas with all the goodies inside. I still wish we could do that with Grimm." Nora replied, wishing dearly that she could get more ammo by blowing apart Grimm or smashing them with her hammer.

"Eh, I suppose if you have infinite ammo than efficiency doesn't really matter." Roman conceded.

**Eventually, the Doom Slayer ran out of things to kill in his immediate vicinity. His path to Ironwood's outpost however was blocked by several giant demonic tentacles. Shooting them to bits or tearing them apart with his bare hands could be done but it'd take too long, fortunately, Penny had a solution.**

"**Two peripheral turrets identified, calculating optimal firing path… confirmed. You can use both turrets to clear a path, I'll mark them for you." Penny helpfully set the nav point on Jaune's HUD, directing him towards the defence turrets still firing at airborne demons.**

**At that moment a pinky burst through the side of a building, roaring a challenge. An ice bomb froze it in place. A quick vault over via grappling hook and then a super shotgun blast to its back ended whatever dreams of victory it might have had.**

**Choosing to cut through the building on his way to the turrets, the Doom Slayer was met by the grotesque form of a cyber mancubus. Its obscene bulk hidden away behind a layer of cybernetic enhancements and armour, upgraded heavy cannons rumbled to life and pointed right at Jaune.**

**A new model from the one he fought back on Mars. This one boasted full armour protection and no longer had the exposed belly of the original. Sounded good in theory, but…**

**A single blood punch from Jaune destroyed the armour entirely, exposing its obese unarmoured form and stunning it in place. Clambering up the tub of lard, the Doom Slayer extended his trusty Doom Blade and stabbed it straight into the cyber mancubus's skull, killing it instantly.**

"Armour doesn't do much against him, does it." Mercury commented.

"Indeed, it's more of a speedbump than any real obstacle." Blank answered.

"Why go through so much effort to improve these demons if they all end up equally unimpressive." Cinder asked.

"As with the Hunter, the upgrades make them effective killing machines against the normal opposition demons would run up against. Cyber mancubi can soak up a lot of bullets from regular humans and their weapons would shred through nearly everything. It just doesn't work against the Doom Slayer, because he's the Doom Slayer." Blank replied.

"Too bad he's the one to beat then." Qrow muttered.

**Jaune took a step back as a hell knight slugged him in the jaw. As the demon roared in triumph, the Doom Slayer adjusted his helmet and rubbed it a bit before retaliating. A burst of flames ignited the demon and turned its triumphant roars into agonised bellowing. Letting the demon burn for a few seconds, Jaune put it out of its misery by attaching several sticky bombs to its face and reducing it to chunky salsa.**

**The entire city block had been cleared out of demons and now on to the next. A plane had crashed through the neighbouring building and somehow become stuck in the structure without taking the whole thing down. The puncture wound made for an easy entrance into the building so Jaune wasn't complaining, the poor souls lost in the crash would be avenged shortly.**

**Mancubi and gargoyles teleported inside the damaged plane's cargo hold as soon as Jaune climbed into it. Raining fire down upon the Doom Slayer in an effort to dislodge him with the uneven footing and send him spiralling into the infinite.**

**Tanking several fireballs to the face while securing his footing, Jaune readied his equipment launcher for payback. After lobbing grenades over the demons' heads, gravity did the rest of the work. The explosive ordinance fell backwards into the throng of demons cowering behind the mancubi's bulk and the rain of fire rapidly transitioned to a rain of bloody semi-charred chunks of flesh.**

**Pressing on into the building, more possessed soldiers and mancubi rushed him with cyborg carcasses in the back. Soldiers opened fire with their weapons, trying to push him into zones filled with napalm courtesy of the mancubi. All the while the carcasses continued putting up barriers to prevent a retaliatory strike or just to impede Jaune's movements.**

**Whatever pain those attacks should have caused were nothing more than a minor annoyance as Jaune simply shut out the incoming damage with his anger. Revving up the chainsaw, he blitzed the soldiers and chopped them all down to size. When only the mancubi were left, the paingiver came out to play, feeding the obese demons a healthy serving of high explosive munitions.**

**A fine red haze descended upon the Doom Slayer as he tore apart everything around him in a frenzy to rid the world of demon scum. Blood punches annihilated anything stupid enough to come close and when the carcasses' shields got annoying, the chain gun mobile turret ripped through them like wet cardboard.**

**And when the annoying, teleport spamming prowler finally came close, Jaune dashed past and shotgunned it in the back of its head. Grabbing the stunned demon, he simply ripped the head off along with half its spine before tossing the grisly trophy away.**

"Messy, but effective. Ya know, his moves ain't all that flashy but damn if they don't work." Roman muttered in an impressed tone.

"Who's he supposed to be showing off to though? The demons?" Qrow asked.

"Fair point." The master thief conceded with a nod.

"It's like the only questions running through his head are how do I kill the demons, followed by how do I kill them faster." Torchwick added after a moment's thought.

"Not too inaccurate a statement." Blank said.

**Jaune pressed the switch to call the elevator to take him down to the lower levels. As the lift rumbled to life, its vibrations must have pushed the already heavily abused superstructure to its limits. The floor under the Doom Slayer crumbled instantly, dropping him down through several floors and straight into a horde of demons, none of whom looked happy to see him.**

"Hehehe… going down." Yang chuckled to herself and drew out a bunch of groans from her team.

**Guns were nice, but there was something visceral and oh so satisfying about punching your enemies hard enough to explode them. The Doom Slayer lowered his fists as the berserker rage faded with the cyber mancubus's corpse falling away.**

**If it could even be called a corpse anymore with just the tattered remains of a spine attached to what was just barely recognizable as the demon's legs.**

**Leaving the lobby full of body parts behind, the fighting spilled out into the streets again as the Slayer exited the building. Plasma fire scorched the pavement as Jaune bounded around the place, propelled by jumpjets and his grappling hook.**

**Ice bombs and flame belches wreaked untold havoc on the demonic tide and Jaune deployed the mobile turret with extreme prejudice. The sound of flesh and bone being sundered by hundreds of rounds of ammunition was like a lullaby but eventually, the Doom Slayer ran out of things to kill and the turret wound down.**

**With the streets running red with demon blood, Jaune was free to make his way to the turret control centre and take command manually. Soft whirring filled the control room as the anti-air cannons shifted away from their initial targeting vectors to line up with the tentacle blocking his way.**

**Jaune squeezed the trigger and promptly blew the tentacle apart, clearing part of the blockage. He would shoot the other one as well but the turret couldn't get a good enough angle on it, he'd still need to head to the other one and clear the obstruction there.**

**At least the path forwards was clear cut now, no more jumping from one building to another, just clearing out the abandoned base until he got to the other side. Piece of cake.**

"Just a question, have the demons ever considered invading any other world where the Doom Slayer isn't at?" Emerald asked.

"They have, multiple worlds fell to them during the Slayer's entombment. Earth just happens to be their next target, they've already invested too much to just give at this point and they're hoping they'll win before the Slayer completely shuts down their operations." Blank answered.

"Too bad for them that's not happening." Qrow muttered.

"**Dr Ironwood's office laboratory is located at the top of this facility." Penny said helpfully as the elevator ascended. Unlike the overrun city and military complex beyond, this section of the base remained undefiled by demonic taint.**

**As blast doors unsealed, Jaune was greeted with the sight of the first living humans he'd seen in… the first living humans he'd seen in a very, very long time.**

**One of the scientists present took a startled step back before rushing over to him. "M…m, my god… um… D… D… Dr Ironwood was convinced… um… that you would come here for this… eventually."**

**Jaune ignored the man and continued walking forwards, his attention fixed solely on the object suspended in the air by a stasis field. Plucking it out with one hand, he affixed the demonic artefact to his waist without hesitation. There was no way in hell he was leaving the crucible here for anyone to misuse, human or demon.**

"**Uh… can I just say that it is an honour, for me, personally, to meet you? I… oop!" The scientist cut himself off when he stumbled against the railing when Jaune walked past, too caught up in the moment of meeting a living legend to watch where he was going.**

"That's quite a bit of hero worship right there." Ozpin said.

"Some of them are afraid of him too, why is that?" Goodwitch asked.

"Same reason for both of them. The Doom Slayer is the single greatest killing machine on the planet at the moment, if the demons don't stand a chance against him, what hope does a normal human have." Blank answered.

"But Jaune's there to help them." Ruby protested.

"People don't always act rationally Ruby. That's just part of being human." Summer said.

"But… but…" Ruby sputtered.

"It doesn't matter to the Doom Slayer either way, he just wants the total extinction of the demon races, public opinion doesn't matter to him. At the very least, these ones aren't trying to worship him." Blank answered.

"Worship?" Cinder raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yes. He's done the impossible so many times now even scientists have given up trying to come up with a scientific explanation for his abilities and have written him off as an avenging god." Blank said.

**An air of panic surrounded the laboratory as scientists hurried from place to place, all the while warnings blared that demons were about to overrun the entire place. Jaune found his target and his mouth set in a thin line as he approached a stasis chamber of sorts.**

**James Ironwood, or what was left of him hung limply there with several cables connected to him. Only his upper torso remained, ending in his severed mechanical spine, the rest of his body a casualty of the war against the demons.**

"**We, ah… don't know how to access his main cortex, it's all… alien, and we couldn't figure it out." The first scientist that greeted Jaune explained in a nervous tone, the Doom Slayer glanced at him for an instant before looking back to Ironwood's mangled frame.**

"**We have to, ah, prepare for his careful extraction and we were given specific orders-" The scientist said but Jaune had already tuned the man out. Alien was one way of putting it, and as to leaving specific orders pertaining to the Doom Slayer's arrival…**

**Grabbing Ironwood's shoulder, Jaune ripped the cyborg free from the cables and let it fall to the ground in a shower of sparks. Ironwood really shouldn't have bothered, it wasn't as though the doctor was unfamiliar with the Doom Slayer's record with following his orders.**

"Okay… was not expecting that." Ren said, eyes wide at Jaune's casual removal of Ironwood from what was most likely his life support systems.

"Woah, woah, woah, wait a minute, I thought he was trying to get Jimmy to help him. Since he's ah… only half present, what happens now, and did he just kill off ol tinman?" Qrow asked.

"The James Ironwood of this universe is… complicated to say the least. Again, he's more than he appears to be." Blank answered but said no more on the subject.

"**His life signal is barely readable." Penny said after scanning the broken cyborg. Jaune shrugged, barely readable was still readable, as long as he wasn't dead, they could handle the rest back on the Fortress of Doom.**

**The facility began to rumble as local spacetime began to distort. Alarms began blaring as a new warning played over the intercoms. "WARNING. Demonic presence threat level five entering main laboratory."**

**A hellish crimson portal opened up in the middle of the room as the demons finally got tired of trying to batter down the defences from outside and elected to send their own elites straight into the heart of the human defences.**

"**Opening the portal now." Penny's voice came through as she managed to get a hook onto his coordinates despite the rising demonic corruption. The Doom Slayer didn't move, simply pursing his lips into a thin line as a familiar figure stepped out of the red portal.**

**A horned humanoid, wearing armour not to dissimilar to Jaune's own and bearing the emblem of the Night Sentinels. A deactivated energy axe in hand and a shotgun holstered to its back. Oh, Jaune recognised the 'demon' before him alright, tossing Ironwood's immobile torso through the portal leading back to the Fortress of Doom, he began walking towards the advancing demon as well.**

"**You were never one of us. You were nothing but a usurper." The demon accused in a gravely tone as its energy axe activated, the red blade scraping along the ground and effortlessly carving a line in it. Jaune said nothing, he no longer had anything to prove to anyone, least of all a demon, even if there was a time when he would have called that demon brother.**

"**A false idol. My eyes have been opened. Let me help you to see Slayer." The Marauder finished as the remaining humans swiftly evacuated the area, leaving the two of them to square off in peace.**

"Eyes opened? Does it even have eyelids anymore?" Emerald muttered as the Marauder's glowing red orbs burned in the dim lighting. She wasn't even sure if those crimson lights were eyeballs at all.

"It can speak!? What kind of demon is that!? A-and why is it wearing the Doom Slayer's symbol?" Weiss fired off a series of questions rapidly.

"That's a Marauder, a former Night Sentinel." Blank said.

"Former?" Yang asked.

"As I said before, when the truth of the Khan Maykr was revealed, there was a division in the Sentinel ranks. Some chose to stand with the Doom Slayer, others remained loyal to the Khan Maykr. Marauders are Sentinels who sided against the Doom Slayer and fell in battle against his faction, instead of being allowed to rest in peace however, they were reanimated, 'upgraded' into the demons you see today." Blank answered.

"Oh, so he's spoiling for a rematch." Mercury muttered.

"In essence. The Marauders have a major grudge against the Doom Slayer for being directly or indirectly responsible for their first deaths. Jaune Arc on the other hand really couldn't care less about the Sentinels who refused to stand with him, but those who actively fought to uphold the Khan Maykr's will and became corrupted into this mockery of the Sentinels… he will not suffer their insult to stand." Blank replied.

**The battle between the Marauder and the Doom Slayer was almost symmetrical, both dashing around the place dodging shots and retaliating with their own attacks. Shotguns blasting at one another while each combatant tried to find an opening.**

**The Marauder didn't come without surprises of its own however. A scarlet energy shield spawned into existence, blocking the Doom Slayer's shots and a golden spectral hound emerged to harass Jaune. Taking the unexpected shift in stride, the Doom Slayer weathered the counter attack before switching up his tactics.**

**Stowing the super shotgun, he switched to the regular combat shotgun and began dropping sticky bombs everywhere around the Marauders feet as well as throwing several grenades into the mix. If the Marauder wanted to turtle behind its shield that was fine, he'd just hit it with indirect fire and fill the area with enough explosions that there was no safe place to dodge to.**

**When the Marauder was staggered by the explosions, Jaune proceeded to shoot him in the face with the super shotgun repeatedly, blowing chunks of its armour off. The pale imitation of the praetor suit stood no chance against the Doom Slayer's weapons.**

"**Grarhagh!" The Marauder roared and struggled back to its feet, pushing past the pain of having its organs shredded by buckshot. It swung its energy axe and launched several energy waves towards the Doom Slayer before dashing forwards to try and land a clean blow to the neck.**

**Jaune dashed away again, leaving the axe to cleave nothing but air. Flame belch ignited the Marauder and as it flailed its limbs, he dropped another grenade at its feet. Several imps were still throwing fireballs at him but Jaune simply ignored their pitiful attacks.**

**Those demons would get chainsawed if they got too close, but his sole priority at the moment was dealing with the treacherous swine unfit to even look upon the mark of the Night Sentinels, let alone wear it.**

**Finally, the Marauder couldn't take anymore punishment. It staggered backwards with most of its armour gone and the entire front of its chest ripped away by gunfire, exposing its ribs and leaking crimson.**

**Dashing forwards, Jaune rammed his boot into the Marauders knee, snapping it and forcing the leg to bend backwards. Reaching out and grabbing its infernal axe, the Doom Slayer ripped it free from its grip and raised the weapon overhead. The Marauder had a split second to look up into the face of its executioner before the crimson edge came down and decapitated it.**

**Jaune tossed away the axe as the Marauder's corpse slumped over in death. Once again, he had to kill something he already killed in the past. As Penny opened up a new portal with the demonic corruption diminishing, Jaune strode towards it without a backwards glance.**

**Demons weren't very bright, but sooner or later even they had to learn the lesson that resurrecting things he already murderised for round two wouldn't change the outcome. Oh well, at least the universe was free of another corrupt Sentinel.**

"So much for killing the Slayer. That Marauder… he looked he still had his mind intact, did he truly believe he could win?" Cinder asked.

"Yes. Old prejudices are hard to put down. All the Marauder recalls is that Jaune Arc wasn't always a Sentinel and was once just a man, the rest of his deeds just can't register." Blank said.

"Foolish." Cinder muttered and rolled her eyes.

Roman glared at Cinder momentarily before shaking his head, there was time to insult Cinder over her inability to see her own demise coming later. "Once just a man? Him? How?"

"The Doom Slayer was completely human once, oh not your average Joe for sure, but human to the core. Suffice to say, that changed along the way and he became the nigh unstoppable juggernaut he is today." Blank answered.

**Jaune tossed Ironwood's battered form into a stasis field on the Fortress of Doom. Energy flared and lightning sparked off the mechanical frame as the Fortress's systems interfaced with the cyborg's remains.**

**Jaune watched as the electrical pulses travelled through the walls, spreading through the fortress. Penny spoke up again to inform him of what the good doctor was doing. "Dr Ironwood is transferring himself into your ship's mainframe. The architecture is similar to his own. this will-"**

**A small whine came from the now empty robot as Jaune looked back to it. Instead of it speaking however, Ironwood's voice reverberated through the entire Fortress of Doom, coming from everywhere at once and echoing right into Jaune's mind.**

"**The final priest is hiding in Sentinel Prime."**

"Whoa… how'd he do that? He's speaking from everything… I wanna know how to do that." Nora whispered loudly.

"James can… transfer himself into the ship? But… I thought he was a cyborg who still had a human brain and not an AI. And what does it mean the Fortress's architecture is similar to his own?" Ozpin frowned in confusion.

"As I said, James Ironwood is not what he appears to be." Blank said but didn't elaborate more on the subject.

"Yeah… and he already knows they're searching for the final priest too." Qrow muttered.

"**The Khan Maykr does not want him to be easily found. The only functional slip-gate to Sentinel Prime is in the core of Mars. In the lost city of Hebeth." Ironwood said as Jaune returned to the main controls, a hologram of the red planet already being displayed.**

"**I have marked its location for you but getting there will take time. There is no easy way to access the core of Mars."**

"**There are no known ways that lead there, Dr Ironwood." Penny said. Throughout their time spent colonising Mars, Hebeth had always been out of their reach, only detectable by scanners but with it situated at the centre of the planet, getting there was easier said than done.**

**Jaune paid the two of them no mind as he accessed a console, bringing up data on human defence installations in the area. Scrolling through multiple files until he came across the one he sought, a simple display of a massive gun emplacement.**

"Oooh… big… gun." Nora and Ruby said together in awe.

"Okay? How does that big ass gun help them get to that Hebet or whatever?" Mercury asked.

"Heheheheh." Blank chuckled.

"Fine, keep your secrets." Came Mercury's annoyed follow up.

"**The BFG-10,0000 designed by Dr James Ironwood as part of the anti-demonic defence grid." The computer read out before showing its location on Phobos.**

"**I understand. Searching the coordinates to the BFG 10,000 now." Penny instantly saw where he was going with it and began setting the teleporters next destination.**

**Ironwood was speechless for a moment before he found his voice. Making sure to speak slowly and enunciate every word clearly to try to get the point across. "You can't just shoot a hole into the surface of Mars…"**

**Unfortunately for him, Penny's next words instantly undercut him. "The portal is ready."**

**The Doom Slayer simply grinned and hit the activation switch before walking towards the Portal. How long would it take before the good doctor realised that telling him not to do something only served as greater encouragement to do exactly that.**

**Current objective: Shoot a hole in Mars**

"He's… not seriously going to shoot a hole into an entire planet… is he?" Summer asked.

"If shooting a hole into the planet gets him to that last Priest faster… he probably will." Taiyang answered.

"Also, Jimmy told him not to do it. Hmm, actually, has there been a single time when he actually followed tinman's instructions to not do something?" Qrow wondered aloud.

"There was the… no wait Jaune destroyed the filters. He um… saved Penny? No… Dr Ironwood didn't ask him to do anything about that. Uh… I got nothing." Ruby shrugged her shoulders as she drew a complete blank on recalling any event where Jaune actually followed instructions to not do something.

"**Hostiles! Approaching the BFG 10,000!" A panicked voice reached Jaune's ears as the Slayer emerged from the portal and stepped through a blast door. The tension was running high in the command centre as the demons had renewed their assault on the base.**

**Through the windows, the Slayer could see the BFG 10,000 in the distance, multiple cacodemons were swarming towards it, making ready to take down one of the lynchpins of the anti-demon defence grid.**

"**Oh my god it's him." A lone scientist gasped out as he took several steps away from the Doom Slayer upon noticing Jaune. Several of the scientists who heard his exclamation turned to look as well and fell back in, awe, reverence and a hint of fear on their faces.**

"**They've overrun the lower levels!" One of the scientists who hadn't noticed the Doom Slayer's arrival shouted out.**

"**Corporate says we should let them through!" Another replied, the panic and sheer hopelessness in his voice was palpable although he too fell silent when he noticed Jaune's approach.**

"**What!? WHY!?" The first scientist asked and spun around on his swivel chair, freezing in place when he saw Jaune approaching him in particular. The man backed away slowly, not daring to rise from his seat lest he give offense somehow.**

**The scientist sucked in a deep breath as his limbs locked up when Jaune reached out for the key card around his neck. A small strangled gasp left the man as Jaune grabbed the card and dragged it towards the console, without bothering to lift it from the man's neck first.**

**A small beep and the blast doors leading outside the command centre unlocked. The Doom Slayer released the card and left the beleaguered scientist to his own devices, no longer needing anything from him.**

"…That's one way to get what you want." Roman gave a small round of applause at the Doom Slayer's sheer nonchalance.

"Would it have killed him to ask nicely?" Goodwitch huffed in exasperation.

"Asking really isn't his strong suit." Qrow replied.

"But compared to how he normally handles things, this is pretty gentle." Taiyang said.

**Two guards were guarding the command centre's exit and one immediately moved to challenge the Doom Slayer upon noticing him. "Hey! Who are you!? You can't be… here…"**

**The guard trailed off into silence as Jaune's identity dawned on him. His buddy lowered his plasma rifle and stepped back instantly, leaving the first guard to look around for help that wasn't coming. Fortunately for him, the Slayer cared only for the plasma rifle in his hands.**

**Grabbing it and pulling it away to add to his arsenal, the guard let the gun go without any resistance and just watched as Jaune continued forwards, not a word spoken. The Doom Slayer ignored the audible sigh of relief and stepped into the elevator beyond, letting it carry him down to the lower levels where all the demons were currently swarming.**

"**The entrance to the BFG 10,000 is just across this facility." Penny said as the massive cannon in the distance fired off a beam of emerald light at an unseen target.**

"…**The power source of the BFG 10,000 should be of interest to you as well." Ironwood said, a note of resignation in his voice. If the Slayer was set on his path to commit vandalism on a planetary scale, the only thing he could do now was at least make sure it led to more effective demon killing.**

**As expected, demons rushed to greet him as soon as the doors of the elevator opened. A quick vent of the plasma rifle's heat sinks melted their flesh and locked them down, allowing for easy chainsaw clean up.**

**Fighting through the base itself was a grim affair though. Slotting more shells home into the super shotgun and blowing away several possessed zombies, Jaune launched two more grenades into their ranks, putting the remaining transformed humans out of their misery. Unlike the upper levels where human defenders were still putting up a good fight, most of the lower levels had been overrun completely, with the humans there either butchered or turned into more demons.**

**Nothing left to do but kill them all.**

"Is there a reason they don't just transform everyone? If everyone's a demon, hell wins by default doesn't it?" Emerald asked.

"There is actually. Directly turning a human into a demon is good for conquest, but ultimately goes against the main reason for that conquest." Blank answered.

"Ahg, this is about the demons using their victims as farms or something isn't it." Yang said.

"Indeed. You'll see what that's all about soon. It's dirty business." Blank said.

**The fireborne baron howled as it keeled over, burning blood leaking from the multiple wounds in its frame. Nearly all of its obsidian carapace had been shot off its body by a mix of the mobile turret and the paingiver.**

**Jaune grabbed the stronger cousin to the baron of hells by its horns and forced it down to the ground. Tugging its head forwards, Jaune extended the Doom Blade and slashed downwards, beheading the giant demon and ending its reign of terror.**

**Dropping the demon's head, the super shotgun snapped up and proceeded to put the hurt on the few remaining imps in the room with him.**

**Beyond the cramped corridors of the lower levels, Jaune found his exit to the base exterior. Again, there weren't any human defenders left to be seen, but automated turrets continued pouring fire into the skies to keep the airborne demons at bay. And every now and then, the almighty BFG 10,000 would fire, lighting everything up in an emerald flash.**

**Pain elementals, cyber mancubi and a full battalion worth of converted soldiers. There was even another one of Merlot's upgraded Agaddon Hunters in the mix. The Doom Slayer huffed in annoyance before doing his part to return the resurrected demon race to its extinct status and push the others along to the same.**

"**The entrance is locked, they know you're trying to get in." Ironwood said once the last demon had been reduced to a red mass of unidentifiable meat. A quick tap of the base systems had shown the demons had already breached several defence lines and had taken efforts to lock the place down behind them, keeping the Doom Slayer out.**

"**The schematics show a maintenance hatch on the bridge." Penny helpfully marked the position on Jaune's HUD and hacked into the base systems to raise it, granting Jaune an alternate path in.**

"They know he's trying to get in?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"It's a big gun, given Jaune's track record with guns and sudden appearance, they must have drawn the obvious conclusion." Blake replied.

"Fair enough." Weiss said.

"**I'm telling you! He's on his way! I need you to-aaahh!" the UAC operator was roughly shoved to the side as Jaune took his place at the console. Nice that the man was smart enough to know the BFG needed guarding, dumb of him to get in his way. The guards should be fighting the demons as opposed to trying to slow him down, it wasn't as though Jaune was going to misuse the BFG 10,000 or anything.**

**Taking the place of the previous gun operator, Penny set the control platform to rise, sending Jaune upwards and into the cannon itself. Jaune tilted the joystick, turning the gun emplacement away from its previous target and aligned the barrel with the red planet in the distance.**

**Behind his visor, Jaune grinned broadly and pressed the trigger. To his surprise, the BFG refused to fire. Red warning lights flashed along the barrel as the gun jammed. "WARNING! Mars surface targeted. Safety mechanism activated."**

**The computerised warning sounded off as Jaune squeezed the trigger several more times to no effect.**

"**Would you like me to disable the safety protocols?" Penny asked. Jaune's only reply was to squeeze the trigger rapidly several more times with increasing force, a low growl building up inside him. He had the biggest gun in the entire solar system! Now was the time for it to do the shooty thing…**

**And it was not doing the shooty thing!**

**Penny noticed his rising impatience and silently disabled the safeties on the BFG 10,000. As soon as the words 'system lock engaged' switched to 'system lock disengaged', Jaune squeezed the trigger again.**

**Emerald lightning flared along the barrel as the mighty superweapon roared to life. The beam of pure destructive power lanced towards the planet's surface in a blinding flash. It's impact was no less spectacular, the detonation was visible even from the Phobos base as an entire section of Mars simply ceased to be.**

"**The pod is set to self-destruct, we should move ahead." Penny informed Jaune. Despite her hacking ability, the safeguards built into the weapon specifically to prevent what Jaune just did from happening couldn't be stymied any further. Dr Ironwood had installed the self-destruct system long ago to ensure no one could use his super weapon against Mars or Earth.**

**It was just a shame of all the things he accurately predicted Jaune would do, this wasn't one of them.**

**Jaune nodded at Penny's words. Leaving was a good idea, the path to the centre of Mars was clear and he no longer had any business on this station. But before that…**

**Jaune ripped the trigger control off the BFG 10,000's power source. Tearing off the rest of the couplings and restraints, his already broad grin grew wider as he ripped the entire thing free, welcoming an old friend back to his hands.**

**The BFG 9000 was his once more.**

"He… he did it. He actually did it." Cinder stared at the screen flabbergasted. To blow up part of a planet not out of hate, rage or some grand master plan but just to cut a highway to hell for convenience… it was mind boggling and she couldn't even begin trying to wrap her head around it.

"Okay, so he has a path forwards, but he also disabled their biggest weapon against the demons? And he's going to leave now right? What happens to the humans left behind now?" Blake asked.

"The BFG 10,000 is no longer available to them but the station's other defences are still up. They will hold long enough for the base to finish evacuation efforts. There really wasn't an option to hold against the assault much longer anyways, the BFG is great against single large targets, not so much a horde of smaller demons that can scatter." Blank answered.

"It's still reckless as all hell. I love it!" Roman cheered, joining Nora in celebrating the sheer ballsiness of the Doom Slayer.

"It's the BFG… I want it, iwantitiwantitiwantit…" Ruby whispered over and over again as her favourite weapon from the Doom Slayer's first Martian escapade returned in all its glory.

**The path to Hebeth was open but since there was no access to it before, the Phobos base was a little short on methods of travel there. The best there was at the moment was a teleporter leading to another one of the UAC Mars's surface bases… the ones that hadn't been overrun or blown up by the BFG at any rate.**

**After that it was still a long way to the planet core. Too slow for the Doom Slayer, time for improvisation, and Jaune had always been good at that. Aside from taking the teleporter to the surface and then walking the rest of the way, there was still the fastest and most direct path.**

**He just needed to get across to another section of the base that had been cast adrift by the damage.**

"**Access to surface gun bridge granted. Manual loading initiated." The computer called out as Jaune took control of one of the anti-demon cannons, repurposing it for his own use.**

**Ironwood naturally took offense to this. "That is a weapon. _Not_ a teleporter."**

**The Doom Slayer rolled his eyes and headed for the exit. How hadn't the doctor learned yet? Telling him not to do something only served as encouragement.**

**As Jaune made the final adjustments to the cannon's systems at the gun itself, it was Penny's turn to caution against his choice. "The Ion Catapult is designed to use only approved UAC ammunition."**

**Jaune stared at the cannon ball that rose up from the auto loader. He kicked it off the perch without a moment's hesitation before taking its place.**

"Bullshit. There's no way he's going to do what I think he's going to do." Qrow said in disbelief.

"Again Qrow, you suck at making bets." Taiyang replied but the disbelief on his face mirrored Qrow's own.

**Jaune grabbed hold of makeshift handholds and braced himself. Seeing his resolution, Penny didn't bother arguing any further and simply hacked in to force the gun to load its 'bullet'. "Override loading sequence fire…"**

**The Ion Catapult shifted and aimed directly at Jaune's destination and Penny began the countdown. "In 3… 2… 1…"**

**The cannon fired and there was a brief moment of incredible acceleration as Jaune was shot across the void. Liberated from gravity, he was a glowing green blur as his flight came to an end and he slammed straight into a wall and bust through it.**

**Smashing through multiple walls helped bleed off the excess momentum and the Doom Slayer landed on his feet. As expected, there were some transformed humans inside, shrugging his shoulders and drawing his weapons, gunfire rang through the air shortly after.**

Roman, Nora and Yang raised '10' score cards into the air.

"I've heard of the human cannon ball trick being done in circuses. But I don't think this is what they had in mind." Goodwitch murmured.

"He isn't even hurt by it." Ren said.

"Something like that really sells the image of him being invincible." Pyrrha added.

"Not to mention unstoppable. With something like this, you can see how it took the demons dropping an entire mountain on him to even slow him down." Blake chimed in.

**After an extended island hopping campaign navigating the floating debris, the Slayer arrived at his destination. A hangar filled with escape pods he could use to fly all the way into Mars' core.**

"**I'm charting a flight path to Mars. Calculating thrust vectors. Launching in 3… 2… 1…" Penny said as the escape pod launched into space. Jaune settled in and got comfortable while Penny drove the craft. Countless asteroids and other floating debris passed by harmlessly and the gaping hole in the surface of Mars was visible, as was the swirling energies released by the BFG 10,000 impact.**

"**Prepare for turbulence." Penny warned as the craft began to rock. Jaune didn't mind it though, something like turbulence barely registered as a discomfort compared to what he normally dealt with.**

**The rest of the journey to core was shorter than expected and while Penny wasn't able to drop him right on top of the portal, she did a remarkable job getting him close. Exiting the escape pod, the Doom Slayer was greeted with the sight of ruins clearly bearing Sentinel influence.**

"**The lost city of Hebeth, this was before your time with the Sentinels. The slipgate will take you to Sentinel Prime where the priest is hiding." Ironwood informed him, once again bringing up information no human should have known, no amount of research would have given him that insight. Jaune wondered exactly how much longer would he continue to play dumb, it wasn't like he was fooling either of them with his charade.**

**But, that was Ironwood's business. For now, there was a slipgate to reach and a priest to execute. Gravel crunched underfoot as Jaune made his way deeper into the city that was now seeing the light of day for the first time in eternity.**

"Again with being all mysterious. Exactly what is up with Jimmy?" Qrow asked.

"Quite a lot. His past is murky, but he isn't 100% human, even discounting his robotic parts." Blank said.

**Upon putting the Agaddon Hunter race another step closer to re-extinction, there was no longer any opposition waiting for him. The Khan Maykr had nothing left to throw at him for the moment and he was free to enter the portal.**

**As soon as Jaune stepped through, he found himself in a hallway he'd traversed countless times before. Multiple Night Sentinels lined the path and snapped to attention as soon as he drew close. Despite his conflict against the Khan Maykr, on Sentinel Prime, he still held sovereignty, and whatever the thoughts of the Night Sentinels who refused to stand with him, his authority was to be respected as per the code.**

**A single member of the Maykr race was waiting for him at the end, greeting him in a faux cheerful tone. For the time being, there would be no violence in this place. "Welcome home, great Slayer."**

"That's his home?" Pyrrha asked.

"For a time it was, then came the split." Blank answered.

"I thought the Night Sentinels were hostile, like that Marauder guy. They don't look very hostile right now." Mercury said.

"The Doom Slayer is still king of the Night Sentinels. Because of their culture, they owe him respect even if he cannot command them to fight the Khan Maykr." Blank said.

"Some king." Cinder sneered in derision. If you couldn't command obedience from your subjects, what sort of king did that make you?

"Ah, look at it this way. If Salem ordered you to go fight against an actual god one day, would you obey that order?" Blank's questioned silenced Cinder instantly.

By the side, Ozpin gave a small cough, considering how Remnant's history had been shaped by that very choice, he really couldn't fault the Night Sentinels for choosing to stay out of the conflict.

"He's… king of them… but he's been sealed away for a long time right? And before that he was already sort of their enemy? Why didn't they just get a new king?" Emerald changed the subject upon noticing the frown on Cinder's face.

"They can't. Sentinel culture is deeply rooted in tradition and ritual, chief among them being the age old 'might makes right'. The Doom Slayer won the crown by simply being the single greatest warrior they had ever seen, and even in his absence, there existed no Sentinel who could take the crown from him. None of their feats even came close. As such, the Night Sentinel throne has remained empty for a long time." Blank explained.

"Yeah! Ass kicking equals authority! Go fearless leader!" Nora cheered.

**As the elevator descended, taking the Doom Slayer towards the arena. Jaune allowed his mind to drift back to the distant past, the place hadn't changed in eons and it took him back.**

**A younger Jaune Arc hung limply, only held up by the firm grip of the Night Sentinels who discovered him. His vision blurred and fading in and out, a yellow haze coated everything and he felt sick to the core. Covered in wounds and wearing armour that could scarcely be called armour anymore, he was dead on his feet, kept alive only by a sheer refusal to give in.**

"**We found him in the valley just outside the castle walls. He was badly wounded and wearing this." One of the accompanying Night Sentinels reported to the priests, handing them a battered old helmet that had clearly been through a lot. Merlot grabbed it and inspected the helmet, not at all impressed with the low-tech relic.**

"**Guts… huge guts! Kill them… must kill them ALL!" Jaune spoke slowly, unsurely, as his tongue worked to form words he hadn't spoken in a long time. His twitching fingers curled up before he formed them into fists, the berserker rage that had powered him for so long slipping back in again, pulling him in with its siren song.**

"**He has fight in him yet." Merlot said to Watts.**

"**In spite of his injuries." Watts concurred.**

"**Send him to the arena. Let him be judged like the others." Merlot decided at last, returning the helmet to the Night Sentinel who presented it to him. Dismissing them with a wave, the two Night Sentinels carrying Jaune began dragging him out of the chamber as well.**

**As the memory faded away, Jaune shook his head to clear his mind and continued forwards. Tyrian was waiting, best not keep the priest from his destiny any longer.**

"He speaks!?" Weiss exclaimed.

"He's injured? But… but I thought he's invincible." Pyrrha added.

"That was from the very distant past. From a time when the Doom Slayer was still completely human. No incredible armour, no super strength, speed or durability, no aura or semblance. Just a human at peak physical conditioning." Blank said.

"He was fighting the demons even then?" Ren asked.

"Yes. He'd already fought and crushed the forces of hell multiple times by then, going above and beyond what should be humanly possible. At the end of one demon incident, he chose to stay behind in hell, seal the portal from the other side and continue his campaign, preventing another demonic invasion." Blank answered.

"Damn, he beat the demons as a normal human… but I guess he couldn't keep winning." Roman muttered.

"Indeed. The endless battles took their toll and eventually he was worn down. No human can fight forever without cracking. Instead of dying in a last stand though, he wandered through a portal and ended up at Sentinel Prime where the Night Sentinels picked him up." Blank said.

"So what did they do to him?" Ruby followed up.

"They sent him to the arena to fight… as a gladiator."

"WHAT!?" Came the simultaneous yells from the Beacon students.

"Argenta culture isn't very welcoming. Strength is the only thing they respect, outsiders that cannot prove their right to exist on the battlefield have no worth to them and will be left to rot." Blank said.

"Tch, I can think of one person who'd fit in right at home then." Qrow muttered darkly as he recalled his absent sister.

"**If you let the priest live then I will return to you what the demons took from you so long ago. You need only turn back and it will be yours again. All the pain you carry will be gone." The Khan Maykr's projection pleaded with Jaune to abandon his quest and leave his crusade.**

**The Doom Slayer glared at the projection as it faded away. A sign of the Khan Maykr's desperation, no doubt she wasn't expecting he'd find a way to return to Sentinel Prime.**

**But it was too damned late for empty promises now. The wages of treachery were suffering, he'd seen what became of Hazel, knew of what foul fate befell Gretchen. Hazel… paid his due, now it was Tyrian's turn and then Salem's.**

**To offer him what he lost so long ago? The Khan Maykr was blinder than she realised, a single rabbit's foot weighed heavily on Jaune, its presence behind the layers of his armour always felt. What was lost, was lost for good, his crusade would only end when all of hell was empty of life.**

"A rabbit's foot? For luck? Didn't think he'd be the superstitious kind." Roman commented.

"Not for luck, it certainly wasn't lucky for its original owner. It belonged to his pet Daisy before she was killed by the demons. Now he keeps it with him as a reminder of everything the demons have destroyed, of what they will continue to do if they aren't stopped." Blank said.

"Oh." Roman said quietly.

"**I cannot stand by and watch as you put our futures at risk. Earth will be consumed and the energy will continue to flow. It is your people's survival… against mine." Salem's hologram faded away as Jaune continued to move through the city streets.**

**On that point the Doom Slayer agreed with her one hundred percent. However the Khan Maykr tried to spin it, however 'necessary' she thought the destruction of Earth was, at its core it was simply one race acting in its own self-interest.**

**Jaune was many things, blind to faults of his own race wasn't one of them. He knew just as well as Salem that if things were reversed, humans would have absolutely no qualms about sacrificing the Maykrs for their own prosperity. As the UAC high command proved, they were already willing to sell out their own, species loyalty be damned.**

**But, things were the way they were. He wouldn't begrudge the Maykrs for trying to find a way to keep their kind from extinction. All he asked was they not get too pissy when he returned the favour and erased them so humanity and countless other species could go on.**

**Passing by cell blocks holding captured demons for the arena matches, Jaune's face scrunched up in distaste. So the gladiator games were now pitting demons against captives for slaughter. There was no honourable test of strength here, just a slaughter… and a crowd that ate it all up.**

**One of the most sacred Argenta traditions had been reduced to blood sport. Jaune hazarded a guess that anyone who objected got to make their case in the ring themselves.**

**Well, that ended today. Two Night Sentinels on duty snapped to attention as Jaune strode past, heavy iron portcullis rising to admit him. In his absence, they sought to push a demon as the new pinnacle of strength in the arena? No more.**

**The king had returned. And he would permit no jester to sit his throne.**

"Good… just a bit more and that scorpion gets what's coming to him." Cinder folded her arms in impatience, eager to watch Tyrian die.

"What's the difference between the current system and the old one? It's still blood sport either way isn't it?" Pyrrha asked, still unhappy about the Hell Priests throwing Jaune into gladiator matches on a whim.

"In the beginning, the arena was a proving ground of sorts. It allowed criminals, outsiders, anyone at all really, to prove their worth in a way that cannot be denied. Success in the arena can lead to membership among the Sentinels, a highly coveted position in a culture that values strength. Defeat didn't mean death either. But that changed after Hell's corruption set in, matches were to the death, and against the demons, there was no chance of victory. A complete mockery of the old system where anyone could prove themselves." Blank said.

"I… see…" Pyrrha nodded and fell silent, still not entirely satisfied with the answer.

**A younger Jaune Arc gripped the arm flying towards his face, locking his exhausted opponent in place. With his other hand, he slammed a closed fist into the man's jaw, breaking it and causing blood to spray.**

**His opponent went down immediately and didn't rise again. Jaune glared at everything, the fine yellow haze still clouding his vision as the rage burned hot. All around him, vanquished foes lay scattered, some unconscious, some trying and failing to rise to their feet again.**

"**Rip! And… TEAR!" Jaune growled out and staggered in place, waiting for someone, anyone to challenge him, so he had an outlet to bleed off the anger.**

"**Hehehe… you'll make a fine addition to the front lines, stranger." Tyrian said, greeting Jaune's overwhelming victory with a smile.**

"**The demons! They are… everywhere! Must… kill them all!" Jaune barely even registered Tyrian's words. His mind was still clouded, pain, anger, hate, and a deep-seated exhaustion in his soul, it made for one messed up mental state.**

"**Dress his wounds and bring him to us. I want to know more about the others he speaks of." Salem had arrived while Jaune wasn't paying attention and relayed her instructions to her loyal priest.**

"**Yes, your grace." Tyrian bowed low in reverence as he obeyed her will.**

**The memory faded away and Jaune was left staring at the present-day Tyrian Callows. Argenta didn't age the same way humans did, they could go eons without any visible change. But Tyrian? The man looked old, withered. Servitude to the Khan Maykr and hell had done him no favours.**

"Hmm, that sort of speech pattern… how long has he been fighting the demons exactly?" Ozpin asked. That sort of halting speech he'd heard before… gone through the same himself in a number of lives too.

It reminded him of huntsmen who'd spent too long fighting the Grimm alone without any friendly human contact. The solitude and the nigh endless battles, it did things to the mind, unhealthy things. It was one of the reasons why he'd pushed for huntsmen teams when the academies were founded and huntsmen became and official thing. No one should have to go through hell alone.

"Too long." Was Blank's only answer. Ozpin sighed and closed his eyes.

"**If Sentinel holy blood is spilled on these grounds, you will lose all sovereignty here." Tyrian's mocking call grated on Jaune's nerves. Sentinel holy blood? They had been everything _but_** **holy for a very long time now, and after the slaughter of who knows how many innocents in the arena, he dared chastise him?**

**Jaune's fist clenched tight in fury before they relaxed. Now was not the time to explode in uncontrollable rage, Tyrian was cocky, clearly believing in the strength of his guardian like Watts and Merlot before him. No doubt he'd send out whatever beast it was to face him in the arena, then his fate would be sealed.**

"**Calommus V Turna!" Tyrian slammed his staff into the floor, releasing a blue energy wave that shook the entire colosseum. He offered Jaune one last mad smile before he was teleported away in a flash of gold light.**

**Behind another portcullis, the red glow of infernal flames flared to life. As the heavy iron barricade lifted and the demon stepped forwards, Jaune could make out the skull shape on the shield. The demonic gladiator roared a defiant challenge and raised its flail in the other hand, slamming it down on the ground several times with terrifying force.**

**Several more imps and fodder demons began entering the arena too, seeking to overwhelm the Slayer with their numbers, or at the very least have their deaths serve as a useful distraction for the gladiator.**

**The super shotgun snapped up to answer their challenge, blowing away several imps when they got close. Those tenacious enough to survive the first shot got a Doom Blade to the face for their efforts, their deaths feeding Jaune the power to continue fighting. Nothing but annoying fodder in the end.**

**The gladiator on the other hand, proved to be slightly more troublesome. It may have been employed primarily to kill hopelessly outmatched prisoners on the regular, but it did actually have skills of its own. Probably honed against other Night Sentinels who showed signs of dissension.**

**The gladiator's roar of triumph rose above the cacophony as its flail slammed into the Doom Slayer and sent him stumbling back. Stamping its feet and kicking up a cloud of dust, it went back to turtling behind its shield as soon as Jaune returned fire.**

**Jaune brushed off the heavy blow to his chest and frowned in contemplation. Whatever that shield was made of, it was highly resistant to his weapons. Then again, if it had been built to withstand Night Sentinel weaponry, he supposed it was to be expected that human equipment wouldn't work so well on it.**

**That was fine, he'd just adapt. Swapping out heavy cannon for ballista, Jaune waited until the gladiator lowered its shield for another swing before shooting the beast in the head.**

**Its triumphant bellowing was cut off as the concentrated Argent energy seared its ugly mug. Staggering backwards in pain, the gladiator failed to react in time and left itself open to a one-two punch combo to the jaw.**

**Dashing away to avoid several fireballs, Jaune went back to cleaning out the fodder demons scurrying everywhere, giving the gladiator a chance to get back on its feet.**

**Did it go against his usual MO? Yes, it did. But for once, this wasn't about killing the demon fast, it was about sending a message. This once hallowed arena may have had its purpose corrupted beyond belief, but not anymore. With this, the slate would be wiped clean, and it would up to the Argenta people to decide just where they would go from then on.**

**And so on it went. Shooting the gladiator in the face every time it dropped its guard, lobbing grenades and explosives behind its shield, Jaune was schooling the large demon on just what it meant to face a true champion in combat.**

**A dark reflection of his very first battle in the arena, one man alone against a legion of foes. It would end the same way.**

**Sidestepping a blast of crimson energy from the gladiator's shield, Jaune dashed in close and fired a rocket into the demon's face at point blank range. Grabbing its lower jaw and dragging it down, an armoured fist rocketed into the demon's bloody face, beating it to the ground.**

**While it struggled to regain its bearings, Jaune clenched his fist and extended the Doom Blade. Leaping onto the shield, he stabbed the sword into one of the shield's 'eyes', critically damaging it before leaping off.**

**The shield rumbled as it's 'mouth' opened and close, a low bellow emanating from it as the infernal brilliance spilling from them intensified. Red light flickered across the shield rapidly before it exploded in a shower of shrapnel.**

"Oh come on! It's a shield! Why is it still the eye!" Emerald complained, throwing her arms up in frustration.

"Eh, the thing was asking to be stabbed really. It's a giant glowing weak point." Mercury pointed out.

"Then stab the mouth or something! Why is it always the eye!?" Emerald shot back.

Any further bickering was cut off when the two of them felt Cinder's glare burning holes into their backs, their arguing was distracting her from enjoying Tyrian's comeuppance. "Silence."

**The gladiator growled in anger before reaching behind and retrieving a second flail. Slamming them into the ground hard enough to cause shockwaves, it growled once more before resuming the battle. And as though aiming to prove to the Slayer that the loss of its shield meant nothing, it began spinning one of its flails in a circle, the new 'shield' deflecting all incoming projectiles to Jaune's annoyance.**

**Jaune tilted his head to the side, allowing the deflected ballista round to sail past harmlessly and blow a hell knight's head off instead. Mouth set in a thin line, the Doom Slayer stowed the Sentinel weapon away before drawing his super shotgun and waiting for an opening.**

**Despite the gladiator continuing to hide behind its flail shield from time to time, the pace of the battle had ramped up. The shield Jaune busted must have meant something to the demon because it had ramped up the aggression greatly, dashing around the place and lobbing rapid fire strikes whenever it thought there was a chance.**

**Greater aggression was fine, that just meant more chances to shoot the bastard full of lead. Jaune popped more shells into the super shotgun and glanced to the side when the gladiator missed with its attack. The twin flails shot by and missed by a huge margin and became lodged in place where they landed.**

**Jaune's unspoken question was answered when the demon began waving the chains up and down in a wave motion, summoning twin walls of energy to box the Slayer in with several demons. A split second later, waves of energy fired from the demon, arcing towards Jaune and bisecting a helpless imp in the process.**

**It took Jaune a moment to process the demon's tactic before bobbing and weaving through the incoming waves. An unimpressed huff left him as another barrier sprung up between them, keeping him from shooting the stationary target full of holes.**

**As far as impressive shows of force went, his old buddy the Cyberdemon back on Mars was still superior. Strangeness of comparing the impressiveness of one demon to another aside, Jaune grinned when the gladiator was forced to drop the walls, unable to keep up with the energy costs.**

**The demon's eyes flashed green as soon as the barrier dropped, heralding a sudden charge forward. Jaune saw it coming and dashed to the side, shooting a trio of rockets into the gladiator's back as it passed.**

**And on the battle went. The gladiator doing everything in its power to bring down the Slayer while Jaune effortlessly made him look like a chump. Dodging attacks, returning fire, dodging again, the many demons swarming the arena could do nothing to impede the two champions duking it out, more often then not, they simply ended up collateral damage when they got in the way.**

**But, credit where credit was due, the gladiator was nothing if not persistent. It did its level best to push past the pain the same way the Slayer did and continued to spam its barrier wave attack in the hopes that Jaune would slip up somehow.**

**Those hopes were dashed every single time when the Slayer simply sidestepped or played skip rope with the waves in further mockery of its efforts. When the gladiator had to drop the barrier, it was always rewarded with more gunfire to the face and the inevitable one-two punch that knocked it back.**

**Finally, its bloodied form could take no more punishment and it sank to its knees in defeat. The reigning undefeated champion of the arena strode forwards, ready to put an end to the farce.**

**Jaune grabbed the gladiator by its horns, pulling the beast's skull down to greet his knee. The demon's head snapped backwards with a loud crack as both horns broke. Jaune raised a fist and waited for the beaten gladiator to swing back before delivering the mother of all haymakers.**

**The gladiator's jaw shattered like glass as that one punch lifted its entire body off its feet for a second before it toppled over and struggled to get back up.**

**But Jaune wasn't done, grabbing one of the fallen flails and swinging it into the gladiator's face, Jaune knocked the beast down onto its back. Then one final blow to end it, an overhead smash that reduced the entire top half of the gladiator's head to mush.**

**Tossing the now useless mace away, a glowing token rose from the demon's corpse. At last, Tyrian's soul was unbound and he was mortal again.**

"Yeah! Jaune-Jaune rules! Demons drool!" Nora cheered and waved a foam finger in the air. Pyrrha politely clapped along while Ren simply sighed and picked spilled popcorn out of his hair.

"That's certainly one way to send a message." Goodwitch commented.

"A very messy message." Ozpin agreed.

"Ah, and now Tyrian gets it. Good." Cinder's smirk grew wider as the time of judgement approached.

"**This stops nothing!" Tyrian snarled as he watched his guardian disintegrate into nothingness. Hateful glare burning a hole into Jaune, the final Hell Priest stood his ground, partly because he had no choice, partly because he remained convinced Jaune didn't have the guts to kill him.**

"**Earth will be consumed. Regardless of what ha-" Tyrian's head exploded in a shower of blood and gore as Jaune grew tired of his prattling and fired his super shotgun once at point blank range. What a moron, he was already willing to fight endlessly against the forces of hell and made no secret of his intention to kill the Khan Maykr, given that, Tyrian was truly a fool to think Jaune would hesitate if killing him meant the loss of kinghood.**

**The Doom Slayer already wanted nothing more to do with those willing to stand by and watch evil triumph. Throwing away the Night Sentinel crown was mere formality at this point.**

Cinder's snickering grew into full blown laughter as she watched Tyrian's body flop to the ground. "Not what I was expecting, but still very cathartic."

"Uh oh, why is everything turning red?" Blake asked.

"Salem isn't happy about losing her last priest." Blank answered.

"So, now that all three are dead, humanity is saved?" Summer asked.

"Not yet. The Khan Maykr has one last card to play." Blank replied

"**Fool!" Salem's voice rang out over the arena as her loyal Night Sentinels poured in, weapons at the ready and aimed squarely at the Doom Slayer. With Tyrian's execution stripping away Jaune's crown, there was no longer a conflict in their loyalties between the Khan Maykr and the king.**

"**The portal is ready. We should leave immediately" Penny said after she was able to get a lock on Jaune's location and use it to anchor a portal. Jaune watched the Sentinels advance on him impassively as the azure rift in spacetime opened behind him.**

**Tossing the now useless token towards them dismissively, he turned his back on them all and walked into the portal, letting it close behind him.**

"They're not following him through?" Qrow asked.

"They have no reason to, The Khan Maykr has already made her move. Although its effectiveness is… debatable." Blank answered.

**Stepping back onto the Fortress of Doom, the first thing Jaune noticed was how dark everything was. All the lights were out, most of the instruments flickering dimly or offline entirely and several damaged systems were sparking with electricity.**

"**The Khan Maykr has overloaded your systems! Penny has no control over-" Ironwood's warning was instantly cut off with a high-pitched whine and the line went dead. To Jaune's frustration, Ironwood's annoying voice was replaced with Salem's even more annoying one.**

"**If you had let the culling continue, the human race you fight to protect would have survived." Salem chided while Jaune ignored her and tried getting the Fortress's systems to reboot. The red 'system failure' message that refused to go away stymied his efforts, the lockout was total.**

"**Now I will resurrect the Icon of Sin. He will devour Earth and leave your home world in ruins." Jaune paused in his efforts at the console and directed his gaze towards Earth.**

"**Life on your planet shall never return and this will be yet another world you brought to extinction." Salem's mocking words stirred something dark in Jaune's heart. A low blow, digging at his inability to save Argent D'Nur and all the other worlds that had been ravaged by demons during his absence.**

"**This stronghold will now serve as your prison. With no power, you can do no more harm to our mission and we may continue the work that must be done." As Salem's speech came to a close, multiple demons started dropping in, snarling at the Doom Slayer.**

**Jaune was unamused at the attempt to turn his fortress against him. Raising the BFG, the many demons arrayed in front of him didn't even have the time to roar before green lightning fried them all. Less than an annoyance and barely a speedbump.**

**Heading to another section of the Fortress, Jaune pulled out the crucible and used it as a makeshift battery. Argent energy spilled forth and began feeding back into the ship, undoing Salem's work.**

"**She didn't know you had the demonic crucible. Heheheheh…" Ironwood's dry laughter signalled power returning to the ship and with it, his access to the fortress's systems.**

"**In the end, the very power source you sought to eradicate from Earth is now what will help you save it."**

"**The mission on Sentinel Prime was a success, the demonic consumption of Earth has been stopped." Penny said once the sensors were back online. Her words led to Jaune breathing slightly easier, but only just, there was still Salem's next move to worry about.**

"**Only a Slayer's crucible blade can stop a titan." You must get to the Sentinel city of Taras Nabad to retrieve your crucible before it is too late. Without it, the titan cannot be stopped." Ironwood said, directing Jaune to another one of his old stomping grounds to retrieve his personal weapon.**

"**Setting the portal to Taras Nabad." Penny said once the teleportation grid was back online too.**

"So much for locking Jaune up. It slowed him down for what? A minute? Two?" Yang chuckled to herself at how quickly Salem's plan fell apart.

"Considering how much he hates all things demonic, I don't think she can be faulted for not thinking the Doom Slayer might have the crucible or be willing to use it." Ozpin replied.

"So he's going after this… Icon of Sin now… cheery name." Weiss muttered.

"The Icon of Sin is a titan, and among the strongest of them all even if it is technically the second to hold that name. It's another demon the Doom Slayer has personal history with, given that it personally battered down the defences of Argent D'Nur." Blank said.

"Second? What happened to the first?" Pyrrha asked.

"Killed in battle against the Doom Slayer when he was still fully human. The original Icon was locked in place spawning more demons and Jaune Arc killed it by shooting multiple rockets into its brain before it could get free." Blank answered.

"Ah so it's new and improved demon vs new and improved Slayer. This ought to be good." Roman rubbed his hands together in glee at the upcoming showdown.

**Taras Nabad, this long abandoned city was where Jaune's legend among the Argenta began. The first recorded demonic incursion by their people, a massive demonic outbreak with the city's heart at ground zero. The entire city would have fallen to the sword had it not been for Jaune's arrival to turn the tide.**

**Jaune remembered this place, like Argent D'Nur, like Exultia, once this was a place full of life, of happiness and revelry. Now it had fallen to the wayside, home to ghosts and forgotten memories as well as whatever demons prowled these lands.**

**A relic of a better past.**

**Loathe as he was to admit it, Ironwood had the right of it. Jaune could save the people from the demons, but he couldn't save them from themselves. His rage against the demonic horde brought hope to the Argenta once, then when his crusade threatened their prosperity, how quick they were to throw in with the Khan Maykr.**

**Exhaling a small sigh at his past failures, he let his mind wander again, drifting back to old memories. This was the place where he left his humanity behind after all.**

"**We must move quickly." A hooded figure said as he led the way forwards into a section of the city the younger version of Jaune had never seen before.**

"**There are those who would seek to stop this." The figure said while the building continued to rumble under the demonic assault outside.**

"**I offer you a gift. Take it, it will give you strength. Help you on your journey."**

**A coffin like machine rose up and Jaune stepped into it. This Maykr had promised him power to fight the demons massing for a final push to bring down the city, he didn't fully trust him but right now, he needed power.**

**Mechanical whirring filled the air as the lid closed overhead, and the hooded Maykr kept his hand on the activation switch. "And now, they will fear you."**

**Blinding light seared his eyes as energy suffused his body and power beyond anything Jaune had ever experienced flowed in his veins. A man had stepped into that machine and the Doom Slayer had emerged from it.**

"So that's how he became so powerful. But that voice…" Ozpin trailed off as he stared at Blank.

"As I said, more than he appears to be." Came the reply.

"**If the crucible blade is removed, the titan will rise again." Ironwood warned the moment Jaune emerged back aboveground. The 'corpse' of the titan still lay where it fell, a permanent fixture to the architecture now. The wound that felled it was still visible from far, a large crater in its chest, carved out by a heavy blow, and the crucible blade buried at the very centre.**

**Jaune clambered up the behemoth until he reached his sword. Grabbing the steel grey hilt, Jaune forced the blade up and bent it until the energy blade 'snapped' off, leaving him with only the handle.**

**A burst of blue energy rippled outwards from where the crucible blade had been stabbed, coating the entire titan with it. The behemoth rumbled back to life for a split second before the energy set in, and froze it in place for eternity.**

**Jaune stared at the now depleted crucible in hand before stowing it away, if he wanted to use it in battle, he'd need to forge a new blade for it.**

"**Your vault should have what you need." Ironwood spoke up, pushing the Doom Slayer onwards. Jaune didn't need telling twice, that energy burst had alerted every demon in the vicinity and they were on their way. Mobile turret revved up as he greeted the welcoming committee.**

**Cyber mancubi, whiplashes, dread knights and even another Marauder rushed towards Jaune with murder in their eyes. Just another day at the office.**

"Oh, so that's going to be his energy sword then, his lightsaber I think the term was?" Qrow muttered.

"Indeed, the crucible is one of the most powerful weapons in his arsenal aside from its short range." Blank answered.

"Why was the city abandoned? Aside from that giant, looks pretty intact to me." Yang asked.

"A tool of propaganda. As this was where the Doom Slayer's legend was born, it was easier to discredit him after his sealing by removing as many visible traces of him as possible. If that means abandoning an entire city so people wouldn't be able to see the titan he felled in single combat, it was a worthwhile sacrifice." Blank said.

"Out of sight, out of mind huh? They gave it the Mount Glenn treatment." Roman sneered.

"That is one way of looking at it."

**After killing his way past a small army of demons, Jaune finally reached the forge. Retrieving his crucible hilt, Jaune split open the prongs and dipped it into a vat of molten fluid. Red lightning flared momentarily before diminishing to sparks as Jaune pulled a newly forged blade from the liquid. One final burst of lightning and the reborn crucible was ready to go.**

**Jaune grinned and thrust the weapon into the air, shooting out lightning bolts from the it before letting it calm down. Bringing it back down and clutching it with both hands, Jaune stared into the ancient runes on the energy blade for a moment before deactivating it and putting it away.**

"**I'm sure you'll want to try out your weapon first before we leave." Ironwood intoned and Jaune simply rolled his eyes. Yes, of course he would want to make sure his crucible still worked against the demons. Of course, he would want to test it out on the local demon populace so he didn't need to make a round trip back to fix something.**

**In other news, water was wet.**

**Leaping off the forge platform and falling through the mists, Jaune's boots hit dirt and the sound of demons warping in greeted his ears immediately. The Doom Slayer's grin widened as the crimson glow of his crucible illuminated half his face.**

**Shooting demons to bits was fun. Punching them hard enough to explode them or just pulling them apart like wet carboard was even more fun. But there was just something about hacking and slashing at every thing that moved that just made Jaune feel so alive.**

**It was with a childish sense of glee that the Doom Slayer moved among the demonic ranks, blazing a trail of scarlet with energy blade and blood spilt.**

**Invisible spectres rushed towards him, Jaune met their charge head on with sword swinging. Their invisibility mattered not when his crucible simply split them down the middle.**

**A dread knight landed with a thunderous crash and swung its own man-made energy blades at Jaune. The Doom Slayer obliged it with a duel, bringing his own sword up to parry. Energy blades met and crimson cut through orange effortlessly, the crucible blade carried on through and removed the demon's upper torso entirely.**

**Another fireborne baron dropped in and roared in defiance. Jaune didn't even spare it a glance, just swinging the crucible blade once and chopping down the demon. Its obsidian carapace that could shrug off even rockets provided no resistance to the Slayer's holy sword.**

**And when an Archvile appeared in a blaze of hellfire. The creature didn't even have the time to summon more of its brethren before Jaune cut it down. The demon overlord so feared by others for its powers proved nothing more than fodder for Jaune's blade.**

**All good things must come to an end, and so it was that the Doom Slayer finally ran out of targets. Every single demon in the city of Taras Nabad was probably dead now and his job here was done. Jaune tempered his glee and replaced it with the familiar burning hate that fuelled him, it was better for keeping him focused.**

**Salem was still out there with the Icon of Sin. Shutting her down was the main priority now. And of course, there would be oh so many demons in his way to slice and dice with the crucible. Putting away the crucible, Jaune gave the abandoned city one last glance before stepping through the portal Penny set up.**

"Now that is one powerful sword." Taiyang said.

"Hmm, if the Icon is a titan and titans can only be stopped by sacrificing a crucible blade, does that mean Jaune will lose it?" Ren asked.

"What? No, not the laser sword!" Nora protested.

"I suppose he can just forge a new one if that happens? There's nothing stopping Jaune from doing so is there?" Pyrrha replied.

**Nekravol, the city of the damned. Jaune exhaled slowly as the foul stench of sulphur and brimstone stung his nose. He was here, he was finally here after so long. It had taken him far longer than he expected, but he had arrived.**

**Making an effort to suppress his boiling blood, Jaune sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly again. This place was quite possible the single largest insult to life in existence, and not even the joy of hacking apart a battalion of demons and their tyrant commander with the crucible could dull his anger.**

"**Here the humans arrive from Earth, waiting to be selected for the process." Ironwood said and Jaune simply snarled in anger. Leaping down to a lower level, the Doom Slayer passed countless damned souls on the way down, all of them trapped in their corpses and packed into cages like sardines.**

**It was sickening, and all of hell as his witness, he would find a way to level this place once and for all.**

"My god, what is that!?" Goodwitch exclaimed.

"That is what the demons are harvesting people for. Anyone killed by the demons don't get to go to the afterlife, their souls are trapped in their fallen bodies and eventually they end up here for processing." Blank said.

"And where is here exactly? This one's personal for the Slayer isn't it?" Qrow asked.

"This is Nekravol, the birth place of Argent energy. Built by Argenta slaves under the direction of the Khan Maykr in concert with hell. This was supposed to be the place the Slayer and his Sentinels would attack to bring an end to the Argenta civil war. Then the Deags betrayal happened and the rest is history. For all of hell that the Slayer ravaged in his endless crusade, this was the one section he never managed to make it to before his sealing." Blank answered.

"Then this one's not just for all the innocents suffering, it's for his comrades too." Summer said.

"**The Khan Maykr needs Earth and its souls, her world is dying. The culling allows her people to replenish their resources and survive. As you save your world, you put hers in peril." Ironwood's words were water off a duck's back to Jaune.**

**He'd already resolved himself, if the Maykrs could only live by inflicting such suffering onto billions if not trillions of other innocent souls, then they would be exterminated wherever he found them just like the demons.**

**The Doom Slayer simply gripped his weapons tighter as he stared at the lava seas down below. Hitching a ride inside a cage meant for the damned wasn't the best idea he'd ever had but if it got him where he needed to so be it.**

"**Up ahead is Kalibas, the sightless judge. It determines who is fit to begin the soul extraction process. The rest will be discarded to the blood swamps." Ironwood continued, if he was aware of Jaune's thoughts, he made no mention of it, simply choosing to keep the Slayer informed of what was lying in wait.**

**The Doom Slayer didn't need further prompting. After ditching his ride, Jaune pulled out the ballista and began firing on Kalibas's 'eyes', destroying them one at a time. Once all four had been popped, the demon's shields flickered and went down, exposing its fleshy parts.**

**Bounding across the lava field to his target, Jaune landed right in front of the defenceless demon and smashed it to bits with a single blood punch. Damn thing wouldn't be condemning any more souls.**

**Pushing past the slain demon, Jaune ran into heavy opposition every step of the way. Unfortunately for the demons, Nekravol was designed to inflict torment, not as a defensible fortress. The many implements of pain lying around served very much the same purpose as the 'traps' back in the Melot's base, an easy way to thin the demonic herd.**

**After the last spectre was smashed to pieces by a giant crusher, Jaune kicked away a skull at his feet before continuing, there were more demons to feed to their own contraptions and no time to be wasting. Salem awaited, and the portal to Urdak lay somewhere around here.**

"This… this is industrialised evil. They've made suffering into a business." Blake murmured softly. The whole place was a slaughterhouse built for processing entire worlds, all for the benefit of two.

"That they have. Tortured souls who meet the criteria are processed into Argent energy, their pain and misery turned into a renewable power source. Hell uses the Argent energy for further conquest of other worlds and Urdak uses their share to stave of destruction for another day. Nekravol was the first of many collaborations and the beginning of their symbiotic relationship." Blank said.

"Evil is what it is. How long have they been doing this?" Roman asked.

"Long enough that the process is streamlined to the point of peak efficiency. Humanity would have fallen long ago if it wasn't for Ironwood's intervention stalling the demons until the Doom Slayer arrived." Blank replied.

"Well, Jaune-Jaune's gonna kick all their asses for this." Nora said in a determined tone.

"I think he'll do a lot more than that." Ren followed up.

**After killing his way past another Agaddon Hunter, several barons and another accursed Marauder, Jaune was finally through to the inner chambers of the soul factory. According to Ironwood, he was near the place where the corpses of hell's victims were brought after processing was complete.**

**The souls would be extracted and then the pure Argent energy would be exported to Urdak through a portal. This was the one portal Salem had no control over and couldn't shut down even if she wanted to, all that was left to do was use it to transport himself across and interrupt the ritual to revive the Icon of Sin.**

**As more of the citadel's guards rushed to stop him, Jaune hefted the BFG and wiped them all out with one shot. The bridge was out but something like that wasn't anywhere near enough to stop the Doom Slayer.**

**Abandoning the plan to simply waltz in, Jaune leapt off the bridge and started scaling a giant pillar off to the side. Leaping from one pillar to the next and popping any cacodemons that tried to interrupt him, he made the final jump across the void and was in.**

**Several possessed soldiers and a lone revenant greeted him. The soldiers Jaune wiped out with a plasma rifle heat discharge, melting their flesh off instantly. The revenant, he whacked with the chainsaw, sawing right through its neck and letting the corpse flop over.**

"**Your people are made to suffer. Processed souls for the Khan Maykr's world. I assure you, this could have been avoided with different leadership." Ironwood said as Jaune walked into a chamber where a soul spire stood.**

**Jaune huffed but didn't say anything. Salem had made the choice to build her kingdom on the suffering of others. The Maykrs had the technology, they had the knowledge and they had endless worlds they could have colonised peacefully to ensure their own survival. Instead, she chose to have the Maykrs reside on their dying world just to set themselves up as gods.**

**Ah, he'd shove the fact of their false divinity in their faces later, for now more demons were warping in to protect their precious Argent energy. The lead mancubus roared at Jaune before spraying napalm towards the Slayer as an opening move.**

**Jaune dashed backwards and drew the crucible. The crimson blade sprung into existence as Jaune held it in a ready stance. As the demonic tide advanced behind the mancubus spray of flames, Jaune charged forwards to meet them. The burning napalm barely even warming his pants as he bisecting demons with every swing of his blade, the crucible sang with the cries of its victims and that only fuelled Jaune's rampage further.**

"If the souls are extracted to become… fuel." An expression of utmost distaste crossed Goodwitch's face as she used that term.

"What happens to the bodies?"

"They're left to rot, over time, those corpses will be changed by hell's ambient energy, turning them into more demons." Blank answered.

"What? S-so you're telling me all those demons Jaune's been killing… they were people!?" Weiss sputtered out.

"Not all of them, but yes, a large portion of demons are all that remains of hell's victims. Their souls are long gone, and all that's left is a twisted and mishappen mockery of what they used to be, driven only to inflict the same suffering they went through on others. Death, is mercy." Blank replied.

"Wait, James wanted to use Argent energy to solve humanity's energy crisis. Isn't that the same as what Salem was trying to do?" Ozpin asked, visibly pushing the words out with great effort while Cinder chuckled in the background.

"Yes, and no. The end result is the same, Argent energy used to power a depleted world. Where they differ is in execution. Nekravol is Salem's answer to the problem, prosperity built on the suffering of others. Ironwood's solution was the Argent energy tower on Mars, synthetic Argent energy created by science and the purifying of hell energy without the need for great suffering, you recall the filtration system the Slayer destroyed? That was his version of Nekravol, his answer." Blank replied and Ozpin's group breathed easier knowing that that version of Ironwood wasn't a monster after all.

"Then where did things go wrong for the general?" Cinder asked out of curiosity.

"The problem was Ironwood's solution still involved usage of hell energy, giving hell's corruption an entry vector. The end result was the destruction of the Martian base and eventually, near total corruption of the UAC on Earth." Blank answered.

**The Marauder caught Jaune's fist before the Slayer could punch its face in. The reanimated Night Sentinel struggled to keep Jaune's fist from closing in, slowly losing ground. Jaune simply rolled his eyes and triggered the Doom Blade, impaling the demon's head and rendering its efforts moot.**

**Letting the body fall, the Slayer gave it a kick before moving on. All around him drained corpses were piled haphazardly, waiting to be carted out and dumped to begin the demonization process. How far the Sentinels had fallen to be willing participants in this travesty.**

"**The demons only utilise a portion of the resources that come from the human soul. It was the Maykrs and the Sentinel Priests who discovered and unlocked the true power of the Essence." Ironwood explained as Jaune rode the lift upwards.**

"**They combined Sentinel and hell energies together, refined it and created… Argent. With it they did wondrous things, saved worlds from extinction, healed the sick… and gave infinite power to those _worthy_** **of it."**

**Jaune listened without interruption as he continued his climb to the top. Much of what the doctor was saying didn't really change much, the plan remained the same, get to Urdak, kill the Khan Maykr and stop the Icon. But, he wouldn't lie and say he wasn't interested in finding out exactly when the fall of the Sentinels truly began.**

"**This facility was built in secret, the Night Sentinels never knew of its existence. Built by Sentinel slaves for a Maykr can never set foot in hell, nor demon in Urdak. Argent D'Nur served a great purpose for the Maykrs." There was hint of self-mockery in Ironwood's voice as he spoke of the deal brokered between Salem and the dark lords of hell.**

**Jaune simply gnashed his teeth in anger, in the past, they had been too focused on fighting the demon threat that they failed to see the corruption spreading within. As he ascended, he wondered just how much blame for all this could be placed on his shoulders, if it wasn't for his arrival at Sentinel Prime, Salem and the priests might never even have encountered the demons and all this would have been avoided.**

"**This machinery was not made without hell's knowledge. A deal was struck with the dark lord, in return for access to more worlds for hell to devour, the Maykrs siphoned energy from the damned. It is an unholy union and cannot stand any longer." Ironwood finished and for once, Jaune found himself in full agreement with him.**

"Jaune… led the Maykrs to the demons?" Pyrrha said hesitantly.

"Sort of, he sped up their contact by his arrival. Both the Maykrs and the demons are capable of traversing other dimensions, but you could say their worlds exist on opposite sides of the spectrum. Normally there should never be contact between the two, in fact neither side was aware of the other's existence. But Jaune Arc's arrival on Sentinel Prime after fighting through hell brought the demons to the Khan Maykr's attention and kicked off the long line of disaster dominos that led to the present day." Blank answered.

"Oh… the irony is rich, he tried so hard to stop the demons and all he succeeded in was making things worse. Points for effort I guess." Cinder chuckled.

"**The tower is held aloft by two enslaved titans. Break the chains, drop it into the well below!" Ironwood instructed and Jaune was already moving. The welcoming committee had been anticipating his arrival, the tyrant in charge greeting the Slayer with a rocket barrage.**

**Sidestepping the falling missiles, Jaune used the super shotgun's grappling hook to rapidly traverse the level. Whatever demon unfortunate enough to have its flesh taste the bite of the grappling hook would get a face full of buckshot shortly afterwards.**

**Landing next to one of the chains holding up the tower, Jaune whipped out the BFG and fired a single shot. The emerald Argent plasma zapping the hapless demons out of cover and boiling them alive, the hell energy in them ensuring no escape.**

**Not even the mighty tyrant could escape the shot unscathed. Despite avoiding a direct hit when the ball of death sailed past and exploded against a wall, its flesh was still seared black and some of its mechanical parts melted to slag.**

**As it staggered backwards in agony, Jaune closed the distance between them with crucible sword in hand. The first swing cut it down at the knees, the second swing disembowelled the cyberdemon wannabe and the third swing decapitated it.**

**More demons continued to pour in, trying to protect their investment at all costs. Jaune didn't mind, Nekravol and all it stood for would be going down in flames before the day was done. If hell wanted to make the loss even more expensive for them, that was just peachy.**

**Forcing a gargoyle's blade arm upwards, Jaune gave it a last push, forcing the blade into its own skull and continuing through until it was embedded in its throat. Dodging away from several plasma bolts, the Doom Slayer retaliated with ice bombs, frag grenades and flame belches, drawing strength from the torment he inflicted on the demons and fuelling himself with their life force once they too bit the dust.**

**When their numbers swelled again, Jaune thinned the herd with another BFG shot. And again, the crucible blade swung as it delivered the coup de grace to one surviving demon after another. Until finally, all that remained on the demon army was a lone Hunter Jaune put down with several volleys of rockets.**

"**Now, move quickly, you must break the chains and destroy the Argent transmitter, then ride the flow to Urdak." Ironwood nudged the Doom Slayer onwards, while there was a lull in demonic reinforcements, this was the best time to destroy Nekravol and invade Urdak. The longer they delayed, the more demons would arrive to impede them and there was no telling how much time they had left before Salem completed her ritual.**

**After breaking the chains, the Argent transmitter fell out of alignment and simply dropped, crashing down through the lower levels. The entire tower rumbled as the energy destabilised, and a large burst of unrefined energy shot upwards in a geyser leading straight to Urdak.**

"**The Khan Maykr is awakening the Icon of Sin, we must hurry." Ironwood urged Jaune to hurry as the destruction of the Argent transmitter signalled Nekravol's death toll. Jaune didn't need any further prompting as he sprinted towards the geyser of light and threw himself into it, feeling the rush of power beam him upwards.**

**After a disorienting ride up through the portal, the world returned to normalcy as Jaune emerged on the other side. Boots thudding onto a raised platform, there was no incoming fire to greet him. An unexpected but welcome surprise.**

**Exiting the chamber, he was greeted with the alien architecture of Urdak immediately, red trees lined the streets while robotic looking buildings loomed in the background. Jaune wasn't quite sure what to make of it but Ironwood started speaking anyways. "Magnificent, isn't it?"**

**Jaune rolled his eyes in exasperation as he started walking again, of course Ironwood would think that. At times, he really wondered why Ironwood insisted on hiding behind the façade of a human turned cyborg, it really didn't work with him spouting knowledge no human should have.**

"Okay, where are all the bad guys?" Ruby asked in confusion as they watched the Doom Slayer traverse Urdak without encountering a single hostile. In fact, there wasn't a single soul to be seen, even Sentinel Prime had the Night Sentinels to greet him, here it was just an empty city.

"For starters, as part of the deal between Urdak and hell, no demon of any kind can set foot here. The Maykrs themselves aren't all that populous with their dying world, and Salem herself is busy with the ritual and is running on the assumption she can finish before the Doom Slayer intervenes." Blank answers.

"A gross miscalculation." Ozpin said and sipped from his mug.

"Indeed." Blank agreed.

"**Welcome Seraphim." A computerised voice called out as the door unsealed to admit Jaune. The Doom Slayer shook his head in mild exasperation over Ironwood's shenanigans as he walked around the gathering of Maykrs.**

**The Icon of Sin's motionless form stood behind them as the ritual entered its final phases. The beast was markedly different from the last time Jaune saw it during his sojourn to the Necropolis to retrieve the demonic crucible. The entire demon was covered in machinery of Maykr origin now, to further ramp up its destructive capabilities, yet another unholy union to be destroyed.**

**Salem noticed his arrival and turned to face him, standing proudly over an exposed beating heart encased in a force field. "You cannot stop the procession."**

**Jaune paused and looked away from Salem and glared at the heart. That was it, the twisted object that bound Gretchen's soul and allowed the Khan Maykr to control the Icon of Sin. The golden field around it was made of sterner stuff, by the time he broke it down to destroy the heart, it would already be too late, the Icon would have awoken and ravaged Earth by then.**

**Except…**

**Jaune pulled out the device Hazel had handed him when they met and activated it. A glowing blue blade popped out and Salem gasped upon recognising the dagger. It was the one thing, the only thing that could cut through the barrier.**

"**We will not be able to control it! NOOOOOOO!" Salem roared as her last-ditch attempt to convince the Doom Slayer to avoid mutually assured destruction failed. Before she could act, Jaune had already pushed past the Maykr in his path and stabbed the heart, destroying it and freeing Gretchen's soul from her torment.**

**The effects were immediate. As the heart burst in a shower of gold light, the room rumbled as the Icon of Sin began to stir. Steam exited its nostrils as it breathed freely for the first time since it was sealed. Pipes burst and the shaking intensified as the Icon shook off the last vestiges of sleep, clawing its way back to consciousness and finishing the ritual on its own.**

**The massive titan released an ear-splitting roar as the machinery augmenting it activated, becoming corrupted by the demon's power and glowing a hellish red. The effect spread to the lesser Maykrs in the area as well, turning them, warping them.**

**Jaune braced himself as the floor shuddered, the entire building becoming destabilised by the titan's awakening. A giant blue portal leading to Earth appeared behind the Icon, drawing its attention towards it, the last bit of the Maykr ritual that still worked driving him towards it to begin the end of the world.**

**The behemoth's massive hand passed overhead and the platform Jaune was standing on began to crumble when the Icon nudged against it and broke it instantly. Jaune lost his footing and slid down the now slanted floor as the Icon exited through the portal and Salem teleported away.**

**His hands scrabbled along the floor but failed to find purchase and Jaune slipped over the edge, crashing to the level below with a thud. Scrambling back to his feet, Jaune pulled out the heavy cannon and began sniping with the precision bolt as demons started spawning in, attacking alongside the Maykr drones.**

**The deal Salem struck with hell was off with the unchained awakening of the Icon of Sin, and now demons were warping to Urdak en masse to exact vengeance on the Doom Slayer for his little jaunt through Nekravol. This was going to be a problem.**

"Oh, that didn't go as planned. I thought that was supposed to stop it from waking." Roman muttered.

"Uh… shit, the giant got through, what happens to humanity now?" Taiyang asked.

"Humanity still has some breathing room, the Icon dropped in an area already overrun by the demons and it will be awhile before it consumes the planet." Blank answered.

"Consume… the planet? Did… did I hear that right?" Weiss stared at Blank for an explanation.

"Unlike other titans, the Icon of Sin is special. It's a world eater, a demon whose presence is so powerful it starts warping time and space itself, if left unchecked, it'll end up dragging not only Earth but that entire dimension straight into Hell. An instant win condition." Blank replied.

"Dragging the entire… bloody hell." Qrow summed up.

"I'm sure Jaune will find a way to beat that demon." Ruby said, still optimistic about the Slayer's chances.

**Jaune punched a baron of hell in the face, extending the Doom Blade, he slashed backwards again and opened the demons throat, leaving it to die grasping the mortal wound. The once pristine and futuristic looking hallways of the Maykr city was now covered in blood, plasma scoring and bullet holes.**

**Maykr drones were fighting against the demons wherever they popped up but rapidly being overrun by the endless numbers pouring in from the Nekravol portal. The dark lords of hell were now throwing everything they had at the Doom Slayer, to punish him for his interference and to stop him from making it back to Earth.**

"**There is a gate that we can use here on Urdak to get back to Earth, but you will need to reconfigure the teleporter rings to activate it. We must move quickly, for the Icon of Sin grows more powerful the longer it is on Earth." Ironwood said once Jaune fought his way back outside and could see the three glowing rings in the distance, one purple, one orange and one blue.**

**Jaune nodded and began using the boost gates to traverse the city, heading towards the control centre. The once peaceful and silent city now rang with the sound of battle as Salem began pulling her own forces in to combat the demons overrunning the place.**

**After killing the Marauder Salem warped in to protect the controls, Jaune made his way into the control room and stared at the alien machinery in frustration, unable to make sense of the instruments.**

"**Now, insert Penny to activate the portal." Fortunately, Ironwood was there to advise him. Jaune retrieved Penny's data core and held it over the control panel, lightning sparked as an invisible force ripped the core from Jaune's hands and inserted it perfectly into the console, causing it to light up blue.**

"**System acquired. Setting a course for the Earth dimension now." Penny said as she finished interfacing with the Maykr systems. Jaune's expression morphed into one of concern when Penny's voice started to distort, reminding him of how her initial AI core meltdown affected her.**

"**I can… see now… am I the Mother, Dr Ironwood?"**

**Jaune blinked in confusion at the strange words before pushing his doubts aside, neither Ironwood nor Penny herself was making any fuss about the issue so it was probably less pressing than the Icon of Sin. Pressing the lit-up button, he was rewarded with the first ring moving into place, just two more to go.**

"**You must get the other teleporter rings aligned before it's too late. The gate must be reactivated. The longer the Icon of Sin is on Earth, the stronger it will become." Ironwood prompted Jaune to get a move on.**

**The Doom Slayer grit his teeth and turned away, as much as he didn't want to, he had to leave Penny's core behind. This was where she could work her magic and they just didn't have time to deal with whatever was afflicting her now, he'd be back for her later.**

"What's wrong with Penny?" Ruby asked, worried for her friend's other universe counterpart.

"It's complicated." Blank answered after a moment of silence.

"That doesn't explain a lot." Yang snarked.

"It's the best way I can put it, the Penny and Ironwood of this universe are both excessively complicated individuals and there is no way to easily explain them." Blank replied.

"But she's going to be fine?" Ruby asked again, this time, Blank simply remained silent.

"**By awakening the Icon of Sin inside Urdak, the seal has been broken. Now the demons may pass through the void as never before. You have brought her people, and this holy place, eternal… damnation." The bitterness and anger in Ironwood's voice were palpable as Jaune made his way to the final ring.**

**The Doom Slayer simply shrugged, failing to see how any of this was his problem. What goes around comes around after all. And even though Jaune didn't want to give the doctor the satisfaction of admitting he was correct, Ironwood had been able to develop synthetic Argent energy without the need for endless suffering of others, meaning everything Salem had wrought was completely pointless. He may have triggered the end of this world, but the Maykrs brought it on themselves, and he wouldn't shed a tear for them.**

**And much as Ironwood might have cursed Jaune for all this, he too couldn't deny Salem's hand in the mess, and he finished with sadness in his voice. "But, it was arrogant to bring the dormant Icon here. Her hubris has shattered paradise."**

**The doctor said no more as Jaune entered the final control room and activated the last ring. As the three circles lined up, runic circles appeared in each of them and a beam fired from a projector, passing through all three. A hole between worlds formed and grew larger and larger until Earth could be seen beyond it.**

"**With the rings fully aligned, the dimensional gate to Earth is now open. Get to the landing platform and pass through the portal, Earth does not have much time left!"**

**After Jaune fought his way through the now demon infested halls, eliminated the few Maykr defenders in his path and swam past the corpse of some strange creature, he was almost to the portal when Ironwood spoke again. "The Khan Maykr is near."**

**The urgency in Ironwood's voice was unmissable as he detected Salem's presence through the Praetor suit's sensors. "She cannot let you leave this place alive. She is invulnerable when she has the orb within her chest, once removed her defences will be down."**

**Jaune cracked his neck and levelled the super shotgun, if Salem was here, that saved him the effort of hunting her down later. So she had an orb that made her invulnerable to harm, that was fine, nothing a bit of ripping and tearing couldn't handle.**

**Time to settle the score once and for all.**

"Oh… I sense incoming boss fight." Nora mumbled through a mouthful of popcorn as she shovelled even more in.

"Nora, please finish chewing your food before talking." Ren chided with a small sigh.

"So it's time for the queen bitch herself. Money's on the boy." Roman said and Neo conjured up an illusion of a blackboard displaying odds of victory for both sides, standing at 100% for the Doom Slayer and a goose egg for the Khan Maykr

"Can you even bet on something that's a given?" Qrow asked.

"Sure we can, there's always going to be someone willing to be a sucker." Roman replied and Neo helpfully pointed to Cinder, the fall maiden lost in thought as though seriously weighing the odds of victory for either side.

When she noticed them staring at her, she simply huffed and returned her eyes to the screen. "It doesn't matter, this Salem isn't our world's, as far as I'm concerned, my counterpart was damned by both of them, so it really doesn't matter which of them kills the other."

"**For millennia we have survived. Made others sacrifice in the name of our prosperity, so that they may in turn find redemption. Who are you, a human, once a mortal, to defy our traditions?" Salem pointed an accusatory at the Doom Slayer once he stepped off the lift.**

**The accusation actually did get Jaune to stop in his tracks. The sheer audacity of her words, it defied belief. The holier than thou attitude of the Khan Maykr was staggering. To so proudly boast about it being _tradition_ to sacrifice others to unspeakable horrors just for self-interest.**

**Jaune's eyes narrowed as he realised that Salem believed it, she truly believed she was a god. That all other life throughout the universe were nothing more than lesser lifeforms who should be _honoured _at being used, discarded and forever damned.**

**No more needed to be said, he highly doubted any of his words would even make a dent in an ego larger than the Icon of Sin. There was only one common language left to the both of them. Jaune's super shotgun snapped up and Salem flared her golden wings. It was on.**

**Jaune began dashing from cover to cover, shooting any Maykr drone that tried to approach in the head. Avoiding the energy waves Salem fired at him with every flap of her wings by ducking behind cover Jaune popped out and fired a ballista round into her face when she had to pause to catch her breath.**

**Salem's answering roar shook the entire battlefield and she called down a laser from the sky to smite the Doom Slayer. Staying ahead of the crimson beam that tracked his path while avoiding all the pesky incoming fire was an annoyance to say the least.**

**When he found another opening, Jaune leapt out of cover and fired a volley of three rockets from the paingiver into the Khan Maykr. All three struck home and Salem's shield failed with a bright flash, her protection overloading temporarily, electrocuting her and freezing her in place.**

**Not wasting the opportunity, Jaune switched to the super shotgun and fired the meat hook, latching on to the Khan Maykr and pulling himself into the air. Detaching the hook at the last moment, Jaune delivered a blood punch right to Salem's face, causing her to scream in anger and pain.**

**Several wing blasts came flying down onto the Doom Slayer the moment he landed. Dodging the first two, Jaune accidentally dashed into the third, his vision flared red as a stinging sensation shot through him.**

**Shaking his head to clear it, he was on the move again, walking off the damage and avoiding further hits. The Khan Maykr roared in frustration when all of her follow up attacks missed, throwing in additional balls of purple lightning to try and throw the Slayer off his game.**

**It didn't work. Jaune continued bouncing around, using his greater mobility to avoid damage entirely until he got an opening. Then ballista rounds or rockets would go surging towards Salem, and unlike her, the Doom Slayer didn't miss.**

"**Aarrghh!" Salem screamed as she took another blood punch to the face. Despite the protection granted to her by her powers, the Slayer's hits were starting to hurt and she bitterly cursed the Maykr responsible for empowering a mortal who just didn't know when to die.**

**Salem snarled and electrified parts of the floor, trying to pin the Slayer in place. Yet again, it failed to take, the Doom Slayer simply used double jumps, air dashes and the meat hook to rapidly traverse the field, avoiding her attack by simply flying over it.**

**The one time she thought he was pinned down, he simply whipped out the chaingun. Rapidly swapping out the mobile turret mod for the energy shield, Jaune stood in place and blocked her attacks while returning a blistering hail of bullets at the same time.**

**As the battle dragged on, things only got worse for the Khan Maykr. The Doom Slayer was unrelenting, unstoppable, inexhaustible, no matter what she did, he was always sure to return the pain tenfold. And against all odds, Salem could feel herself weakening from all the damage she'd taken, her once proud golden wings now looked tattered and frayed, their golden hue a dull orange, her pristine armour now battered and broken in places.**

**There was only one way this would end, continuing to fight was suicide. But simply backing down and cutting her losses was not an option. Her pride wouldn't allow a lesser creature to get the better of her, not after all his transgressions.**

**And that, was a fatal mistake.**

**As her shield broke for the final time, Salem barely had the time to blink before Jaune was already in her face, blood punch raring to go. Her world went white as the heavy blow connected and she felt something break inside.**

**Unable to remain aloft, her wings made one final effort to stay airborne before giving up the ghost. Spiralling out of control, she hit the ground hard, a shockwave of yellow energy bursting forth on impact.**

**Jaune stowed away his weapon as he ascended the stairs to where Salem's fallen form lay. The fatally wounded Maykr crawled along the ground, most of her armour gone and the ugly demonic looking truth beneath was exposed for all to see.**

"**You have destroyed all that I was meant to rule, and all just to protect them, mere servants to our belief!" Salem accused, lacking the strength to do anything more than speak and crawl.**

"**You have broken the holy seal of Urdak! Your transgressions here will jeopardise all of creation…" Salem trailed off as she flopped over onto her back and breathed her last. The last thing her near sightless eyes saw was the Doom Slayer's impassive face and hate filled eyes.**

**If Jaune wasn't wearing a helmet, he would have spit on her corpse. Even at the end she refused to step down from her imaginary pedestal, clinging on to the false image of godhood. Well, Jaune was human… once… and therefore a 'lesser being', since he won, what exactly did that make her?**

**If Salem was hoping for some sort of apology at the end, she would die sorely disappointed. Contempt was the only thing the Doom Slayer had for her.**

"There's one thing I don't get, why are the demons suddenly invading Urdak just because the Icon got loose? Didn't they have a deal?" Blake asked.

"There are two core tenets to the deal that the Icon's awakening broke. Number one, demons are not allowed on Urdak and vice versa. In defiance of that, the Khan Maykr not only brought one of the most powerful demons to ever exist into her realm, she improved it and then lost control." Blank answered.

"That leads to point two, the Icon's botched awakening means it cannot be controlled by anyone, not the Maykrs, not the dark lords themselves. It is now a force of nature unleashed upon the Earth dimension that will eventually lead to the extinction of all life throughout it, giving that dimension no chance of recovering. This is again against the deal that the Maykrs would provide additional worlds for repeated harvests. These plus the loss of Nekravol means Urdak has lost all use to the dark lords and they might as well claim Urdak for themselves to recoup some of their losses."

"Heheheh, sucks to be them. But that's what they get for making deals with the devil." Qrow said.

**The golden orb in Salem's chest shook for a bit before suddenly shooting skywards and exploding. Red spread across the sky as thunder rumbled, the entire realm itself rumbling as though raging at the death of its master.**

"**NOOOOOOO!" A distorted voice roared at the top of its lungs. The Doom Slayer simply huffed and turned away, the dark lord could scream all he wanted. After the Icon was dealt with, he was next.**

"**We must leave now." Ironwood ordered and Jaune heeded his orders for once. Sprinting towards the edge, Jaune threw himself off and into the energy beam keeping the portal open for the express route back to Earth.**

**After another disorienting ride between worlds, Jaune landed in the middle of an abandoned building. His initial fears that the portal had thrown him off course and on the other side of the planet from the Icon was unfounded, the air itself was charged with energy and Jaune could _feel_ the Icon's proximity. Penny had done good work as always, but now it was up to him to finish this fight.**

**Unfortunately, the Icon hadn't noticed his arrival yet as was moving away from him. A bit of building hopping was needed before the Doom Slayer could cut the Icon of Sin off and fight it.**

**The wall between realities was thinning faster and faster, more and more demons were spawning in despite the loss of the hell priests and the super gore nest. Their ease of arrival, the first sign of Earth's imminent consumption by the hell dimension.**

**Cutting down a foolish baron with the crucible, Jaune hacked apart another whiplash before using the grappling hook to dash away. Plasma bolts and napalm sailed past, decimating the area he just vacated while a hapless prowler had the bulk of its hide shredded by buckshot. Jaune's Doom Blade sliced through its flesh in a vertical cut but didn't immediately kill it, that changed when he reached down grabbed the split flesh and simply ripped it all the way open.**

**Jaune was knocked off balance when a tyrant arrived and immediately blasted him with its arm cannon. Gritting his teeth and righting himself with a mid-air dash, he made a beeline for the demon commander. After disrupting the lesser demons in his path with grenades and rockets, he ducked under another beam cannon strike and came up swinging with the crucible, slicing the tyrant to bits.**

**The death of the tyrant only spurred the remaining demons to fight on with greater fervour, throwing themselves against the meatgrinder that was the Slayer. Their orders were simple, stall the Slayer and do not let him kill the Icon of Sin, Earth had to be consumed.**

**However, their plans had a single fatal flaw. The Doom Slayer was simply capable of killing them faster than they could warp in, the dimensional wall not yet weak enough for the full demonic host to pour through. And with weapons like the BFG and the crucible blade, not even the mightiest tyrant or the most determined Agaddon Hunter could stall him for very long.**

**Jaune didn't care for their antics and he had plenty of ammo to go around. Despite Ironwood's urgent prodding, time was on his side for once. The Icon's mindless rampage across the wastelands worked to his favour, without any directing intelligence behind its movements, it was just walking aimlessly instead of trying to outrun the Slayer long enough for Earth to be consumed. The going was slow, but Jaune was getting closer and closer to the titan by the minute.**

"They're seriously throwing everything at him, including the kitchen sink." Goodwitch muttered.

"They're getting desperate. With the deaths of the three priests, Salem and the destruction of that… super gore nest, this is hell's last chance to consume humanity isn't it?" Ozpin asked.

"Indeed, aside from several lesser gore nests and a few hell portals in select locations, the Icon of Sin is hell's last chance to send in reinforcements. None of the other entry points have the capacity to field an army before they are found and destroyed. If they lose the Icon, then their invasion ends in failure." Blank replied.

"They've lost their energy factory, lost Salem and her goons and now they're about to lose Earth too. Where does that leave them?" Taiyang asked.

"Hell retains a sizeable fighting force despite the setbacks. But their ability to rapidly increase their power and ranks has been severely compromised by the loss of the Wraiths, Nekravol and Maykr support." Blank answered.

"And Jaune's going to make sure the bad days don't stop coming isn't he?" Yang said.

"Indeed." Blank confirmed.

"**Now is the time. Two titans meet, as it was written." Ironwood's voice echoed in Jaune's ears as the Icon of Sin's giant hand reached up on the roof of the skyscraper Jaune was standing on. The Doom Slayer cracked his neck and drew his weapons, after killing his way past every single heavy demon Hell and Urdak had to send against him, he had finally caught up with the Icon.**

**Tyrants, Marauders, Hunters, Archviles, barons and countless other demons had arrived to impede his progress. All were dust in the wind now and it was the Icon's turn to follow their lead.**

**The rest of the Icon's body appeared shortly after, the massive demon finally noticing Jaune's presence. Roaring and slamming a fist down on the building, the entire structure rumbled but held for the time being.**

**Pain elementals and cacodemons were drawn in from across the area to harass the Slayer while other demons simply warped in to fight. Jaune hacked them apart with the crucible before finding a good spot to deploy the mobile turret.**

**It's four barrels spun up before sending a deluge of sapphire bullets towards the titan. Keeping the firepower focused on a single spot, the Maykr armour coating the titan turned red as it did its best to dissipate the damage.**

**Jaune folded up the turret when a roar came from behind, dashing away, a pinky charged past and rammed headfirst into a wall. Pulling out the super shotgun, he dashed back in and shot the demon in its unarmoured back, blasting it to chunks.**

**Launching into the air with the grappling hook attached to a cacodemon, he fed the living balloon a grenade, watched it expand comically before tearing out its eye and popping it. Dropping back to the ground, super shotgun swapped out for heavy cannon and micro missiles.**

**Golden streaks of light soared towards the Icon of sin, striking its chest piece and exploding with tiny but surprisingly powerful blasts. Overwhelmed by the damage, that section of Maykr armour failed explosively, exposing the demon's true flesh beneath.**

**The Icon roared and a magic circle appeared over its head, demons in the area screamed in agony before they were destroyed, their essences forcibly absorbed to fuel the Icon's attack. A nigh endless barrage of fireballs shot forth and Jaune once more found himself ducking behind cover to avoid getting hit.**

**When the barrage of fireballs stopped, Jaune dashed out from behind cover again and fired of several rockets from the paingiver, damaging the Maykr machinery. Until the armour had been completely destroyed, the Icon's flesh was almost completely immune to damage.**

**A shadow fell overhead as a massive fist came hurtling towards Jaune. Unfazed by the imminent blow, Jaune fired one last rocket into the demon's chest before whipping out the crucible again. Swinging the Sentinel weapon upwards, Jaune deflected the strike with brute force alone, tearing off the arm armour at the same time.**

**A defiant roar shook the building and the Icon lashed out with a lightning fast punch. A ruthless grin spread across Jaune's face as he evaded the blow and then slashed with the crucible, destroying another piece of the armour protecting the Icon.**

**The remaining pieces of armour fell away piece by piece when Jaune opened fire with the BFG. The emerald orbs of destroying simultaneously clearing the field of demons and inflicting heavy damage to the Icon.**

**A dread knight's wrathful howl alerted Jaune to the falling demon and the Slayer sidestepped the landing shockwave. Putting away the BFG, Jaune set the demon on fire and then whittled it down with the mobile turret.**

**When the Icon raised its hands to start spewing fire all over the place, Jaune used the meat hook to launch himself into the air after tethering an Arachnotron. Detaching the hook mid-flight, Jaune spun around and shot the Icon one last time with the ballista, destroying its sole remaining armour section on the shoulder.**

**Finally realising the situation wasn't in its favour, the Icon turned and began lumbering away, instinct alone driving it to try and escape the Slayer. Jaune narrowed his eyes as he watched the Icon flee the battle, this was unacceptable, the Icon would die would die here and now.**

"**Quickly, with its armour fully destroyed, the body is now exposed. Take the portal and finish this fight." Ironwood was one step ahead this time and managed to open a giant green portal from his position on the Fortress of Doom, its coordinates already set for another building in the Icon's path.**

**Jaune nodded and allowed the last pinky charging towards him to impale itself on the crucible blade before rushing into the portal.**

"It's… it's running away? I didn't even know demons knew how to run away." Mercury commented.

"Yeah, usually they just swarm and get squashed like ants." Emerald added.

"Oh demons can run, it might not be visible, but most demons are actually utterly terrified of the Doom Slayer. The only reason they attack endlessly instead of fleeing back to hell is because they cannot go against the will of the current dark lord, and his will is basically kill the Slayer or die trying. But since the Icon isn't bound to anyone's will, it can and will choose to run, at least until it figures out that the Doom Slayer won't let him escape." Blank answered.

"Out of curiosity, what happens if the demons actually try to run away from him?" Ozpin asked.

"If there are other demons in the area and the escapee isn't a priority target, he'll let them go for now before hunting them down later. Running only delays the inevitable, not even hiding in the depths of hell is safe since he will eventually return for housecleaning." Blank said.

"So… they're dead no matter what they do?" Weiss asked.

"Yes."

**The Icon of Sin roared in anger and fear as it saw Jaune appear out of thin air in front of it. The Slayer grinned when he noticed the Icon not moving to run again, the beast must have figured out he wasn't going to let it escape.**

**Raising the BFG, Jaune started the fight with two rounds of super-heated Argent plasma to the Icon's chest. The demon's thick hide proved useless against the superweapon and its flesh was blasted off, leaving a bloody mess behind as its internal organs and ribs were exposed.**

**It must have been agonising for the Icon and the demon's anguish only fuelled Jaune's desire to inflict more pain upon it. This was retribution for Argent D'Nur and everyone lost there when the Icon last walked.**

**Multiple flaming meteors began raining from the heavens as the Icon of Sin retaliated. Ducking under cover, Jaune waited out the storm while taking pot shots at the Icon's exposed head with the ballista.**

**Another frenzied roar assaulted Jaune's eardrums when the Icon's head was battered to a bloody pulp. Three red orbs emerged from the centre of its skull followed by red lightning bolts coalescing inwards as it charged up its attack.**

**A laser beam fired once the Icon was at full charge, searing everything it touched and bathing Jaune in its cursed radiance. The Doom Slayer was pushed back as his skin felt sunburned from the burning beam.**

**Dashing away to avoid further damage, Jaune froze a hell knight in place with an ice bomb and smashed it to pieces with a blood punch. As the frozen body parts rained down, Jaune absorbed the demon's remaining life force, regenerating back to peak condition and erasing all the damage the Icon managed to inflict.**

**When the Icon of sin moved to a different position to get a better angle on Jaune, the Slayer drew the BFG again, this time shooting its right shoulder and shredding the flesh there too. When its arms raised into the air to call down another meteor shower, Jaune unloaded volley after volley after volley of homing rockets into its other shoulder, wrecking it as well.**

**The longer the battle dragged on, the less and less threatening the Icon of Sin looked. The once fearsome mechanical demon was starting to resemble a walking corpse with so much of its body destroyed. And the damned thing would lose the 'walking' bit of the description soon if Jaune had anything to say about it.**

**Jaune's crucible left a red trail as he cut down a hell knight and an Arachnotron in his path. Dashing forwards past their corpses, he landed right where the Icon was about to slam its one good arm down. Slicing down with all his strength, Jaune cut through flesh, muscle and sinew, rendering the limb a mangled mess.**

**The demon reared back in pain and exposed its midsection, Jaune grinned and levelled the BFG 9000, one last round in it prepped and ready. The last orb of emerald death struck the Icon's stomach and blew it open.**

**And Jaune found that yes, the Icon was huge and did in fact have huge guts as much of it spilled into the streets below with nothing keeping them inside anymore.**

**No longer able to stand with all the damage the Slayer had dished out. The Icon of Sin stumbled and fell forwards, collapsing on the building that just barely managed to hold up its weight. Parts of its skull fell away exposing its brain, and that was just the perfect target for Jaune, a nice little call back to how he murdered the first Icon of Sin in the distant past.**

**This time, no rockets to the brain, just a cool laser sword.**

**Jaune brandished the crucible, the crimson edge blazing to life as he clambered onto the beaten demon for the coup de grace.**

**Leaping off the Icon's arm, Jaune landed on the brain itself and stabbed his sword into the grey matter. With a violent twist, he snapped off the crucible blade and left it embedded in the titan.**

**Jaune jumped off as the titan shook from the surge of blue energy coating it. The Icon rose up and roared one last time before the crucible's energy completely immobilised it, bringing it down for the last time and halting the absorption of Earth.**

**The Icon of Sin's skull thudded back to the ground in front of the triumphant Doom Slayer before gravity did its work and dragged the demon off the building, sending it crashing all the way down.**

**Jaune looked over the edge to make absolutely sure the titan wasn't stirring anymore before turning away. Stowing his weapons, he began walking off, waiting for Ironwood to ready the portal to bring him back to the Fortress of Doom.**

**The Priests were dead. The super gore nest was destroyed. Salem was KIA. And now, the Icon of Sin was no more. Earth was saved. Hell would not win this day, or any other day as long as Jaune was around.**

**But his work here wasn't done.**

**The portals to hell were closed, but countless demons still ran amok. Penny still needed to be retrieved from Urdak. And then, once Earth had been cleaned out completely, he had a crusade in hell to return to.**

**Many more fights awaited him. His eternal war against the forces of hell was only just beginning.**

**And that suited the Doom Slayer just fine.**

"WHOO! THAT WAS AWESOME!" Nora cheered as the viewing came to a close.

"Yes, yes it was." Ren agreed.

"Aww… he lost the sword." Yang complained.

"He'll just make a new one. He did it once, he can do it again." Blake replied.

"So, humanity is safe now?" Goodwitch asked cautiously.

"For the time being." Blank replied.

"That's… not a very comforting answer." Qrow said.

"It is what it is. There are still a lot of demons to kill before Earth is demon free. Then you still have the corrupt elements in the UAC. The situation isn't perfect, but it's only going to get better from here." Blank said.

"The demons will try to invade again, won't they?" Cinder's question was more a statement than anything else as she folded her arms.

"Eventually. The hatred of the dark lords is a powerful thing, but for now, hell has failed. Humanity has a chance to recover from their losses, rebuild their broken world and prepare for the day demons invade again." Blanks said.

"When they do come back, Jaune will be back to stop them again." Pyrrha stated with supreme confidence.

"Yes, he will. The Doom Slayer's arrival wherever the demons are is a universal constant, he is inevitable. Well, in any case, that's it for the viewing. Go refresh yourselves while I get the next one ready."

* * *

Author's notes: Arc-ventures has crossed a million views… damn, didn't think this day would ever come. Thanks to all of you for sticking around this long and I hope you've enjoyed this fic so far. If you don't enjoy my writing, then, I'm actually not sure why you're still here. You're 400,000 words deep at this moment, go read something else.

As to this chapter itself… hoo boy, where do I begin. I started writing this shortly after the end of the last chapter and it should have come out sooner. But waking up one day and finding out you can't play a game you spent almost a hundred bucks on really kills the mood to continue writing for it. Managed to get through it in the end though, and this brings an end to the Doom storyline, unless they bring something big with DLC or announce the inevitable sequel.

Some fun facts I found while doing research for the Doom Eternal chapters. Dr Elena Richardson, the scientist that goes from not believing in the Slayer to thinking he's god and the ARC scientist super fan are voiced by Nika Futterman and Edward Bosco… who also voice the Khan Maykr, the Marauder and the _Icon of Sin_ itself. Another possible unintentional Easter egg is about the gladiator's death scene when the Slayer splattered its head. Historically, there were Roman gladiators executed after defeat by getting their skulls bashed in with a mallet by an official dressed as Dis, god of the underworld. Just something interesting I found.

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as Doomguy/Doom Slayer

Penny Polendina as Vega

Salem as Khan Maykr

Arthur Watts as Deag Nilox

Merlot as Deag Ranak

Tyrian Callows as Deag Grav

Hazel Rainart as the Betrayer/Valen

James Ironwood as Dr Samuel Hayden


	29. Chapter 28: RIPD

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 28: R.I.P.D.**

**Inspiration: Resident Evil 2 Remake**

"Welcome back, the next viewing is ready." Blank greeted as his audience took their seats.

"So, what are we watching this time?" Qrow asked.

"Nothing quite as action packed as the last few universes, here's another world where aura and Grimm don't exist." Blank answered.

"Huh, more Stands?" Ruby asked.

"No. No magic in this world, just science gone very, very wrong." Blank replied.

"That doesn't fill me with a lot of confidence." Goodwitch remarked.

"So what's Jaune's role in this?" Pyrrha queried.

"As aura and Grimm don't exist, neither do huntsmen. In this world, Jaune Arc is a police officer and it's his first day on the job." Blank said.

"Heh, then he's fine. If he were two days from retirement though..." Qrow chuckled to himself.

"…Actually, that's a pretty good description of his situation too." Blank said after a pause.

"What." Qrow's voice was flat and sweat beaded on his forehead as Pyrrha and Yang started glaring daggers into the back of his head.

"Things happen, and suffice to say he doesn't stay a police officer for very long. Well time to get this show on the road." Blank flickered once, causing the lights to dim and the screen to spring to life.

**The heavy rain beat down hard against the windscreen as the jeep drove down the deserted highway. A slightly older Jaune turned down the radio as the Mizoil gas station came into view, one last refuelling stop before Racoon City itself.**

**Pulling into a vacant lot and shutting off the engine, Jaune stepped out of his jeep and looked around. The place was deserted and there was a strange odour in the air that he couldn't place.**

"**No one's around?" Jaune muttered to himself as he began refuelling his jeep. Taking another look around the place, his eyes settled on a police cruiser with its door ajar and no sign of its driver.**

"**That's weird… huh?" Jaune perked up when he heard the sound of breaking glass coming from the convenience store. Taking one last look around at the deserted gas station, his right hand swept down to his waist and fingered the welcoming grip of his sidearm.**

**Swallowing his apprehension, Jaune stepped around his jeep and paused when he noticed the red patches on the ground. Blood splatter, and a lot of it. Sidestepping the bloody mess with a small gulp, Jaune slowly approached the store, passing by the police cruiser and noting the key was still in the ignition.**

**The lights were out inside the store and a lit torch was left lying on the ground. Jaune hesitated for a few seconds before steeling himself and pushing through. "Hello? Anybody there!?"**

**No reply was forthcoming. Jaune knelt to pick up the torch and illuminated clear signs of struggle. More blood splatter on the floor and several bottles had been knocked off the shelf. Jaune frowned and rose to his feet, worry written all over his face. "Something's not right."**

"Yeah what gave it away? The empty station? The blood stains? The blackout?" Mercury commented, rolling his eyes at the obvious statement.

"First day's off to a great start. If this is a sign of his future career, it's for the best he retires early. Less cops are always a good thing in my book." Roman chimed in.

"Ooo… maybe the place is haunted and Jaune-Jaune's going to become a ghost buster." Nora said.

"Not quite the right type of horror movie you're thinking of." Blank said.

**Heading deeper inside, pained breathing as well faint sounds of struggle reached Jaune's ears and he picked up the pace. He found the gas station attendant seated against a wall, clutching a neck wound and breathing hard.**

"**You alright!?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Jaune bit his tongue. He was cop, not a trained doctor or medic, but even he could tell the wound was bad. The attendant needed medical attention immediately, medical attention he had no way of providing.**

**With a pained hiss, the man raised his arm and pointed to the door leading to the backroom, gesturing to something inside it.**

"**Don't move… I'll be back for you." Jaune said before heading through the door. Right now, the only thing he could do was pray the attendant remained still and keep from aggravating the wound, and hopefully there was something he could use to treat the injury in the back.**

"Why doesn't he just call an ambulance? They exist right?" Summer asked.

"Oh yes they do, but he has no way of calling one. This world is set in the modern age as well, but it's not quite as advanced as your own. At this point in that world's history, mobile communication devices are not mainstream yet and Jaune Arc was not one of the early adopters." Blank said.

"No scrolls? That's… that's… what kind of backwater is that? Are they cavemen?" Weiss said, unable to imagine a world where something as ubiquitous as a scroll didn't exist. How did people even get any work done?

"People make do Ms Schnee, people make do. Just so you know, the scroll wasn't always a part of daily life." Ozpin said and sipped from his mug. Weiss looked up and noticed the annoyed glances the adults were shooting her for calling them cavemen and shrunk back into her seat.

**Jaune hadn't gone more than five steps before he heard the heavy doors swing shut and lock behind him. **

"**Hey! What are you doing!?" Jaune slammed his fist against the door but it didn't budge, and there was no response from the other side. Jaune growled before turning away, nothing he could do now and there was still the rest of the back room to check.**

"He locked him in? Why?" Blake asked.

"Yeah what gives, Jaune was just trying to help." Yang added.

"It's not his fault, he's not all there anymore. You'll see in a bit." Blank answered.

**As Jaune approached the end of the hall, the sound of struggling grew louder and louder. Slowly edging the door open and shining his torch through, the light illuminated two figures struggling at the end of the room. **

"**Stop moving!" Sheriff Dee grunted out as he shoved back against his struggling captive, trying to pin him down long enough to slap the cuffs on him.**

"**Officer, you need help?" Jaune offered.**

"**Stay back sir, I got this." Dee replied, taking one hand off the struggle to ward Jaune off. That proved to be a fatal mistake. **

**He lost control of the struggle and was knocked off balance by a sudden burst of strength from the arrestee. The two of them went down in a screaming tangle of limbs.**

"**Hey! Hey! Get off him, right now!" Jaune yelled before his eyes widened in shock and horror. The arrestee growled out something unintelligible before biting into Dee's neck and causing blood to spurt everywhere.**

"**Ahhh… hahh… ahh… help me…" Dee's panicked and desperate pleas died off quickly when an entire chunk of his neck was bitten off. His struggles stilled and his murderer raised his face to stare at Jaune.**

"**What the fuck!?" Jaune's torch illuminated the man's face, revealing white pasty skin that looked half decayed. Crimson blood splattered all over the thing's mouth and parts of its lips had already been ripped away. Milky white eyes stared back at jaune as the mockery of human form rose to its feet.**

"**Freeze! I-I'll shoot!" Jaune yelled as he drew his pistol and pointed it at the monster before him. Unheeding of his warning, the zombie began shambling towards him jerkily, arms outstretched and the corpse it left behind left no doubt about what fate awaited should it get him.**

"Zombies! Aww yeah!" Nora cheered excitedly.

"Not yeah, Jaune's in danger." Ren corrected.

"Pft, it's just zombies, not like they're demons or anything. Everybody knows you just need to shoot them in the head. It's easy! Jaune's gonna be fine." Ruby said.

Blank coughed silently. "Yes, about that…"

**An inhuman snarl left the zombie as it suddenly lunged forwards. Jaune backpedalled and pulled the trigger, his shot landing right on target, striking the zombie squarely between the eyes. Jaune watched in disbelief as the zombie's head snapped backwards and then slowly come back down to stare at him.**

"**What the fuck!?" Jaune yelled and backed up even further as the zombie kept on coming, the gaping hole in its skull leaking blood and brain fluid but not slowing it down in the least.**

"It isn't dead!? Why isn't it dead!? That was a perfect headshot! The movies lied!" Ruby yelled.

"It's not dead because you jinxed it." Qrow muttered.

"Urgh, that's disgusting. What manner of foul science created this?" Goodwitch huffed.

"A virus created in a lab for… reasons. It escaped containment due to a few colossal mess-ups and several counts of deliberate sabotage. Most of the infected turn into incredibly durable zombies and several mutate further into more terrifying monsters." Blank said.

"So, how do you kill them? Headshots don't seem to work." Roman asked.

"Completely destroying the head with sufficient firepower or a lucky shot will kill one for good. Doing enough damage that the infected organs can't keep the zombie 'alive' anymore will also work. Of course, that's all easier said than done." Blank replied.

**A second shot between the eyes again failed to put the zombie down. Jaune fought down a wave of nausea as he swore he could see all the way through the hole in its head. Since headshots weren't working, Jaune shifted his aim downwards, to the zombie's leg.**

**One shot. Two shots. Three. Just when Jaune was about to despair that he would run out of ammunition before the monster went down, his fourth shot to the zombie's kneecap finally caused the damaged limb to break, taking the zombie down.**

**While the zombie struggled on the ground, trying to crawl forwards, Jaune sprinted past it and Dee's corpse, searching for another way out. He found a second door deeper inside that led back into the store but the thing was locked as well. "OH COME ON!"**

**Shelving plans to just shoot out the lock since he was short on precious ammunition, Jaune turned back and wandered deeper into the backroom, searching for something else that could help. When he found a small rest area converted into an office of sorts, he exhaled slowly when he saw a lone key hanging on the key rack.**

**Grabbing it and praying for the best, he doubled back to the door, sparing the zombie that was still alive and crawling the wrong way a glance. Jamming the key into the door as quickly as he could, Jaune sighed in relief when it turned and there was a small click as it unlocked.**

**Pushing through the door with all haste, Jaune slammed it shut behind him and locked it to keep the zombie trapped on the other side. Any notion that he was safe vanished as soon as he heard a growl coming from the side, spinning around, he found a zombie separated from him by just one measly shelf that was already teetering unsteadily as it pushed its arms through, trying to grab Jaune.**

**Another glance to where the station attendant had been sitting saw him rising unsteadily to his feet, skin deathly pale and neck hanging at an odd angle.**

"**Oh shit." Jaune backed up against the door before rapidly pulling away when he felt something slam into it from the other side and heard the snarling and growling. Spinning around again, he found the formerly dead sheriff on the other side, face pressed up against the glass and pounding away at the door.**

"**This is a nightmare." Jaune muttered as he backed away from the reanimated Dee.**

"He already turned? Damn, that's fast." Mercury said.

"Rate of transformation differs from individual to individual but by all accounts, the process is extremely quick especially if the infected is already deceased. Still living infected can fight off the process but without a cure, it's just delaying the inevitable." Blank said.

"So… don't get bit." Qrow summed up.

"That is a given, yes. But the infection can spread through other ways as well, it is a virus after all." Blank replied.

**Jaune dodged around the zombie to his side once it finally pushed over the shelf and collapsed to the floor. Running in between the aisles to avoid the zombified station attendant, Jaune found another zombie trapped behind a row of shelves, struggling to get through. Behind it, the broken windows revealed their method of entry.**

"**Ahhrg!" Jaune grunted in surprise when the shelf the zombie was pushing against tipped over right as he was passing by, knocking into him. Righting himself, he made a mad dash towards the door only to see someone else approaching from outside.**

**Jaune's gun snapped as soon as the doors burst open and the figure stepped through. The woman in red came to an instant halt when she noticed the gun pointed at her face.**

"**Don't shoot!" Ruby yelled and raised her arms in the air.**

"**Get down!" Jaune ordered and fired as soon as Ruby ducked, nailing the zombie looming behind her in the head. Unlike the one in the backroom, this one went down in one hit and didn't rise again, collapsing to the ground with a meaty thud and spray of blood.**

"Hey, it's me! But where did my cape go?" Ruby asked, curious about her older counterpart.

"Capes… aren't really in fashion in that world." Blank said.

"Awww… well at least the jacket isn't too bad." Ruby muttered in disappointment.

"And we're just going to ignore that you nearly got bit by a zombie?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"But she didn't, Jaune shot the zombie and that's that. Now they can all get the hell out of there." Yang replied.

"Somehow, I don't think it'll be that easy." Blake muttered.

**Stepping out of the store, Jaune held his pistol at the ready and scanned the area, a small bead of sweat ran down the side of his face as he noticed multiple figures approaching from the road. The darkness hid their form but their jerky movements left little doubt about what they were.**

"**You alright?" Jaune asked while keeping his gun trained on the approaching shadows.**

"**Yeah, I think so… thanks." Ruby glanced to the zombie that nearly did her in before thanking Jaune.**

"**You can thank me later, when we're safe." Jaune jerked his head towards the oncoming horde, drawing Ruby's attention to them.**

"**Holy shit…" Ruby drew her own pistol and held it at the ready, aim sweeping from one zombie to the next as they swarmed forwards and around Jaune's jeep.**

**Jaune looked at the crowd in worry as he tried to figure out a plan, there were more zombies than they had bullets to shoot. He was distracted from the advancing horde when something slammed into the door he was backed up against and inhuman screeching came from the other side. **

**One of the zombies he'd left behind had its ravaged mug pressed up against the glass, allowing Jaune and Ruby to get a good look at the horrific effects of the zombification process. Its nose had been torn or more likely bitten off and it was bereft of lips as well, just a bloody tooth filled maw scraping against the window.**

**Retreating back inside and attempting to mount a defence there was a no go. Jaune scanned the area again while fighting down the panic and his eyes widened when he noticed Dee's abandoned police cruiser, the engine was still running and there were far less zombies between them and it compared to his jeep. **

"**Come on!" Jaune led the way with Ruby following closely behind, dodging and weaving through the grabby zombies and making a mad dash for their escape route.**

"**Get in!" Jaune yelled as he jumped into the driver's seat. Ruby grunted in exertion as she pushed aside a zombie obstructing her path before getting in as well. Once her door slammed shut, Jaune kicked the car into reverse and immediately backed out of the gas station. **

**Shifting it into drive again, Jaune floored it and sent the Crown Vic skidding out into the rain and back on the main road. He didn't let up on the accelerator until the gas station was shrinking in the rear-view mirror and the zombies couldn't be seen anymore.**

"They're… driving into the city? Is that a good idea?" Weiss asked.

"Go to the city, get help and hopefully answers, the theory is sound." Taiyang said.

"But knowing lady luck, that's the absolute worst choice they could have made. Out of the frying pan and into the fire as they say." Qrow muttered with a shrug.

"Indeed, Racoon City was where the outbreak started after all." Blank said.

"**What the hell is going on?" Ruby asked once the both of them had a chance to catch their breath and the zombies were far, far behind them.**

"**I don't know, hopefully they'll have some answers at the police station." Jaune replied, keeping his eyes fixed forwards on the road. **

"**Wait, you're a cop?" Ruby asked in surprise.**

"**Yeah, Jaune Arc. You are?" Jaune replied.**

"**Ruby, Ruby Rose."**

"**Live around here?"**

"**No. Looking for my sister, she's a cop too." Ruby answered.**

"**Well, it's a good thing we found each other, I don't know what to expect anymore." Jaune said as they drove past a sign welcoming them to Racoon City.**

"I'm a cop? Oh… is… is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Yang asked.

"A good thing to be sure, you have your own story in this world, but you aren't present for this outbreak. You're off elsewhere investigating the ones responsible undercover and so missed this fiasco." Blank replied.

"Um… does that mean Ruby is heading into a zombie infested city for nothing?" Pyrrha hesitantly raised her voice.

"Unfortunately so." Blank said.

"**Attention all citizens, due to the citywide outbreak, you are advised to seek shelter at the Racoon City police station. Free food and medical supplies will be provided to everyone in need." The announcement continued playing on a loop across every radio channel.**

"**Oh my god, this is so unreal." Ruby muttered and looked out the window at the devastation surrounding them. The streets were lined with abandoned vehicles and devoid of life, with countless bodies lying where they fell.**

"**The police station's not much further, they'll know something." Jaune replied, trying to stay optimistic despite their dwindling hopes.**

"**Yeah, but… what if we're the only ones? What if there's no survivors-" Ruby asked before Jaune interrupted mid-sentence.**

"**No. There's survivors. It's a big city… there has to be." Jaune said, half to convince Ruby and half to convince himself.**

**The police cruiser slowed to a halt as the road forwards was sealed off by a road block and multiple abandoned cars on both sides.**

"**Look's like we're walking from here." Jaune shrugged as he shut off the engine.**

**Ruby eschewed replying in favour of leaning forwards for a better look at movement on the sidewalk. Straining her eyes to make out the shapes in the shadows, her eyes widened when she noticed the 'humans' hunched over a corpse and biting into it.**

"**More like running." Ruby said at last, drawing Jaune's attention to the zombies she'd spotted.**

"**Yeah, good call." Jaune agreed and just as he was about to exit, a zombie rose up and slammed into the side of the police car, blocking the door and shaking the vehicle. Another zombie soon started pounding on the other side as well, trapping the both of them inside.**

"**Jaune! We gotta back up!" Ruby said curtly as panic began to mount. More and more 'corpses' were starting to wake up and mob the car.**

"Where'd they come from!? Were they just sleeping there!? Do zombies even need to sleep?" Yang asked rapidly.

"Not sleeping per se, but some zombies do go into something of a rest mode when there's nothing drawing their attention. The only way to tell if a corpse is a zombie, or if that zombie is actually dead for good is to either shoot it or slash it with a knife." Blank answered.

"One wastes ammunition and the other puts you in biting range. Doing neither and hoping it's actually dead is also gambling with your life. That's rough." Roman muttered.

"How did the entire city fall? Surely there must have been something they could have done to minimize the damage." Ozpin asked.

"The initial outbreak happened when the virus leaked into the water supply. In the beginning, the infected didn't look like zombies, just people who'd suddenly gone mad and turned violent. By the time people noticed the dead were starting to walk again it was too late, anyone left in the city when the infection reached critical mass was effectively doomed. Too many zombies and not enough ammunition for the bullet sponges." Blank said.

"And how did the virus even get loose? Were they that careless with their own superweapon?" Cinder asked.

"A mixture of spite and negligence is all I'll say about it." Blank replied.

**While Jaune scrambled to restart the engine, Ruby was distracted from the zombies at the door by a light shining in the rear-view mirror.**

"**What the!?" Turning back to look, her eyes widened in shock as her face was lit up by the headlights of a fuel tanker barrelling straight towards them. The massive truck ran over all the shambling zombies in its path without slowing down unheeding of the road block ahead or the police cruiser in its way.**

**The driver was clutching a bloody bite wound on his shoulder and breathing hard, struggling to keep his focus and rapidly losing the fight.**

"**Holy shit. Ruby, get out. Get out NOW!" Jaune ordered when he too noticed the oncoming threat and gave up trying to start the car. There wasn't anywhere for it to go now with a road block in front, walls to the side and a behemoth right on their tail.**

**The two of them started pushing back against the zombies blocking the doors, trying to get them loose so they could escape. But neither of them had the leverage needed to dislodge the zombies who had begun pushing back as well.**

"**I can't!" Ruby yelled in frustration when her best efforts only got the door to open a tiny crack before the counter shove forced it shut again. Beside her, Jaune was having similar luck with his side, while the fuel tanker got closer and closer.**

"**Hold on!" Jaune gave up trying to escape and braced for impact instead, seeing no way to avoid the inevitable.**

**Inside the truck, the driver finally lost the battle and collapsed unconscious, his final actions causing the vehicle to spin out of control and crash into the row of abandoned cars by the side of the road. The crash bled off some of its momentum but not all of it and its cab still struck the police cruiser, giving them a nasty boost through the roadblock before the truck tipped over on its side.**

"**Uaah!" Jaune grunted as the crash caused him to crack his forehead against the steering wheel. Once the jarring ride came to an end courtesy of another car serving as a brake, Jaune slowly opened the door and stumbled out.**

"**Whoa!" He yelled when the battered cruiser exploded into flames from an oil leak. Jaune's breath hitched when he saw the flames spreading across the ground, stretching towards the oil tanker that was likewise leaking.**

"**Oh no."**

"Did… did I just…" Ruby trailed off, staring mutely at the fires on screen.

"Relax, you live." Blank said and most of the audience exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Pity." Cinder mumbled under her breath.

**Jaune turned and ran, he made it several feet before the tanker blew and the shockwave hurled him bodily into a car hard enough to dent it.**

"**Haaah… arrgh!" Jaune groaned in pain as his back screamed in protest from the hit. Hissing as he fought down the urge to scream, Jaune got back to his feet, staring at the burning wreckage surround him.**

"**Aarrghhh… RUBY! RUBY, YOU OKAY!?" Jaune shouted at the top of his lungs, fighting to be heard over the roaring flames everywhere.**

**His worried glance rested on the burning police cruiser and the seconds ticked by without any sign of Ruby, until… "YEAH! I'M ALRIGHT! HOW ABOUT YOU!?"**

**Jaune exhaled in relief as he heard Ruby's voice. Turning to the side, he noticed the other zombies awakened by the crash and explosions moving in on him, their inhuman groans and screeches grating on his ears. "I CAN'T STAY HERE! IT'S NOT SAFE!"**

"**GO ON AHEAD, I'LL MEET YOU AT THE STATION!" Ruby yelled back before picking herself up and running off into a side street before any zombie could look her way.**

"**I'LL BE THERE!" Jaune called out in parting before drawing his sidearm and aiming it at the crowd. Three bullets left to split between all of them, no way that was happening. As standing his ground would see him join the ranks of the living dead soon enough, Jaune spun around and fled.**

**Dodging by the other zombies still milling around, Jaune sprinted down an alleyway, past a slowly wakening zombie. Any possibility of escaping back the way he came died when it knocked over a pile of burning wood, setting itself on fire and blocking the path back.**

"**Shit, its everybody… they've all turned…"**

"That's a lot of zombies. Never thought I'd say this, but where's the army? Jimmy's usual approach would fit in very nicely here." Qrow said.

"Racoon City is a corporate city, run by the Umbrella Corporation." Blank said.

"And…?" Qrow prompted.

"It means they're covering up the disaster. The outside world probably doesn't know how bad the situation is, if they even realise something has gone wrong." Weiss answered with a small sigh. It wasn't the SDC here, but she could easily see how things had gone. Jacques would have definitely done the same.

"So they just left the people to die to cover their own asses? Typical." Roman sneered.

"Oh, they did a lot worse than that. Their virus was one of their weapons, its effectiveness was proven by the outbreak and Umbrella figured they might as well use the chaos to field test some of their other 'products' on the few combat capable units left in the city." Blank said.

"Field test… what about the civilians? A-and if this Umbrella Corp controls the city, doesn't that mean they're using their own people as test subjects?" Goodwitch asked.

"Yes."

**Jaune grunted in exertion as he pushed the R.P.D. gates shut and slammed the bolt home. The zombies outside piled up against it, trying to bust their way in to no avail. Jaune spared their grasping hands one last disgusted look before turning away and heading into the station.**

"**Hello!? Is anybody here!?" Jaune's shout echoed through the spacious main hall but no response was forthcoming. The place was deserted and while it was disappointing that there was no help to be found, at least he didn't have to deal with any zombies either.**

**Jaune began to explore the area available to him, picking up some spare ammunition left lying around and did his best not to think about what happened to their original owners. Refilling the magazine with the 9mm rounds he picked up, Jaune slid the mag home with a satisfying click, glad that if he had to run into more zombies, he at least had some way of defending himself.**

**A quick lap of the main hall left him with surprisingly few places to go. Shutters were down in places and locked doors were everywhere. Jaune briefly debated shooting out the locks before shelving the idea, ammunition was too scarce to expend recklessly and there was no telling what was waiting on the other side.**

**Exiting the waiting room after finding nothing of importance, Jaune swiftly marched back down to the first floor, past the giant goddess statue. Stopping by the reception again, he noticed the laptop he missed initially and headed over to investigate it.**

**Whoever had last used it had forgotten to lock the computer and it was synced up to the station's camera feeds. Jaune scrolled through all of them, searching for someone, anyone at all. "There has to be someone here."**

**Then one of the cameras detected movement, the grainy black and white feed displayed an officer retreating down a hall, firing at something off camera. The zombie stumbled into view shortly after, still very much intact and a threat and officer Marrow continued his fighting retreat.**

"**Not good." Jaune muttered and rapidly switched through the camera feeds until he found the next one tracking Marrow's movements.**

"**Clover! Vine! You there!? I found a way out! It's in here!" Marrow looked up to the camera and held up a small notebook. Then the zombie closed in and he stashed the book in his back pocket, drawing his pistol, he shot the zombie in the chest once, staggering it but not stopping it in time before it lunged at him. After a brief struggle, Marrow managed to push it off him and throw it back.**

"**Send reinforcements! East hallway!" Marrow yelled at the camera before running off. Jaune frowned and tried to switch to another camera to track his progress but there were no more to be found.**

"**I gotta find that guy." Jaune pulled up a map of the station on the laptop and began plotting his route forwards.**

"A way out? There something wrong with the front door?" Mercury snidely commented.

"I don't know, maybe the couple hundred zombies outside waiting to eat their faces?" Emerald shot back.

"Yeah, and the whole city is infested, isn't it? Does it make a difference where they exit from?" Mercury rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"That's… a fair point." Emerald conceded.

"It's a desperate hope for the few survivors that remain. The main gate isn't an option since it's blockaded by the zombified remains of the citizens trying to reach the police station for safety, but zombie presence at the backdoor isn't as heavy and they're hoping they can make a run for it." Blank said.

"Why didn't they run earlier though? They must have seen the signs." Blake asked.

"As I said, the initial outbreak was covered up by Umbrella and the infected didn't look like actual zombies yet. Shooting everyone who could be infected was too heinous for anyone to consider, more than a few infected made it inside the station, and eventually spread the taint. By the time people noticed, the dead were getting back up and infected were everywhere, the refuge had become a prison for them." Blank said.

**The path leading to the east hallway was blocked off by a shutter with a 'keep out' sign taped to it. Jaune ignored it and grabbed the lever next to the shutter, pulling it and raising the metal barricade. **

**A small sigh left Jaune when the shutters only rose several inches off the ground before coming to an abrupt halt as the power failed. Lacking the strength needed to force it the rest of the way up, Jaune went prone and started to crawl under the opening.**

**The section of the R.P.D. beyond the shutter was pitch black and the foul stench of blood and death assaulted Jaune's nose. Pulling out the torch he picked up back at the gas station, Jaune used it to pierce the veil of darkness and his face contorted into a grimace instantly. Most of the wall was splattered with blood and the floor itself was likewise painted with it.**

**Shining the torch down the hallway, the torch's beam wasn't powerful enough to illuminate everything but so far he didn't spot any zombies or corpse lying around. Pushing away his disgust, he crawled on through and got to his feet.**

"**Okay… you got this…" Jaune muttered out loud to ease his nerves as he pushed through the dark and claustrophobic hallway. He paused at a boarded-up door as the sound of wood straining broke the oppressive silence. Some of the wooden panels were starting to splinter and several nails had already popped free.**

**Wincing slightly as another nail popped free, Jaune continued forwards, hoping he'd be able to rescue Marrow before whatever was trapped on the other side broke free. Next came a press room where he managed to collect some more ammunition from a corpse that was thankfully very much just a corpse. Then after pushing aside a locker that had tipped over, his path to the east hallway was clear.**

"**Jesus…" Jaune muttered as he came across a pile of bodies haphazardly tossed against the wall. Blood everywhere and the horrific stench filling the air was overpowering. It was clear none of them had an easy death.**

"Twenty lien says at least one of them is a zombie and about to wake up." Roman said.

"And they'll bust down that sealed door too." Mercury chimed in.

"He'd better have enough bullets or he'll become one of them." Emerald shrugged.

"**OPEN UP! HURRY! OPEN UP! OPEN THIS GODDAMNED DOOR!" Marrow's panicked shouting kicked Jaune into gear as he sprinted into the watchman's room. Frantic pounding was coming from the shutters but unlike the main hall, there wasn't a control lever to raise it.**

"**I'll get you out!" Jaune yelled back, trying to calm Marrow down. Kneeling down, he grabbed the shutter's base and struggled to lift it, just a bit and Marrow would be able to crawl through to safety.**

"**Uurrgh!" Jaune grunted as the metal shutters finally acceded to his will, raising slightly before becoming stuck. The opening was small but just enough for a human arm holding a notebook to stick through.**

"**HELP ME! PLEASE! HELP ME!" Marrow yelled as his arm began waving in a panicked motion.**

"**Gimme your hand!" Jaune grabbed hold of Marrow's protruding limb and began tugging on it, trying to pull the officer through the threshold.**

"**I got you!" Jaune said as Marrow's head popped through, followed by his other arm as his torso emerged.**

"**Gimme your other hand." Jaune ordered as Marrow flipped over, reaching out for Jaune as he struggled through. Jaune grasped it tight and began to pull harder, and just when it seemed things were going to be okay, everything went to hell with the growl of a zombie.**

**Marrow screamed as blood splattered everywhere, coating them both in crimson. His screaming and struggling intensified and the sound of something tearing into flesh mixed in with the zombies' snarls and growls.**

"**Hang in there!" Jaune yelled as he pulled harder, feeling the resistance as the zombies on the other side tried to drag their meal back to them. The tug of war went on for several seconds until a sickening squelch signalled the end of it and Jaune fell backwards, off balance from the sudden loss of opposition.**

**Marrow came through as well… minus his bottom half.**

"**Oh my god… Jesus Christ…" Jaune knelt by the dying Marrow's side and struggled to not throw up as the unfortunate officer's intestines were beginning to spill out. Slowly, Marrow's movements ceased, and his hands fell limply to the side. The notebook he was clutching slid free from his grasp and Jaune grabbed it after a moment's hesitation.**

"Oh… that's disgusting." Weiss blanched at the gory sight and averted her eyes.

"H-holy shit, did… did they eat the entire bottom half of his body!?" Mercury asked, not expecting Marrow to go out in such a gruesome manner.

"Not yet." Blank answered.

"I will probably regret asking, but what do you mean not yet?" Yang queried.

"The zombies on the other side started eating his stomach first and chewed almost all the way through, allowing Jaune Arc to pull his torso through. They are now starting on his legs." Blank replied.

"Uh huh. Yep. I immediately regret asking." Yang buried her face in her palms and proceeded to scream her frustration into it.

**Jaune shot up when something started pounding on the door, drawing his pistol, he stood his ground and waited. The pounding continued for a few moments before it ceased, then a single big push came and the door burst open.**

"**Shit." Jaune retreated until his back hit the wall as the zombified policeman stepped through. It used to be one of the 'corpses' lying against the wall and it must have been awoken by their screaming.**

**As the zombie shambled forwards with arms outstretched, Jaune sucked in a deep breath and took aim. Pulling the trigger once, the pistol's report seemed unnaturally loud in the silent police station. The bullet struck true and impacted right in the zombie's left eye before punching through the other side. Undeath had not treated this particular zombie well as its diseased and rotting tissue gave way and the entire side of its head exploded in a shower of blood and gore.**

"**Fuck!" Jaune exclaimed as the body continued to stagger forwards a few more steps despite the removal of most of its brain before finally collapsing over the desk.**

"I liked it better when it was demons' heads exploding." Nora said in a sombre tone.

"Me too Nora, me too." Ren agreed.

"It… could be worse?" Pyrrha offered, still trying to look on the bright side.

"Ah crap, it gets worse, doesn't it?" Qrow muttered.

"Unfortunately so. But that's for another time." Blank replied.

**Running out the watchman's room, Jaune shied away from shattering glass as a zombie bust through one of the windows. Sprinting down the hall, his head snapped up when the horrible sound of wood breaking and a door being thrown open assaulted his ears.**

"**Jesus! They're everywhere!" Jaune raised his pistol and took aim when two zombies appeared to block his way back to the main hall. With a zombie behind him and two in front, he was boxed in and no choice but to fight.**

**Steeling himself and exhaling slowly to focus his aim, Jaune shot the closest zombie in the head and struck lucky, half of the head vanished instantly from the critical hit. The second proved more of a problem, his first shot missed, striking the back wall harmlessly. His second struck the zombie's forehead dead centre but no cessation of existence.**

"**Damnit!" Giving up trying to get a luck hit, Jaune went for the legs next, planting two rounds into the zombie's right leg. The rotting flesh gave way under the punishment and the leg was severed with a disgusting squelch, causing the zombie to fall.**

**While it struggled to rise, Jaune started running again, not waiting for window zombie to catch up to him and dodging a lunge from the downed zombie along the way. As he rounded the corner, he glanced back to find a third zombie, one of a police officer, rising up and walking out of the previously blocked off room. **

**Someone had sealed the three of them inside the supply closet and they had picked a mighty bad time to break free. But right now, Jaune had neither the time nor the ammunition to deal with number three, light was shining through at the end of the hallway and he was almost home free.**

"**Come on… aarrghh!" Jaune went prone and started crawling under the metal shutters leading back to the main hall. The power failure afflicting the shutters had caused it to start lowering again in the short time since Jaune had initially passed through and it was now hindering his progress back.**

**Managing to push it up to the point he could fit through the gap, Jaune began to crawl as fast as he could. He was almost through to the other side when he felt something grip his right leg.**

"**Goddamnit!" Jaune cursed as he looked back and found a zombie clawing at him, trying to pull itself into biting range. Struggling to kick it off him, Jaune did his best to crawl through before the zombie could wise up and just bite down on his foot instead.**

**Just when he thought it was all over for him, Jaune felt a strong grip on his arm as someone pulled him the rest of the way through and freed him from the zombie's grasp. Clover let go once Jaune was clear before returning to the still grasping zombie.**

"**Watch out!" Jaune warned but Clover paid him no mind. The police lieutenant planted his feet on the shutter and stomped it down, crushing the zombie's skull to a pulp under the metal and finishing it off instantly.**

"**Got it. you're safe… for now." Clover muttered and turned to Jaune before wincing in pain and falling against the shutter for support. Jaune looked down in worry even as he uttered his thanks as Clover gripped his injured right side with his hand and slumped down.**

"**Clover Ebi." The lieutenant offered.**

"**Jaune Arc…" Jaune replied, swallowing hard and fighting to return his breathing to normal after his near-death experience.**

"**There was another officer, I-I couldn't… I couldn't…" Jaune trailed off and closed his eyes, unable to say anything more, the bile rising in his throat again.**

"**Here." Clover moved over to Jaune and offered a hand. When Jaune grasped it after a moment, he pulled the rookie up to his feet.**

"**I'm sure you did what you could, Jaune."**

"Oh… that was too close." Ruby sighed in relief as Jaune managed to escape zombification.

"Clover's bit, isn't he?" Taiyang muttered.

"Yes." Blank answered.

"Hmmph, kill him and be done with it then. Put him out of his misery." Cinder said callously.

"The hell is wrong with you? Oh fuck it, what isn't? I'm surprised your little tagalongs still follow you. Your heard it yourself kiddos, soon as you are no longer of use to her it's the chopping block with ye. Damn whatever help you gave her." Roman shot back, Neo helpfully mimed stabbing someone in the back with her illusions.

"I'm being realistic Torchwick. He's infected and will turn without a cure. Something they clearly don't have in the station or they wouldn't be in this situation to begin with, now would they? Better to let him die human and remove a threat early than fight another one of those things later." Cinder replied, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

Roman grumbled as he conceded that point while Emerald and Mercury exchanged a glance when Cinder didn't deny the bit about disposing them when they were no longer of use.

"**Does anyone know what started this?" Jaune asked as he adjusted his elbow guards. He'd dumped his previous blood-soaked civilian outfit in favour of the R.P.D.'s swat gear. It wasn't the full-body riot gear he wanted, but it provided a lot more protection then anything else available at the moment.**

"**Not a clue." Clover replied, one hand still gripping his bleeding wound while he used the laptop to scan through the various security feeds.**

"**But honestly, all you need to know is that this place will eat you alive if you aren't careful."**

"**Yeah, well… I was supposed to start last week and I got a call to stay away. I wish I'd come here sooner." Jaune shrugged helplessly, if he had arrived early, he might have been able to help in at least some small manner, keep things from reaching such a state.**

**Now it was too late to be helping anyone. All that was left was finding a way out of the station and then out of the city without becoming zombie chow.**

"**You're here now Jaune, that's all that matters." Clover replied before returning his attention to the notebook Jaune retrieved from Marrow.**

"**Okay lieutenant, I'm ready." Finished securing his gear, Jaune stood by awaiting further orders from his superior.**

"**Hopefully you'll be able to find a way out of this station. That officer you met earlier, Marrow. He thought this secret passageway might do the trick." Clover said as he handed the notebook back to Jaune, a crudely drawn diagram of the purported secret passage displayed on it.**

"Secret passage? What would a police station require a secret passage for?" Ozpin asked.

"The building wasn't always a police station, it used to be an art museum with more than a few quirks, during its refit into the present-day station, some areas were sealed off and forgotten by all except a few." Blank replied.

"It can't be that simple, can it?" Weiss asked.

"Originally it was just that. But further renovations have been done to facilitate more clandestine operations by dirty cops in Umbrella's employ. The company may control the city, but it doesn't have full sway over the police, the hidden passages served as an easy solution to their problem of maintaining secrecy." Blank elaborated.

"**This is good news. We can get you to a hospital." Jaune said, looking up from the notebook.**

"**No, no, I am not the priority here." Clover shook his head and shot down Jaune's suggestion immediately.**

"**Lieutenant, I'm not just gonna leave you here-"**

"**I'm giving you an order rookie! You save yourself first." Clover's shout interrupted Jaune's sentence. **

"**I'd come with you, but I'd just slow you down."**

**Jaune huffed once but fell silent. Clover's mind was made up and further argument at this stage was pointless. Once he found the way out, then he'd try convincing the lieutenant to come with him again.**

"**Now… you'll need this." Clover reached behind him and unhooked his combat knife, offering it to Jaune hilt first. **

"**I can't take-" Jaune started protesting instantly, unwilling to rob Clover of his last defensive weapon.**

"**Stop." Clover's pain grunt cut off Jaune's protests once more. Jaune sighed and grasped the proffered weapon.**

"**And don't make my mistake. If you see one of those things, uniform or not, you do not hesitate. You take it out… or you run. Got it?" Clover ordered.**

"**Yes sir." Jaune nodded slowly. Worry flashed across his face again when Clover fell back into his seat, clutching his wound in pain as it started acting up again. Gritting his teeth and backing off as Clover's suffering seemed to abate for a moment, Jaune turned away and shook his head to clear his doubts. No time for wool-gathering now, the sooner he found a way out, the sooner he could get Clover the medical attention he needed.**

**Pulling out the notebook, Jaune flipped through it and studied it. Noticing that the secret passageway was apparently under the goddess statue and locked off by three medallions that could only be obtained from three other statues, his eyes rested on one depicting a lion.**

**Glancing to the second floor of the main hall, he recalled passing a lion statue on his initial circuit of the area. Sparing Clover one last worried look, Jaune jogged up the stairs and sure enough, the statue was there.**

**Slowly turning each dial at the base of the statue until it matched the drawing on the notebook. Jaune blinked in surprise when mechanical whirring came from the statue and the medallion popped out from it, dropping neatly into his hands.**

**Not daring to celebrate too soon, he jogged back down to the goddess statue and inserted the lion medallion into the allocated slot. For a second, nothing happened, then part of the statue's base receded into the ground, revealing a door underneath the statue. It was still blocked off by metal grills and Jaune surmised he'd need the missing two medallions before he could gain entry.**

"**So Marrow was right…" Clover muttered as the secret passageway was revealed. The two surviving officers shared a bitter smile that the one who discovered it wasn't around to see the fruits of his labour.**

"**Yeah, but the passage isn't open yet." Jaune said quietly before walking off, heading for the west wing of the station next. Like the east wing, the shutters were down and barring his path, the control lever's box had been taped shut, probably in an attempt to keep anyone from unleashing the zombies waiting in the west wing by accident.**

**But right now, he needed to go through. The other statues had to be in the station somewhere, they just had to be. Drawing the combat knife Clover gave him, Jaune cut through the tape and the shutters began to rise when he pulled the lever, this time going all the way up.**

"**This is not how I imagined my first day." Jaune muttered softly as he proceeded deeper into the station.**

The screen faded to black and the lights came on, signalling the end of the viewing to a round of protests.

"What!? That's it! Oh come on, you can't just leave us hanging like this!" Yang yelled.

"Yeah! We wanna see Jaune-Jaune kick zombie butt!" Nora added.

"Maybe another time." Blank said.

"Jaune survives, right?" Pyrrha asked.

"Hmmph, he's probably a dead man, he's in way over his head and there's no way he'll make it alone." Cinder said, ignoring the angry glares sent her way.

"Well, you're not wrong on that point. That Jaune Arc would have most definitely perished if he didn't get help later." Blank said.

"More survivors? Ooh! Was it other me?" Ruby asked.

"Not… exactly… even though that Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc do meet up later. She's not the one who saves him. And that Jaune Arc's relationship with his rescuer is… complicated… very complicated." Blank said.

"Complicated? What could possibly be complicated about it?" Cinder asked in confusion, unable to see how being rescued would lead to complications.

"Ah, for starters, his rescuer happens to go by the name Cinder Fall." Blank's little announcement was met with a chorus of 'WHAT!' from his audience.

"But that's for another time. For now, feel free to refresh yourselves while I get the next viewing sorted out."

* * *

Author's notes: Finally got my plat for this game, mid game hell exists for Leon playthroughs and endgame is a cakewalk. Nothing else to see here. Move along, move along.

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as Leon S. Kennedy

Ruby Rose as Claire Redfield

Yang Xiao Long as Chris Redfield

Dee as Sheriff Daniel Cortini

Marrow Amin as Edward Elliot

Clover Ebi as Marvin Branagh

Cinder Fall as Ada Wong (who else would it be?)


	30. Chapter 29: Tin Soldiers

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

Note: Reuploading this chapter after FFN decided to just delete it all of a sudden. Hopefully it stays up this time. Sorry about the mess

**Chapter 29: Tin Soldiers**

**Inspiration: Star Wars: The Clone Wars**

"Welcome back all of you, today's viewing is another universe we've seen before, although with some changes." Blank said as his audience took their seats.

"More zombies?" Nora hedged.

"No. but before that." Blank said, before flickering once, causing Ironwood and Winter to reappear in their seats.

"I will never get used to that." Ironwood groused as he shifted into a more comfortable position, slightly ticked off that he was pulled away from his research on the ARC anti-demon weaponry. Their effectiveness was somewhat lacking against the demonic hordes but Grimm went down a lot easier and any possible edge in the war against Salem was always welcome.

"I see we're back, what viewing is in store this time?" Winter asked.

"A return to the universe with the Jedi, although not quite the same as the previous one. Some of the characters have been shuffled around, this one takes place during the final days of the republic." Blank said and the lights dimmed.

"Joy. So they're doomed." Roman's sarcastic laughter heralded the screen coming to life.

**Blake and Jaune stood on the Venator's bridge, staring out into the void of hyperspace. Their mission on Mandalore had been a complete success and the Sith lord Tyrian Callows was now safely in custody. All that was left was bringing him to the Jedi council where he would stand trial.**

**According to the latest transmission from Coruscant, the Clone Wars were almost at an end. Once the last of the separatist leadership had been brought to justice for their crimes, peace would return to the galaxy at last.**

**But despite the nigh inevitable republic victory in the near future, an air of melancholy hung between the two friends.**

"They're about to win the war and they're unhappy about it?" Ironwood frowned in confusion.

"Victory must have been too expensive for them." Ozpin said.

**Blake's expression soured slightly and Jaune noticed immediately. "Something… on your mind?"**

"**As a Jedi… we were trained to be keepers of the peace, not soldiers. But all I've been since I was a padawan is a soldier." Blake said softly.**

"**Eh… I've known no other way. Gives us clones all… mixed feelings about the war. Many people wished it never happened, but without it, we clones wouldn't exist." Jaune admitted.**

"**Well, then perhaps some good has come from all of it. The Republic couldn't have asked for better soldiers, nor I, a better friend." Blake's words put a smile back on Jaune's face as the two exchanged a salute.**

"So I'm a Jedi here? And Jaune's a clone?" Blake asked.

"Ex-Jedi. That version of you left the order after they shattered your faith in them. Jaune Arc here is one of the many clones that make up the grand army of the Republic, and the ranking officer." Blank said.

"**Commander Arc, the latest briefing has come in." An officer approached the two of them before delivering the news.**

"**Want to have a look? It might have an update on General Ozma's efforts." Jaune offered.**

"**You go, I'm sure it's more good news." Blake turned the offer down, preferring to remain on the bridge in peace. She was Jedi no more, as a civilian, there was no longer any reason for her to sit in on another mind numbingly dull briefing from command.**

**Jaune gave her a small nod before walking away to his briefing. Blake remained where she was, lost in her own thoughts until a sudden shift in the Force pulled her out of her reverie. Her head started to hurt as voices not her own intruded.**

"**It's not the Jedi way! He must-" Adam's voice became distorted and it hurt to even try and process the noise. Blake winced as the volume intensified, screams, shouts and then more screaming.**

**She staggered about, swaying unsteadily as she tried to maintain her balance even in the face of the excruciating headache plaguing her.**

"…**What have I done!?" Adam's panicked and grief stricken words were the last thing bouncing around inside her head as the force 'vision' ended.**

"**Adam?"**

"…What has he done?" Blake asked, frowning at the mention of her former mentor.

"Sealed his own fate and that of the Republic." Blank answered.

"Pity he didn't die in the war then." Ironwood groused.

"This version of Adam Taurus wasn't always a bad guy, just pushed by circumstances down a road he wouldn't have chosen to take. He's one of the biggest heroes of the Clone Wars, but everyone else just tried to use him as a pawn. It ends poorly." Blank elaborated.

"…What did he do?" Blake asked again.

"In this universe, he becomes Vader." Blank said.

"Oh."

**Jaune's face was blank as he received his new orders from high command. His eyes narrowed as the hologram of a hooded figure rescinded his mission to deliver Tyrian for trial in favour of a new one.**

"**Execute Order 66." A soft, sinister voice spoke.**

"**Yes Lady Salem." Jaune bowed his head and acknowledged his new orders without protest.**

"What. Come again?" Goodwitch stared blankly at the screen, not quite believing what she was hearing.

"Arc's working for Salem?" Qrow blinked once, before chugging the rest of his bottle.

"What's order 66?" Ruby asked, a tinge of worry for alternative Blake in her voice.

Blank said nothing, allowing the viewing to continue playing.

**As Salem's hologram winked out of existence, the doors opened with a hiss as Blake rushed through, still badly affected by the force vision. "Rex! It's Adam. I feel like something terrible has happened." **

**Jaune's hands trembled and the helmet in his hands shook before he lost his grip and it fell from his limp fingers.**

"**Jaune…?" Blake hesitantly spoke up as she noticed the clone trooper guards beginning to raise their weapons at her.**

"**No!" Jaune ordered the guards to stand down before they could open fire.**

"**I'll do it."**

"**Jaune, what's happening!?" Blake approached only to freeze in her tracks when Jaune pulled out his dual pistols and aimed them right at her head.**

"**Stay back!" Jaune shouted, the blasters in hand trembling and throwing off his aim. Sweat beaded on his forehead and his face contorted in an ugly grimace as his fingers began tightening on the triggers.**

"What!? I… I thought they were friends!" Pyrrha exclaimed.

"They are." Blank said.

"Then why?"

"Because he has no choice." Blank answered.

"**Find him… find him!" Jaune shook his head as he struggled to get the words out and hold off pulling the trigger as long as possible.**

"**Fives! Find himaargh!" Jaune's blasters opened up on Blake, sending two bolts towards the former Jedi. Blake dodged the poorly aimed shots and leapt forwards, evading the incoming fire from the clone guards and tackling Jaune at the same time.**

**Jaune's head collided with the holotable, stunning him and causing him to drop his weapons. Blake let him collapse to the floor as she ignited her lightsabers, deflecting the clones' blaster bolts back at them, burning smoking holes through them.**

**Shock, panic and sheer disbelief ran through her at the sudden betrayal of her friend and comrades. But there were more pressing concerns than her feelings now, Blake waved her hand and forced the blast doors to seal shut with the force.**

"**Jaune!" Before she could question the stirring clone commander, another set of doors opened up behind her, unleashing a squadron of clones, all gunning for her head.**

**Her twin lightsabers flashed as she deflected the incoming fire, returning the blaster bolts to the clones with deadly precision. As Jaune got back up and started shooting at her too, Blake switched tactics, deflecting the lasers upwards instead, her performance a graceful and deadly dance.**

**Even if she managed to down all the clones in the room with her, something she didn't want to do, more were definitely on the way and there was no way she'd be able to fight off a whole ship worth of soldiers on her own.**

**The more bolts deflected into the ceiling, the poorer visibility got as smoke poured from the damage and several lights were hit as well. Until eventually, her impromptu smoke screen concealed her completely and her lightsabers deactivated.**

"**Hold fire, we got her!" One of the clones shouted and hesitantly approached, waiting for the smoke to clear.**

**Jaune's eyes narrowed as there was a distinct lack of a dead body when they could see into the smog again. His eyes flicked from side to side, searching for any trace of his target before a shower of sparks drew his attention upwards.**

**There in the ceiling lay a circular hole, cut clean through by Blake's lightsabers and leading into the maintenance ducts. Jaune lowered his pistol and glared furiously at Blake's escape route.**

"**Sir, are you alright?" One of the clones asked.**

**Jaune winced slightly and closed his eyes, as though warding off a headache. "Fine, just uh… tired is all." **

**Shaking it off, he donned his helmet again, ensuring it wouldn't be so easy to take him down the next time they met.**

"There's something wrong with him." Roman muttered.

"You mean besides the part he's trying to kill one of his friends and taking orders from Ms I am clearly a villain?" Qrow raised an eyebrow.

"He was fighting it at the start… did they mess with his head?" Roman mused.

"Mind control? That's impossible isn't it?" Weiss said.

"There was the Jedi mind trick, could Salem have done the same?" Winter wondered.

"On all of the soldiers? Unlikely I think." Ironwood replied.

**Jaune breathed slightly easier once his helmet was back on and firmly sealed. "I want you to go to the detention level, execute Tyrian."**

"**Yes sir! Alright men!" The clone nodded and led a section of his squad off to deal with the Sith lord in custody.**

"They're executing Tyrian? He's not working for Salem in this universe?" Cinder queried.

"He is. He's simply obsolete now." Blank said.

"Ah, I see." Cinder's smirk widened slightly at the thought of the accursed scorpion finally outliving his usefulness and being disposed of.

"**Alright, we know Blake Belladonna is on board. She's been marked for termination by Order 66. Under this directive, any and all Jedi leadership must be executed for treason against the Republic." Jaune addressed the remaining clones with him.**

"**Any soldier who does not comply with the order will also be executed for treason. Understood?"**

"**YES SIR!" The loud acknowledgement from the other clones filled the air and Jaune nodded.**

"**There are only so many places to hide on this ship, gather up search parties, fan out and move section by section. Come on, let's get moving." Jaune waited for his soldiers to rush off to comply with his orders before following behind them, his full-face helmet obscuring his expression from the world.**

"They have discipline, shame it's being put to use in this manner." Ironwood muttered, his tone laced with distaste.

"Treason against the Republic? I'm pretty sure they're looking the wrong way." Taiyang said.

"Not… exactly. At this point in time, Salem is supreme chancellor of the Republic and functionally the head of state for the entire galaxy. The truth about her being a Sith lord and the individual responsible for orchestrating the entire war is unknown to the wider galaxy. When the Jedi tried to put her down, they failed and she used it as a pretext to brand them all traitors of the highest order and subsequently order their destruction." Blank said.

"So that's how the Empire came to be?" Blake asked.

"Indeed. She rules the Republic already, after the Jedi purge and the elimination of the separatist high command, there was no one left who could challenge her reign. And it was a short step towards announcing the birth of a new galactic empire."

"And Jaune? He's friends with Blake, there's no way he'd betray her like that." Ren said.

"He doesn't have a choice. None of the clones do, just as designed."

**Tyrian's eyes snapped open as the ray shields to his holding cell opened with a hiss. Two clone troopers stepped through with blasters raised. Trapped inside his sarcophagus prison and held in place by heavy duty restraints, he could do nothing but watch as one of the clones unlocked his coffin and prepared to finish him off.**

**But before the clones could execute their captive, Blake intervened. Force pushing one of the clones into a wall hard enough to knock him unconscious, she drew one of her lightsabers and sliced the other's blaster in half when he spun around.**

**Then with a wave of her hand, she slammed the clone into the ceiling, crushing him against it with the force until he blacked out. Blake glared at Tyrian as she let the clone fall to the ground, levelling her weapon at Tyrian's throat.**

"**Don't make me regret this." Blake snarled at the Sith before hitting the release on Tyrian's restraints, freeing the mad man.**

"**You've… you've survived." Tyrian coughed out as he stumbled out of the sarcophagus prison and fought to catch his breath.**

"**Is **_**this**_** your doing? Choose your words carefully." Blake held the lightsaber to Tyrian's throat again and demanded answers.**

"**No, no it was not my doing. I don't know what has occurred. But surely you have felt it. The voices crying out. The **_**death.**_**" Tyrian admitted freely and Blake looked away, not wanting to think about the force vision that heralded this madness.**

"**The clones turned against me. Even Jaune… I don't know why, they just suddenly… weren't themselves." She said before turning back to the door and looking for any hostile reinforcements.**

"**Brilliant… brilliant!" Tyrian began laughing to himself as he pieced things together.**

"**I was not privy to my master's plan, but now… now I see it. She turned the Jedi's own army against them." Tyrian rose and dusted himself off, despite their falling out, he could still appreciate Salem's masterstroke.**

"**You have done the right thing by coming to me, only together can we survive this. Now if you'll follow my lead-" Tyrian shut up when the glowing laser blade stopped just short of his neck.**

"**You don't understand, I'm not here to team up with you. I need a diversion, and you're it. Now go cause some chaos, it's what you're good at." Blake shot down the idea immediately and began walking away. **

"**Care to give me a fighting chance?" Tyrian asked, raising his empty hands to draw attention to the fact he was still unarmed.**

"**I'm not rooting for you. Now get going." Blake ordered. Tyrian frowned in displeasure before turning on his heel and leaving.**

"No way that's going to come back and haunt her later." Emerald said sarcastically.

"They're… not going to work together to survive? I mean they're on a ship where everyone is trying to kill the both of them, surely they can work together?" Weiss muttered.

"Heh, and get stabbed in the back? Enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy, that's all." Mercury chuckled.

"Indeed. Backstabbing and treachery are ingrained into Sith culture and their Rule of Two. Betrayal is how that Tyrian ended up where he was anyways." Blank said.

"**Sir, we've finished our sweep of the detention level. The prisoner has escaped. No sign of Belladonna or Callows." A clone patrol reported to Jaune.**

"**Destroy the escape pods. Increase security on the hangar decks." Jaune took the bad news in stride and ordered the only ways off the ship locked down.**

"**Right away sir!"**

"Destroy the escape pods? That's a bit much isn't it? What happens if there's an emergency?" Winter asked.

"Then they all die together." Blank said.

"…They would go that far just to kill two individuals?" Ironwood muttered.

"Yes. The clones were made to be expendable soldiers who would do anything to see their mission a success. They were literally created to be sacrificial pawns." Blank answered.

"It's despicable." Nora growled.

"That it is." Blank agreed.

"**Bring up every file on clone trooper 5555." Blake instructed one of her droids to hack into the ship's database in the hopes of discovering what Jaune was trying to tell her before he went crazy.**

**Her astromech droid beeped and began carrying our its tasks as Blake stood by and watched for intruders. Thus far the clones hadn't made it to this droid storage bay but it was only a matter of time before they arrived.**

"**Okay Jaune… what am I looking for?" Blake mumbled as she scanned through the various files and documents her droid was projecting holographically.**

**Most of the files were meaningless to her, just bites about his service record or deployment history. But one stood out, an x-ray image, something about his brain, but chunks of the report were missing or redacted.**

**The file switched to a hologram of a kaminoan giving some kind of report. "An independent investigation confirmed that the clone trooper CT-5555 experienced a malfunction with his inhibitor chip. Both the senate committee and the Jedi council have accepted these findings. However, a grievance report was filed by CT-7567."**

**Blake massaged her chin in thought as the recording came to an end, figuring that that was probably what Jaune was trying to direct her to. "R7, bring up that report."**

**Her droid beeped in the negative, unable to comply.**

"**It's sealed? Try Adam's pass code, 8108." Blake said, her astromech beeped several times as the code was accepted and it was granted access to the file in question. It's holoprojector came alive again and a recording of Jaune began to play.**

"**I already know this report is gonna fall on deaf ears. Haah… but I owe it to fives to record what I saw. I'm… not sure I believe it myself, but… there's a possibility that the inhibitor chips the kaminoans put inside of us have a… purpose that we don't yet fully understand." **

"Inhibitor chip? I don't like the sound of that." Ruby said.

"So, that's the thing that caused them to go cuckoo all of a sudden?" Yang asked.

"Indeed. Those chips were installed in the clones ostensibly to prevent rebellion or insubordination." Blank said.

"And the real reason for it?" Ozpin queried.

"To overwrite them and ensure they cannot disobey Order 66 when it's given."

"**Fall back! Fall back!" A clone yelled as his squad was forced on to retreat. Those still on their feet continued firing at an unseen approaching threat to no avail.**

**Before the clone who gave the retreat order could get away, he was bowled over by a flying clone trooper. As his comrades continued shooting, an unamused Tyrian Callows rounded the corner, blaster bolts continued flying by him harmlessly, none of the clones able to aim accurately with the force messing with their minds.**

**Making a pulling gesture, Tyrian ripped a section of the wall away, knocking over a clone with the sheet of metal. It served as a shield from stray bolts yet still left him free to demolish the clones with his force powers, throwing them around the corridor like ragdolls.**

**Once his makeshift shield was starting to have more holes than swiss cheese, he discarded his shield but laying it flat and sending it shooting towards the clones at neck level. **

**Two bodies hit the ground, followed shortly by their helmets.**

**Using the force to rip more metal panels free and sandwiching clones with bone crushing force, Tyrian used the panels as his next set of shields before sending them shooting towards the clones again with deadly accuracy.**

"**Fall back towards the main hangar!" The patrol sergeant shouted as his squad was being picked off one at a time, none of their weapons capable of standing up against a pissed off Sith lord.**

"**You must seal the blast doors." Jaune ordered through the comm link.**

**The clones hurried to do as instructed as Tyrian's annoyance with their blaster fire grew and he started tearing the guns from their hands with little more than a thought.**

**As the doors began to seal shut, the sergeant was the last one to flee through. But his escape was halted when he suddenly rose into the air, held aloft by the force. Then he was shooting back towards Tyrian as the madman reeled him in.**

**As his squad desperately tried to pull him back towards safety in a macabre tug of war, they weren't strong enough to overcome the force pull. The sergeant continued being pulled in close, arm outstretched and the door sealed completely around it.**

**Tyrian rolled his eyes at the desperate attempt at survival. None of them would be leaving this ship alive once he was done here. At least he got what he came for, the communicator would prove useful in tapping enemy comms, nice of the sergeant to leave it behind along with his arm.**

"That's one way to disarm someone eh?" Yang joked, and a chorus of groans and complaints rose afterwards.

"Yang, no. Just no." Blake shook her head and promptly slapped Yang on the back of her head for her terrible pun.

"Oh come on, that one basically wrote itself." Yang complained.

"It's still bad." Weiss piped up.

"Hmmph! Everyone's a critic." Yang folded her arms with a grumble.

**Boots thudded along the hallways as more clones rushed to reinforce the squads Tyrian had bloodied. Jaune himself was heading down to deal with the Sith since Blake hadn't reappeared and Tyrian was the clear and present danger.**

**As he was bringing up the rear of the formation, one of Blake's droids shot out from the shadows to collide into him. "Hey. Hey! Out of the way!"**

**Another one of the droids dashed past them to interface with the ship and seal off the blast doors there, cutting Jaune off from the rest of his unit. One by one they sealed until he was locked into an impromptu holding cell.**

"**Are you crosswired!?" Jaune yelled at the droids for their sudden interference.**

**The droids simply beeped several times before one of them displayed a recording of Blake. "Jaune. I think I know what's happening. I saw your report on Fives. It isn't your fault. You were programmed, your mind was altered to do this when you were very young. I can help you."**

**Jaune drew his pistol and pointed it straight at the droid once the recording finished. "Where is she?"**

"**I'm right here."**

**Jaune's skin crawled as Blake announced her presence from right behind him. As he spun to face her, he inadvertently exposed his back to the droid. A mistake he paid for in full when the droid unsheathed a stun prod and electrocuted him.**

"**Arrrggghh!" Jaune screamed in pain as the sudden surge of electricity was strong enough to bypass his armour's shielding and zap him directly. Shocked into unconsciousness, Jaune sank to his knees and toppled forwards where Blake caught him.**

"**Careful! We're trying not to hurt him?" Blake chided her droid, reminding them they were trying to fix her friend not fry him from the inside.**

**She gently lay the comatose clone commander on top of two of the droids and began walking towards the medical bay. Her droids had locked down all the doors leading there but already the clones were starting to cut their way through the barricades. **

"Okay, they got Jaune. So now they just need to get that chip out of him and he can tell everyone to stop?" Pyrrha asked in a hopeful tone.

"Maybe. Except he gave the order that anyone who disobeyed that Order 66 will be executed too. Rest of the ship will still be trying to kill them both." Qrow's reply took the wind out of her sails immediately.

"So what can they do?" Ren asked.

"…I don't know. But they better think of something fast." Qrow muttered.

"**R7, run a scan, see if you can find the inhibitor chip the report talked about." Blake instructed as she continued keying commands into a console panel. The still comatose Jaune lay on an examination table in the med bay as the scanner warmed up.**

**As the scans progress and her astromech processed the data, sad beeping came from it as it couldn't detect the chip even with the med bay's most advanced scanners. Blake frowned but refused to give up. "But the chip has to be there. Check again."**

**She bit her lip as the scans continued to come up negative. Time was running out for them, already the clones had found the med bay and were trying to breach the doors. Her droids had done their best to lock it down, but it would not hold forever.**

**Drawing upon her Jedi training once more, she pushed down the rising panic and moved to Jaune's side. If technology could not help her here, maybe the force could.**

**Placing her palms on either side of Jaune's head, Blake closed her eyes and tapped into the force, willing it to work with her to reveal the truth. "I am one with the force and the force is with me. I am one with the force and the force is with me…"**

**As the force did its thing, the unconscious Jaune began to mumble the mantra as well. The strain showed on his face as Blake's intervention began messing with the inhibitor chip's functions. A small beeping sound came from the monitor as the scanner suddenly picked up a spike of unusual activity inside his brain, signalling the location of the inhibitor chip.**

"**You found it!?" Blake's eyes snapped open and turned towards a viewscreen displaying the results of the scan.**

"**R7! Get him under and remove that thing!" Blake instructed and began working on the console again.**

**When her droid beeped its uncertainty, Blake shook her head. "I don't know if it'll work, but if it doesn't, we're dead anyways."**

**Once more she pushed her uncertainty down as the med bay prepared for an emergency operation. Sparks flared as the clones outside were almost through the doors. Blake grit her teeth and drew her sabers again while her droids worked on Jaune.**

**Finally, the worst came to pass as the doors started unsealing slowly. A clone ducked under the door to push it up the rest of the way, while his compatriots began filling the air with blaster bolts.**

**Blake's sabers flashed as she deflected the bolts away, not allowing a single one to touch her or hit Jaune by accident. Thrusting her hands forwards, she delivered a powerful force push that sent some of the clones tumbling backwards.**

**Alternating between force abilities and using her blades to deflect incoming fire, she held her ground as best she could but more troopers continued pouring in.**

**Behind her, Jaune was starting to stir. As he came to, his hands began reaching for his blasters immediately.**

"Uh oh. he's waking up." Ruby said nervously.

"They got the chip? Tell me they got the chip in time." Yang muttered.

**A blaster bolt made it past Blake's defence, striking her and causing her to drop one of her lightsabers. As the volume of fire headed her way intensified, she was forced backwards, doing her best to hold off the clones with just her one good arm.**

**Just when she thought it was over, several blaster bolts shot by her head from behind her, nailing the attacking clones and downing them instantly, including the one holding the door open. Without his interference, the door sealed shut under the guidance of her droids, one of which began welding it down tight.**

**Blake swung around to find Jaune fully awake, twin pistols in hand and shaking. The clone commander was breathing hard and continuing to point his guns in her direction.**

"**Jaune? Are you okay?" Blake asked.**

"**Y-yeah. I'm okay." Jaune took another deep breath before lowering his guns. **

"**Sorry for what happened earlier." Jaune apologised and gripped the side of his head where the chip had been removed. His mind was his own again but he was still reeling from the aftereffects of the biochip's activation.**

"**I almost killed you…" Jaune muttered softly, barely able to believe the events that transpired despite living them.**

"**How widespread is this?" Blake asked, partly to get his mind off it and partly to get answers on how deep the conspiracy went.**

**Jaune's face fell and he took another shuddering breath before answering. "Blake… it's all of us. The entire grand army of the Republic has been ordered to hunt down and destroy the Jedi knights."**

**The two of them lapsed into silence as the implications weighed upon them. Only the sound of clones beginning to cut through the doors reminded them that they were both deep behind enemy lines and the situation was only going to get worse.**

"Aren't there supposed to be safeguards for these situations?" Ironwood asked, ill at ease with the idea of an entire army being subverted just like that.

"There are, the inhibitor chip is the safeguard. It was there to prevent any one commander from going rogue and taking up arms against the Republic. But when Salem _is_ the Republic, that safeguard loses its effectiveness really, really quickly." Blank answered.

Ironwood frowned and thought back to Atlas's own mech soldiers. They weren't clones but the difference was pedantic given what Cinder planned. Countermeasures were something to look into in the future, since even without Cinder in the equation, he had no guarantee Salem wouldn't be able to install one of her agents in Atlas high command… if she hadn't already done so.

"How long was this cancer growing inside the Republic? There's no way something of this scale could have been done in recent memory." Winter asked.

"Decades in the making. The entire war was carefully orchestrated to sow the seeds of the future empire. Plunge the galaxy into enough chaos and the people will willingly bow down if it means peace and 'freedom' from future conflict." Blank said.

"And clearly it worked." Cinder huffed.

"That it did." Blank confirmed.

"**How are we gonna get out of here?" Jaune asked as the clones outside were almost done cutting through the door. Getting off the operating table, he put on his helmet again and drew his weapons.**

"**I have an idea." Blake said.**

"**Which is?"**

"**Just set those things to stun. We're not trying to kill anyone." Blake replied.**

"**Yeah well, tell that to them." Jaune muttered before doing as she said and thumbing his weapons' non-lethal setting on.**

"**They're almost through…" Raising both pistols, his fingers tightened on the triggers as the cutting torches on the other side reached the top of the door and began cutting horizontally.**

"**Wait. Wait… now!" Blake launched a super powered force push as soon as the doors were breached, sending the slab of metal flying outwards and bowling over the clones in the way.**

**As the others tried to close the breach and open fire on the med bay occupants, they were met with precision fire from Jaune, all of them falling before they could get off a single shot.**

**Exiting the med bay, the two of them found more clones rushing them from either side of the hallway, blasting at them without a care. Blake and Jaune moved in concert, the clone commander dodging behind the Jedi while she deflected enemy fire and then sniping the opposition once she created an opening.**

**A performance the two of them had perfected through years of fighting in the field alongside one another. It was one they never thought they had to do against Jaune's fellow clone troopers, but perform it well they did. **

**And eventually, they were the only two left standing.**

"They… they actually work well together." Weiss muttered in surprise, not expecting such a level of synchronisation.

"The Jaune Arc and Blake Belladonna have been working together for a long time in this universe. The two of them were assigned to then Jedi knight Adam Taurus and have fought side by side across many battlefields." Blank elaborated.

"It's still impressive. There aren't many units or teams who can boast such cohesion." Ironwood praised, even the best he had, the Ace Ops still had their own kinks to iron out.

"**Alright, now what?" Jaune asked as he gingerly stepped over one of the stunned clones.**

"**The escape pods have been destroyed, taking the shuttle is our best bet." Blake replied, thinking of the shuttle used as Tyrian's prisoner transport before things went to hell. Behind his helmet, Jaune winced as his earlier orders came back to haunt them both.**

"**Haa… boys are having a rough time with it. Did you hear Tyrian also escaped?" Jaune asked.**

"**He didn't escape. I let him out." Blake corrected and Jaune doubted his ears for a moment.**

"**What. Why!?" He couldn't fathom why she'd do something like that, especially considering how much trouble they went through to lock him up in the first place.**

"**Diversion. Come on!" Blake started sprinting off, in a hurry to find a way off the ship before more clones could come and stop them.**

"**That's one word for it…" Jaune sighed before dashing off to catch up with Blake.**

"This is the part where things get worse, isn't it?" Qrow facepalmed as he could feel the universe just moving to screw with them.

"It _is_ Tyrian Callows, and unless I'm mistaken, he's even worse in this universe. Of course things are going to go wrong." Cinder rolled her eyes.

"Really, she should have just let them kill him."

"You're not entirely wrong on that." Blank said.

"**Target number one has escaped the medical bay." Tyrian glanced at the communicator he retrieved from the clone sergeant and huffed quietly. The Jedi was still alive and had evidently kidnapped one of the clones if the chatter was anything to go by. Good, all the better to draw attention away from what he was planning.**

**Tyrian looked up when two clones rounded the corner and raised their rifles. Raising his arms, Tyrian started force choking the both of them, raising them into the air as he strangled them to death.**

**Leaving one corpse to fall to the ground, Tyrian continued levitating the surviving clone until he made it to his destination, the hyperdrive core. Once the door opened, he tossed his passenger towards a clone guard stationed on the catwalk, sending both of them tumbling over the sides to their deaths.**

**When the other clones noticed him and started shooting, Tyrian sprinted forwards and used the force to blow his way past them, leaving death in his wake. When a clone tried sniping him from above, he waved his hand once and forcibly redirected his aim to shoot down his comrades instead before ripping him off his perch and letting him fall.**

**After clearing out all hostiles in the area with him, Tyrian's insane grin widened as he got to work. All around him, machinery sparked and screeched as the force tore them from their housings. Alarms blared and smoke began filling the air as Tyrian systematically demolished the hyperdrive generators.**

**When more clones arrived, drawn by the alarms and damage, Tyrian brought his arms down, dealing a fatal blow to the generators and dropping them right on top of the clones, crushing several and sending the rest falling into the abyss when the catwalk gave out.**

**Explosions rocked the ship as the Venator was instantly pulled out of hyperspace. The destruction of the hyperdrive and the sudden forced exit was causing the damage to cascade through multiple subsystems of the stricken ship. The engines would tear themselves to pieces soon enough and the ship would be dead in the water, perfect time to find a way off the sinking boat.**

"…He did all that and he was still asking for a weapon earlier?" Ren said and shook his head.

"Fighting chance my ass, this is a complete slaughter." Roman added.

"Sith are essentially walking weapons thanks to the dark side of the force." Blank said.

"**Oh I don't like the sound of that." Jaune grumbled as the ship rocked from another series of explosions. They were still on the run but something had gone seriously wrong somewhere and the whole ship was reeling from it.**

**Busting into a control room, Jaune started shooting immediately, stunning the clone crewmen on duty with his blasters. Blake picked off the ones he missed with the force, and between them, they managed to down everyone before the alarm could be raised.**

"**Hangar bay doors are sealed and they got everything locked down. If they weren't trying to kill us, I'd be proud." Jaune complained as he got to work on the console, trying to find a way around the lockdown. **

**While he worked, Blake began tasking her droids to get their escape route ready and to find out what the hell was happening on the ship.**

**Beeping from one of the droids pulled Jaune away from his work as he struggled to parse what the droid was saying. "What do you mean the hyperdrive is offline?"**

**More beeping.**

"**Destroyed? It's completely gone!?" A warning sounded and Jaune sighed once he looked it over.**

"**We're caught in that moon's gravitational field." Jaune grimaced as he saw their projected trajectory set them on a collision course with the moon of a nearby planet. If he was reading the damage report right, the engines were a lost cause and the crash would kill everyone with how fast they were coming in.**

"**R7, open the main hangar doors." Blake gave the order and the roof of the main hangar began opening up. Light streamed in from the opening and they could see the surface of the moon rushing up to meet them.**

"**We need to get out of here." She said softly when Jaune looked to her for advice.**

"No shit." Mercury snarked.

"Bet he's really regretting ordering the escape pods destroyed now." Roman said.

"It wasn't his fault! Fearless leader was being mind controlled!" Nora shouted, protesting Jaune's innocence.

"Whose fault it is doesn't matter right now. If they don't get off asap, the ship will be their tomb." Taiyang muttered.

**When the bay doors opened and they could see the shuttle waiting for them still intact, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief. **

**And those sighs died as soon as the rest of the doors opened, revealing a veritable army standing guard.**

"**They were waiting for us." Jaune exhaled as he watched his brethren form up in front of the shuttle. Anyone trying to get to the ship would have to go through them first.**

**A clone lieutenant stood in front of the legion, waiting. Jaune exhaled softly and closed his eyes, of course he'd be there ready for them. It just wouldn't be him if he wasn't.**

'**Damnit Ren.'**

"Oh no…" Ren closed his eyes with a small sigh.

"**So what do we do? Fight our way to the shuttle!?" Jaune asked, a note of panic seeping into his voice.**

"**There are too many." Blake said after a pause.**

"**Besides, I don't wanna hurt them."**

"…**I hate to tell you this, but they don't care! This ship is going down, and those soldiers, my brothers! Are willing to die to take you and I along with them!" Jaune started raising his voice and waved his hand towards the army outside angrily.**

**Then his stance slackened and his shoulders slumped, looking away from Blake as though ashamed by his own outburst. He didn't resist when Blake reached up and removed his helmet. Jaune wasn't able to meet her eyes as angry tears continued streaming down his face.**

"It's killing him inside to have to fight his comrades." Summer said.

"They're more than just comrades. All of them are clones, that's his family trying to kill them both. And because of circumstances, even if the two of them do manage to escape, everyone else on board will die." Blank replied.

"It's tragic." Pyrrha summed up.

"**You're a good soldier Jaune." Blake said as she placed a hand on his shoulder.**

"**So is everyone of those men down there. They may be willing to die, but I am not the one who is going to kill them."**

**A moment of silenced passed between them before Jaune spoke again. "So we're just going to surrender? Admit defeat? Is that it?"**

"**No." Blake said.**

"**Well I don't see any other option." Jaune lowered his head.**

**Blake stared out at the army lying in wait for them as the gears in her mind churned. Slowly a plan began to take shape, it was a long shot but far better than a suicidal charge or just waiting to die in the crash. "I have an idea."**

**When she noticed Jaune's sceptical look, she handed his helmet back to him. "Don't worry, it's a good one… I think."**

"That idea better be something special or they won't need to wait for the crash." Emerald commented.

"**Sir, we think Callows might be headed your way." Ren's communicator pinged as one of the clones tracking the Sith's rampage through the ship gave his best estimate of Tyrian's destination based on the units he was butchering along the way.**

**Before Ren could reply, a loud shout rang out in the hangar. "HOLD YOUR FIRE!"**

**He looked up and saw a captured Blake being escorted towards them at gunpoint by Jaune.**

"**Hang on, we have Belladonna and the commander. Send all remaining troops to my position." Ren said into his communicator as the clones raised their weapons and took aim at the new arrivals.**

"**I said hold your fire Ren! I have the situation under control." Jaune ordered.**

"**You have your orders sir, now execute it or I will." Ren shot back but held fire for the moment, allowing Blake and Jaune to close in.**

"**The order was to execute the Jedi for treason against the Republic. The problem is, Blake Belladonna is no longer a jedi, hasn't been for some time." Jaune argued back, keeping the clones' attention on them while Blake's droids snuck past to carry out their tasks.**

"…**Sir, you said yourself. We're under special order from Lady Salem to eliminate Blake Belladonna and any other clone who disobeys Order 66." Ren said.**

"**Just keep him talking a little bit longer." Blake whispered as her droids still needed more time.**

"**Ren! Ren, listen to me, we've known each other a long time, if we don't get this right, we'll be the ones committing treason! Not her!" Jaune yelled back at Ren. **

**The clone lieutenant seemed to struggle for a bit before raising his guns again. Jaune's face fell but that was always how it was going to be he supposed, with the inhibitor chip inside them, there was no way Ren would be able to disobey Order 66.**

"**Commander Arc, you're in violation of Order 66. I accuse you of treason against the grand army of the Republic. You'll be demoted in rank from commander and subject to execution along with the traitor Blake Belladonna!" Ren's words cut deep into Jaune, it hurt more than any physical injury he'd every sustained in his life.**

"**Ready." Blake whispered as she saw the signal from her droids that they were good to go.**

"**Yeah well, I never much liked being a commander anyway." Jaune replied.**

"**Now!" Blake started moving the instant her droids dropped the lift platforms the clones were inadvertently standing on. The bulk of his troops fell to the fighter storage deck below, leaving a greatly diminished opposition force for Jaune and Blake to deal with. When Ren turned to see what happened to his men, Blake force pushed Ren over the edge to join the rest down below.**

**While the clones were reeling from the surprise attack, Jaune tossed Blake's lightsabers over and started blasting immediately, stunning the closest troops. Blake herself began deflecting incoming fire and slicing apart the blasters of nearby clones.**

"They're doing it! They're gonna get away. Nothing can stop them now." Ruby cheered before rapidly shutting up when she felt her uncle's glare boring a hole in the back of her head.

"What have I said about not jinxing things?"

"Uh… oops?" Ruby laughed nervously.

"This must be where Tyrian messes things up again… ah speak of the Grimm and it shall appear." Cinder said.

**Tyrian grinned as he noticed Blake and Jaune fighting off the clones, while all of them were tied up in the melee, that left no one to stop him from stealing the shuttle first. As he skirted the mayhem unfolding, Blake noticed him running past.**

"**Jaune! The ship!" Blake deflected more blaster bolts before running off towards the shuttle. Tyrian's sudden appearance was a reminder that they were here to secure a way off the sinking Venator and fighting off all of the clones was not their main priority.**

"**You wanted this chaos, HAVE IT!" Tyrian roared as he started tossing random objects towards Blake to keep her at bay.**

**When she closed in despite his barrage, the Sith snarled and unleashed a massive force push, tossing Blake backwards into the elevator pits. She stabbed her lightsabers into the ground in an attempt to halt her flight but still went over the edge anyways.**

**One of her droids noticed their master's predicament and fired a cable towards her, allowing her to grab on and avoid falling to certain doom. Jaune growled under his breath and halted pursuit of Tyrian to assist his friend instead.**

**Down below, Ren and the other clones were beginning to stir and did not fail to notice Blake hanging from the cable. Blaster fire surged upwards as she continued her ascent, with one arm tied up with the cable, she only had one lightsaber free for defence.**

**Jaune took aim and let loose with his stun blasts, nailing as many of the clones as he could, doing his best to give Blake cover fire.**

"**Move it, move it! Get these lifts activated, get us up there!" Ren ordered when Blake was almost to the top.**

"**The panel's locked out!" One of the clones called back.**

**Ren frowned and looked at the astromech hauling Blake up, figuring out what was going on. "Fire on those droids!"**

**But despite the clones' best efforts, Blake managed to make it to the top with Jaune and her droids' help. And the first thing that greeted her was the shuttle about to take off with Tyrian at the helm.**

"**The shuttle!" She began sprinting towards it in a last ditch attempt to secure their ride off the doomed vessel.**

**Right before Tyrian could blast off and leave them to their fates, Blake planted her feet on the ground and began force pulling on the shuttle, refusing to let it escape her grasp. The ships engines whined in protest when Tyrian forced it to the maximum and Blake began skidding forwards as the tug of war continued.**

**Jaune dashed over and grabbed onto one of her arms, adding his own meagre strength to the contest in an effort to help.**

"**Incoming!" Jaune fired his one pistol at approaching clone troopers, the reinforcements Ren had called when they arrived were finally here. And there were just so damned many of them.**

**When Blake continued sliding forwards and losing the tug of war, Jaune lost his grip on her and growled in frustration. With all the clones right on top of them, he didn't have the luxury of trying to help her again, not when he needed two arms to return fire.**

**As more troops continued pouring into the hangar and moving to flank them, they suffered their first casualty. Blake's R7 took a direct hit from a stray bolt and most of its internals were destroyed by the ensuing explosion, leaving the burnt-out chassis to topple over on its side.**

"Tch, I guess Tyrian lives to die another day." Cinder grumbled as the odds of the Sith going down with the ship continued to decrease with every passing second.

"Oh come on! After all that and he just comes in and steals the ship!? It's bullshit!" Yang complained, her eyes flaring red in anger.

"Eh, releasing him was a poor gamble then." Qrow said.

"So… what's the backup plan? They… do have a backup plan, right?" Blake asked.

"At this point, they're just making it up as they go along." Blank's answer received a few worried gulps.

"**Ahg!" Jaune took a blaster bolt to his shoulder, his armour soaked up most of the damage but it still numbed his limb and forced him to drop his blaster, cutting his damage output by half.**

"**Can't hold them off! There's too many of them!" Jaune shouted in despair as even more reinforcements continued pouring in. Blake heard his cry and exhaled, they weren't dead yet but at this rate, they soon would be.**

**There was only one thing to do now. Blake closed her eyes and released her grip on the shuttle, allowing Tyrian to escape. As the shuttle shot off to safety, she allowed her anger at its loss to drain away. They weren't done yet, not by a long shot.**

**Jumping in front of Jaune, she began batting aside enemy fire before the clone commander could be overwhelmed. Using the sudden respite to retrieve his fallen sidearm, Jaune shook off the numbness in his limb to start shooting again, refusing to let this be the end of them.**

**Blake switched up strategies again when she noticed they were being encircled. Trusting Jaune to keep them off her back, she released her grip on her sabers, letting them fall to the ground blade first, then using the force to spin them around and cut a circle around them.**

"**Wha!" Jaune screamed when the floor suddenly gave out under them thanks to Blake. They crashed down to the lower storage deck and Jaune landed in a heap while Blake kept her footing.**

"Heh, cats land on their feet, right?" Yang joked and Blake started glaring at her partner for it.

"Okay, they're free from the guys up top, but what about the ones down below?" Weiss asked.

"I'm sure they'll think of something." Ren said.

**Jaune groaned as he got to his feet, then he groaned again when he noticed Ren and the other clones arranged in a firing line.**

"**Blast them!" Ren ordered and blue bolts filled the air once more. Jaune and Blake once again defaulted to the tried and tested Jedi block and clone shoot technique to stay alive.**

**A 'miracle' happened when the previously locked down elevators suddenly worked again, shooting upwards at maximum speed and sending the bulk of Ren's troops skywards.**

**Up above, Blake's remaining astromechs chirped and beeped in success as they once again evened the odds for their master. The both of them knew that this was the end of the line for them, and their AIs could only hope that it was enough for Blake and Jaune to get away.**

"**Hey!" A loud voice interrupted them as the droids found themselves under the scrutiny of several angry clones and staring down the barrels of multiple rifles.**

"**Blast those damned droids." Blaster fire rained down on the two helpless droids and their squeals and beeps were silenced permanently.**

Ironwood's armrest crumpled under the grip of his mechanical arm and he frowned at the screen. "That… actually pisses me off for some reason."

"I concur general." Winter said, an equally vexed expression on her face. Both Atlesians found themselves reminded of Penny, and it absolutely sucked.

"**Nothing… nothing… Nothing! Everything down here is under maintenance!" Jaune called out as he ran past fighter after fighter after fighter, so many flight-capable craft in one place and none of them worked.**

"**There!" Blake's eyes widened when she noticed a lone Y-wing sitting in the dock. It was the only one here ready to fly, or at least she hoped so.**

"**Get me over there!" Jaune ran towards the Y-wing as more of the clones started catching up to them. When he was about to take a running jump off the edge to get to the bomber, Blake did it for him with a force push that sent him colliding into the Y-wing's nose.**

**As he scrambled up and into the cockpit, Blake continued drawing fire from the clones, buying him time to start it up. The former Jedi herself was beginning to tire from the extended combat and taking several blaster shots, her clothes did a good job of soaking up the damage but enough was bleeding through that she was beginning to weaken.**

**Fortunately for her, that moment was when the last of the Venator's engines gave out. The ship lost lateral control and began to tilt to the side, sending unprepared clones tumbling away. Those who retained their footing still had to contend with crates and even fighters being torn loose by the stress and being sent hurtling towards them.**

**Blake herself lost her footing momentarily but with her Jedi training was able to get back up and use her lightsabers to halt her descent. **

"**Come on!" Jaune yelled at her before the bomber's cockpit hatch closed, leaving the gunner position open for her.**

**Blake began running towards the Y-wing, a mad dash to safety. As she leapt into the air, seconds before she could land on the bomber, the magnetic clamps failed and the Y-wing was forcibly ejected from the ship and out into the moon's atmosphere and she tumbled into empty air.**

"Arrghh! So close!" Ruby's fist thudded against her seat in frustration.

"Relax Ruby, your friend isn't done yet." Summer said.

**Jaune fought the controls and hurried to start the Y-wing's engines, doing his best to level out the bomber in the crashing Venator's wake. The controls jerked in his hands repeatedly as turbulence buffeted the bomber.**

**The entire carrier was coming apart at the seams, debris was everywhere and more continued to be ejected from the stricken ship. Jaune's eyes flicked from one place to another, trying to spot Blake's falling form amidst the mess while avoiding crashing into anything large enough to bust the Y-wing's shields.**

**Then he noticed Blake descending on his right. hitting the hatch release, he unsealed the gunner seat again and took the Y-wing in, trying to match their speeds and allow Blake to slide in safely.**

**Blake managed to grab onto the hatch momentarily before the heavy winds ripped it from her grip and sent her tumbling away again. Jaune grimaced before flying the Y-wing in the direction she went, going for another pass.**

**Blake struggled to keep her eyes open as the wind in her face stung. Managing to right herself somewhat and control her fall, she noticed one of the Venator's engines had come unstuck from the main body and angled herself towards it.**

**Crashing into it hurt, but it bled off some of her momentum and allowed her to start 'running' down the engine. As she neared the end of the engine, Jaune's Y-wing came in close for another try.**

**This time, when she jumped off and headed for the bomber, their trajectories matched and there was no additional momentum to pull her off again. Jaune carefully decelerated the Y-wing to allow Blake to close the distance naturally without splattering her against the side of the bomber.**

**When she finally got a secure grip on the Y-wing, Jaune decelerated further and began to pull up, allowing Blake to 'land' safely on top and then climb in. Once the hatch was sealed, Jaune gunned the thrusters and shot off while the Venator sank through the cloud banks on its final approach, thick black smoke trailing from the once formidable Republic ship.**

**Jaune's grip on the controls slackened slightly as he felt his heart get stabbed repeatedly. Allowing the autopilot to take over, he sunk into his seat quietly, mourning the loss of all of his brothers. Turning back to look at Blake, a similar expression was etched on her face.**

**The rest of the flight down to the moon's surface was in silence as neither of them could find the right words.**

"It's tragic." Ozpin said.

"It is. What a senseless waste of life." Goodwitch agreed.

"What about clone Ren?" Nora asked, but no answer was forthcoming and she squeezed her own tight.

**Several days after Order 66 was given, most of the fires had burnt out. The smoking blackened husk of the Venator lay half buried in the ground, a monument to all the lives lost.**

**The Y-wing was parked in front of the ship's nose and Jaune was heading back to it, his painful task complete. Returning the shovel to the bomber's storage compartment, he looked over to where Blake was still standing, alone. **

**Row after row after row of clone trooper helmets had been placed on sticks and left to stand there. It had taken the two of them days to retrieve as many of Jaune's former brothers from the wreck and give them all a proper burial. **

**Now their battered and broken helms would serve as their grave markers and Blake prayed they found their rest in whatever afterlife awaited.**

**Blake retrieved one of her lightsabers and stared at them silently. These things had been through so much with her, she thought them lost when she left the order. Until Adam returned them to her before the mission to bring down Tyrian.**

**And now, one would be lost again.**

**She let it clatter to the ground in front of Ren's helmet and fought back a tear.**

**It was done. Former Jedi Blake Belladonna and clone commander Jaune Arc had both died in the crash. She pulled up her hood to hide her features and began walking away, back to the Y-wing. The galaxy had changed while they weren't looking, now it was time to find a new place in it.**

"It's good then, if they believe they're all dead, then the Empire won't go after them." Ironwood mused.

"They're not going to just let it slide though, are they? It can't end like this!" Nora slammed a fist into her armrest in anger.

"They join the rebellion." Ren stated, it was the only real path forwards he could see them taking. Neither of them looked the type to just let the empire run roughshod over everything they held dear.

"Indeed. But that's for another time maybe." Blank said.

**Snow whipped about in the wind as the first stirrings of a blizzard could be felt. Snow troopers and other imperials milled about in the biting cold as they secured the crash site of one of the Venator Star Destroyers lost in the last days of the Republic. A lone shuttle touched down carrying with it the one imperial who had any connection with the wreck.**

**Darth Vader paid the other soldiers and droids no mind as he walked with purpose, guided by the force. No words were said, only the sound of his breathing apparatus meshing with the howling winds.**

**He stopped right in front of the ship's prow and stared at the wreckage in silence. The force guided him here, and he knelt down. Sifting through the built up snow, he found what he was searching for.**

**An old abandoned lightsaber, rusted over and clogged with snow in places. As he dusted off some of the snow on it, his grip on it switched to a gentler one. Pushing the switch, a familiar blue blade emerged, despite the exposure to the elements, the weapon still worked just as well as the day he returned it to his pupil.**

**Letting the weapon fall to the side, he stared into the cloudy sky as though searching for answers. None were there to be found, only a lone bird circling overhead.**

**Deactivating the lightsaber, Vader turned his back on the wreckage and began walking away. Just dust and echoes now, nothing left for the man once known as Adam Taurus.**

**As he walked away, he was reflected in the visor of one of the clone helmets that hadn't been buried by the snow. Slowly, his reflection became smaller and more indistinct, until it disappeared completely, fading into the mists.**

"…Is it just me, or does this actually feel… kinda sad." Roman asked. Neo held up her scroll for him to read and he nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, that does make sense I guess, it feels like he's lost everything."

"No kidding. It sorta reminds me of how you used to be Tai, when… you know…" Qrow trailed off as bad memories rushed to the surface.

"What's his story exactly? He's not the Adam I know at least." Blake asked.

"Vader's story is one of tragedy. Born a slave, he thought he found freedom with the Jedi Order. Instead, he got mistrust, jealousy and cold indifference. Still, he found people he cared for, grew attached too despite the Jedi's teachings. A great teacher, a wife, a pupil he came to see as family and a loyal clone commander. And the more he tried to hold onto them, the faster they slipped through his grasp. Now all that's left is Vader, a broken shell of a once great man sealed inside a suit forever." Blank elaborated.

"…He's a bad guy isn't he, so why do I feel sorry for him?" Nora scratched at her hair in frustration.

"He is. Vader was born from his own poor decisions, but he is as much a victim of circumstance as anyone else. Just a few 'what ifs' and Vader might never have existed." Blank replied.

"Yeah… I can see that." Ozpin closed his eyes, understanding the words far better than anyone else in the theatre.

"Well, that's it for this viewing. Feel free to go refresh yourselves." Blank said and dismissed his audience.

* * *

Author's notes: So much character in two episodes. If you're a Star Wars fan and you haven't watched the end of the clone wars yet, go watch it. It's definitely worth your time.

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as Captain/Commander Rex

Blake Belladonna as Ahsoka Tano

Tyrian Callows as Darth Maul

Salem as Darth Sidious

Adam Taurus as Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader

Lie Ren as Jesse

Ozma as Obi Wan Kenobi


	31. Chapter 30: Fool's Gambit

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 30: Fool's gambit**

**Inspiration: Command and Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars**

"Oh, this universe, and this time period…" Blank muttered as the final preparations for the next viewing were completed.

"Is it bad?" Ruby asked.

"…"

"That's encouraging." Qrow's clapped sarcastically as Blank remained silent. Shaking his head with a small sigh, he took a large swig from his flask to fortify himself for whatever was about to come.

"So it's bad, _great…_" Yang drawled out and slumped over, sighing exaggeratedly.

"Question is, what kind of bad is it?" Weiss followed up.

"It's a completely separate universe again. This one is set on for lack of a better term, a death world." Blank spoke up at last.

"Death… world? Real cheery." Mercury said.

"It's a world supremely hostile to life, and civilisation is just barely clinging on where it hasn't collapsed entirely." Blank answered.

"They have a bigger Grimm problem than us or something?" Roman asked.

"Were it that simple. No, if it were Grimm, that world would have slaughtered them into extinction long ago through brute force alone. Their world is plagued by a mineral called Tiberium, a hostile terraforming agent slowly rendering the world uninhabitable." Blank said.

"No Grimm, but the dust on their planet is killing them. It's… hard to picture." Goodwitch muttered, her mind trying to wrap itself around the idea of their single largest advantage against the Grimm somehow being the agent of their extinction.

"It's… not dust as you know it, but I suppose if it helps you visualise it better. I'll just start playing it now."

**The Ox transport skimmed the surface of the Badlands, harsh sunlight beat down on sandy surface of the ruined Yellow Zone, baking the dead earth and what little life managed to scrape through on it. Jaune's visor polarised automatically to keep out the glare, leaving him a good view of the war-ravaged land.**

"**Touchdown in five, thank you for flying Air GDI and we hope you had a pleasant flight." The pilot called out over his shoulder with a smile.**

"**Flight was good, but the food sucked." Jaune replied good-naturedly.**

"**Sorry about that, budget cuts and all, we make do with what we've got. Maybe we'll all get a nice fat bonus after this, and some real meat instead of that bio-meat crap they try to sell us." The pilot chuckled as he gently eased the transport downwards to an empty landing pad.**

"**We got those rats cornered now, just a matter of time before we get the son of a bitch."**

"**Yeah… maybe…" Jaune murmured, unable to share in the same optimism the pilot held.**

"**You don't think so? Most of NOD high command is holed up inside, those terrorists can't hold out forever." The pilot said.**

"**NOD isn't the problem, Ozpin is. Always, always him. We got him before, twice, thrice… they say he was one of Stalin's advisors too. And we've got reports of him being active long before that. But he keeps coming back no matter how many times we get him. He's either immortal or there's a 'new' Ozpin every time the old one dies." Jaune shook his head to clear his mind, thoughts about the potential hopelessness of this war would not help them at this juncture.**

"**Ozpin **_**is**_** NOD, unless he's permanently neutralised, NOD will always plague us."**

"I'm what?" Ozpin blinked in surprise and lowered his mug, not expecting the viewing from coming so close to his actual reincarnation curse.

"The Ozpin of this universe is an alien who's been around since time immemorial." Blank said.

"Again… I'm what?"

"Huh, sounds like you're a bad guy here Oz." Qrow muttered.

"Are they fighting an insurgency of some sort?" Ironwood asked.

"Not exactly. The world is roughly divided into three zone types depending on how bad the Tiberium infestation is. Blue Zones are where Tiberium either doesn't exists or has very minimal contained spread. Life here would be comparable to living behind the kingdoms' walls." Blank began explaining.

"Then you have the Red Zones, areas where the Tiberium infestation has gone unchecked and control is no longer possible. Red Zones are effectively a completely alien landscape, chance of survival in such an environment if functionally zero if you aren't a mutant. Lastly, there's the Yellow Zones, which makes up most of the world. Here Tiberium growth is out of control, but the situation isn't as dire as a Red Zone. Despite that, difficulty of life is comparable to trying to build a settlement in the middle of the Grimm lands."

"…And that's most of the world? How could anyone survive like that?" Pyrrha asked.

"They do whatever they have to, lemme guess, Yellow Zones are pretty much crime infested cesspools." Roman said.

"Essentially. NOD grew out of the disaffected people living in those Yellow Zones. GDI, the Global Defence Initiative considers them a terrorist group trying to bring down the Blue Zones and ensure equal misery, but NOD is so much more than just a bunch of terrorists now. They have a functioning army with superweapons and are actually more technologically advanced than GDI." Blank said.

"That's… how can that be possible? How can a few terrorists have better tech than the world's main military?" Winter frowned, the idea felt all kinds of wrong to her, it was like saying the White Fang had technological superiority over Atlas itself.

"As I said, the Ozpin of this world isn't human, and he has access to alien tech he can share with his followers. It allows them to go toe to toe with GDI's industrial might by presenting outside context problems." Blank said.

"**Maybe this time it'll stick." The pilot said as the transport touched down on the tarmac.**

"**Give em hell for the boys we lost on the Philadelphia sir."**

"**You got it Chief." Jaune rose, grabbed his gear and double timed it off the Ox. He hadn't taken two steps off before the dry air and sweltering heat assaulted his senses, making him wish for a cool drink. But there would be time for that later, shrugging off the discomfort with practiced ease, Jaune marched over to the welcoming committee.**

**As his new CO approached, Jaune dropped his bags and snapped off a quick salute. "Colonel Cordovin Ma'am! Lieutenant Jaune Arc reporting for duty."**

"**At ease soldier, welcome to FOB Argus, current GDI HQ." Caroline Cordovin returned the salute before gesturing for Jaune to follow him.**

"**This is HQ now? What happened to Castle base?" Jaune asked, falling in step behind the colonel.**

"**Destroyed. NOD stealth tanks overran most of the base defences with hit and run tactics, then those sons of bitches nuked the place." Ironwood snarled in frustration.**

"**They have a Temple of NOD here?" Jaune glanced skywards, half expecting an ICBM to drop out of the sky at any moment.**

"**Yes, damn thing is locked up deep in their complex, behind miles of heavy fortifications. Which is where you come in lieutenant. You'll be moving in with the 5****th**** Armoured, punch through their defences so we can slip a sniper team inside and spot for the Juggernauts when they arrive." Cordovin instructed.**

**She withdrew a datapad and handed it to Jaune, on it contained every scrap of intel about Ozpin's defences they managed to purchase with an exorbitant blood price. Jaune's face slowly morphed into a frown as he read through them.**

"**Ma'am, any chance of air support? I'm not sure how we're going to break through on foot." The true scope of the daunting task at hand was becoming clearer by the second and it was looking more and more like a suicide mission with every word.**

"**I suggest you not count on it. We've managed to wrest air superiority from NOD but their AA net is still up and borderline impenetrable." Cordovin replied, causing Jaune's scowl to deepen.**

"**What about our ion cannons? Do we have orbital support?" Jaune asked again.**

"**At the moment no. One will reach geosynchronous orbit overhead soon, but even so, those guns won't do anything as long as NOD's ion disruption field remains up. The generators must go." Cordovin said.**

"**I presume I am to take those down as well?"**

"**You presume correctly."**

"Ion disrupt what?" Yang frowned in confusion, the words going right over her head.

"The ion cannons are GDI's superweapons, essentially giant guns mounted on orbital platforms to rain death from above. The ion disruption field is NOD's counter to it, a field that nullifies the attack completely." Blank explained.

"The situation does not favour this GDI does it? I assume Ozpin's forces are thoroughly dug in and can effectively just stall out the siege?" Ironwood asked.

"Indeed. To add on to that, NOD possesses superior stealth technology and their ability to perform hit and run attacks are nigh unmatched. GDI's offensive has been stalled and repulsed multiple times with several bases already having been totally destroyed." Blank said.

"So what's Jaune's role here? If the odds are that bad, what can one more person do?" Blake asked.

"Quite a lot actually, sometimes one man in the right place at the right time can make all the difference. This version of Jaune Arc is a commando, one of GDI's finest soldiers and a one-man army capable of levelling an entire base if left unchecked." Blank said.

**As with most of GDI's armoured units, they could be heard long before they were even visible. Jaune picked up the pace as the dust clouds near the war factories grew in size, the factories working over time to pump out more vehicles for the big push.**

"What? Their armoured units are constructed onsite? It's not just a staging area?" Winter raised an eyebrow at the strange sight.

"Indeed. Technological advancements and Tiberium have changed the nature of warfare on this world. Mobile construction vehicles or MCVs are the backbone of both GDI and NOD's ability to wage war. Bases can be set up very, very rapidly and begin churning out more arms for the war machine. Onsite building eases up logistics too since only men need to be transported to the base, everything else can be constructed when needed." Blank said.

"Interesting, can such bases construct additional MCVs?" Ozpin asked.

"They can, for a sizable amount of resources." Blank confirmed.

"So in theory, a single MCV slipping by undetected could lead to many, many more spreading outwards to form their own bases and wage war that way?"

"Yes, the only limitations being what manpower they have available and whether there are resources to sustain production. It's a strategy both NOD and GDI have employed multiple times to great success." Blank said.

"Interesting." Ozpin sipped from his mug and allowed his mind to wander, wondering if he could find some way to exploit such a technique against Salem.

**Despite the grim situation they were facing, Jaune couldn't keep the smile off his face at the sight of GDI's vaunted armoured might in action.**

**He was still too far away to make out which of the tanks he was to ride with into battle but he had no doubt that one of them was it. Several Predator tanks rumbled past him, causing the ground itself to tremble in their wake.**

'**Ah nice, looks like the railgun upgrades got through in time, that should help busting down NOD defences.' Jaune thought as he gave the modified tank turrets a cursory glance.**

**Other than that, Jaune paid them no mind. The Predators were nice and all, but his destination was their bigger, badder and all-around meaner cousin.**

**As he closed the distance, the dust clouds grew larger and larger, and he could just about make out the objects hidden by the localised storms.**

**Jaune's grin widened again.**

"Are… are those houses moving? That can't be right." Emerald squinted at the screen.

"…That's no house…" Mercury muttered, joining Emerald in squinting and trying to figure out what they were staring at.

"Oh. My. God. That's a _big_ tank." Yang breathed out in awe once they could finally see the source of those dust clouds.

"It's huge! That's bigger than our house on Patch!" Ruby concurred.

"Overkill much? I get that size matters, really, I do! But come on! That's ridiculously oversized!" Roman protested, throwing his arms up in exasperation. By his side, Neo simply nodded in agreement.

"Interesting design…" Ironwood rubbed his chin in appreciation.

"That, is the Mammoth Tank. Quite possibly the truest manifestation of GDI combat doctrine, no kill like overkill. A tank the size of a large building doesn't seem that practical on its own, but a massed force is extremely hard to beat. Guns strong enough to tear through even the toughest armour, missile turrets for additional firepower and anti-air capabilities, absurdly tough armour on its own and its size means it's capable of crushing lesser tanks just by rolling over them." Blank said.

"It's got to have a weakness." Cinder muttered.

"That it does, individual Mammoths are vulnerable to infantry assault since its weapons can't fire fast enough to wipe out massed infantry rush. But, with GDI, there is never just one. Put enough Mammoths in a line and they can erase most opposition simply by driving forwards and crushing everything under their treads." Blank answered.

"Bloody hell, that's one heck of a psychological edge." Qrow shivered lightly as his mind conjured up an image of a squad of helpless soldiers being squished flat by an unstoppable wall of advancing death.

"That it is." Blank agreed.

**Jaune leant against a wall and watched the Mammoths go through their paces, no matter how many times he got to work alongside these behemoths, it never got old.**

**Eventually, someone must have noticed him and one of the Mammoths pulled over. Jaune noted the insignia proudly emblazoned on the side, a hammer and a lightning bolt.**

'**So this is the unit I'm riding with.' Jaune thought as the side door unsealed with a hiss. A short woman with orange hair and a mad grin on her face stepped out. **

**Jaune noted the rank on her uniform and saluted. "Major Valkyrie, Lieutenant Jaune Ar-"**

"**Pshaw! None of that rank stuffiness here. I'm Nora, and this here is my baby Magnhild!" Nora rapped the side of her tank several times before offering a handshake, manic grin still plastered on her face.**

"That's Magnhild!? And I outrank Jaune-Jaune!? Other me is awesome!" Nora cheered at the top of her lungs and it took a combined effort from Ren and Pyrrha to keep her in her seat.

"Yes, it's very nice, please calm down now." Pyrrha pleaded as Nora nearly vibrated out of her grasp again.

"Nora as a commander… that very thought is frightening." Weiss shuddered.

"I guess, with infinite possibilities out there, it was bound to happen eventually." Blake muttered.

"Why does she get the tank? I want a Mammoth too…" Ruby pouted.

"You can't drive Rubes, don't even think about it. We remember what happened the last time you tried." Yang chided and Ruby folded her arms with a huff.

"**You must be the commando high command dropped in, here to bust some NOD skulls?" Nora greeted when Jaune returned the handshake.**

"**Yes Ma'am." Jaune nodded and pointedly ignored Nora's theatrical sigh.**

"**Then I hope you're good at taking down enemy fortifications, I'm proud of my baby and all but those obelisks will tear through our armour like a knife through pancakes. We've lost a lot of good people trying to break their walls already." Nora folded her arms and allowed the mirth to die away, replacing her good cheer with complete seriousness.**

"**That's what I'm here for Ma'am." Jaune confirmed.**

"**Excellent! With any luck we'll be able to punch through their lines and get our snipers in, Juggernaut artillery support will handle the rest. We're just waiting on Zone Trooper reinforcements to arrive then we're off to break a few legs." Nora punched her open palm and wore a bloodthirsty grin in anticipation of the carnage to come.**

"Obelisks?" Ren looked to Blank for an explanation.

"One of NOD's defences, a beam weapon installed in a tower, it's capable of melting through even the toughest armour GDI has and can be supercharged for even more range and power." Blank answered.

"We're gonna take it down anyways! No fancy turret is gonna stop us!" Nora puffed out her chest in pride.

**Night had fallen and the main strike force of the 5****th**** Armoured was holding position just beyond NOD's sensor range. The nature of the Yellow Zone NOD had picked to make their stand in**

**Jaune's jetpack left a trail of exhaust as it propelled the commando to the top of a ravine. Going prone and crawling the rest of the way to the edge, Jaune pulled out a pair of binoculars and surveyed the field before him.**

"**Ah hell, there's two of them again. They must have built another one after the first got destroyed by the Firehawks." Jaune frowned as he picked out the menacing talon-like towers guarding the entrance, glowing crimson lines marked the towers' active status.**

"**Damn, Black Hand guarding the things too." He murmured softly as his binoculars picked out the distinctive black and red armour favoured by NOD's fearsome flame wielding elite guard.**

**Backing off and making sure he remained undetected, he pinged Nora on his mic. "Ma'am, we have a problem. There are two functional obelisks and a lot of Black Hand guarding them. How shall we proceed?"**

"**Gah! We can't delay any longer or they'll bleed us dry. We've come too far to stop now… hold on…" Nora trailed off and put the call on hold to get hold of HQ.**

"**Alright, we've got limited air support, I'll patch you through to them, laze the obelisk and they'll blow it to hell, you'll have to take out the other on your own. We'll move in as soon as those blasted towers are down."**

"**Yes Ma'am." Jaune nodded and crept back to the edge to spot for the bombers. His earpiece crackled momentarily as it connected to the Firehawk squadron awaiting his directions. **

"**Bombers standing by, ready for coordinates!" Yang's voice came through, causing Jaune to blink in surprise.**

"**Yang? Is that you?"**

"**Sup, how's it Yanging?" Came the reply.**

**Jaune shook his head and sighed in exasperation. "Talk about a small world. Transmitting target data now… just like old times."**

"**Damn straight. Target confirmed! We're going in." Yang replied.**

"Oh?" Yang raised an eyebrow.

"In this world, you're old friends. Both of you enlisted at the same time to fight the growing NOD threat, though your paths diverged when you became a pilot and he found his calling as a commando. You met up again during the war when he was the commando assigned to sneak behind enemy lines and take out their AA, allowing your unit to get through." Blank answered.

"Ain't that something." Yang said.

**NOD's forces were thrown into disarray as four Firehawk bombers came screaming out of the heavens and released their deadly payloads. The bombs landed right on target and detonated with incredible force, instantly reducing one of the obelisks to rubble.**

"**Here we go, I got your present right here!" Jaune activated his jump jets and shot towards the remaining tower. Landing right before the structure, he sprinted the short distance left and slapped a det pack on the obelisk before it could get a bead on him.**

**The crimson tip was just beginning to glow when the det pack activated, scything through the tower's supports and bringing the entire structure down instantly. The once terrifying obelisk of light folded in on itself and its glow died away, the charge expended without frying Jaune.**

**Jaune smiled thinly at his success and activated a small transponder, sending the all clear signal. His carbine snapped up and started firing even before the ringing in his ears died away, nailing the nearest Black Hand troopers with pinpoint precision.**

**The 5****th**** Armoured were on their way, but until they got here, he was on his own. And that meant surrounded by very pissed off NOD insurgents. And with his jump jets cooling off, standing his ground was the only option Jaune had.**

"**There he is! Burn him alive!" One of the Black Hand troopers yelled out right before Jaune punched a hole clean through his helmet. The others ignored the corpse flopping over in favour of bum rushing him, their flamethrowers raised and spitting flaming Armageddon everywhere.**

"**Tch, keep em coming and let's see who's left standing." Jaune held his ground for a little longer, mowing down the enemy infantry with his carbine, taking full advantage of his enemies' limited range. **

**Backpedalling and firing nonstop, Jaune blinked away some sweat that got in his eyes. His combat gear was rapidly becoming drenched in his own perspiration as the local temperature rose to very unhealthy levels, hellfire constantly licking at his heels as he retreated.**

**The kick of the carbine in his hands was a welcoming feel, every one of them indicated another kill under his belt. The Black Hand powered armour that was the bane of many an unlucky GDI infantryman might as well have been paper against his stopping power, but there were just too many of them. **

"**Fucking hell, how many of you godless bastards are there!? Grrr… you get a bullet, and you get a bullet, everybody gets a bullet!" Jaune roared as he switched from target to target as fast as he could, stretching out his ammunition and making every shot count.**

"**He reeks of fear! Exterminate the weak!" More and more of the flame wielding walking monsters converged on Jaune, unheeding of their own imminent mortality. Driven forwards by fanatical devotion to Ozpin, they sought to overwhelm the lone GDI intruder through weight of numbers alone, even if that meant climbing over the corpses of their own fallen.**

**Jaune kept an eye on his jump jets' cooldown, it was slowly ticking down but not nearly fast enough, he'd be overrun long before it came back up. Biting back a curse at the situation, Jaune could see the writing on the wall, he was slowly being boxed in and he couldn't aim and shoot fast enough to keep the Black Hand off forever.**

**Just when Jaune thought his number was up, sniper support fire came in from the ridge he vacated earlier. The Black Hand were unprepared for the sudden attack and their front lines folded, giving Jaune the breathing room he needed.**

**Between the snipers and himself, Jaune managed to hold the enemy at bay with his fighting retreat long enough for his jump jets to come back online. Smiling and giving the NOD forces a mock salute, he activated them and shot skywards to safety, heading for the approximate location of the friendly snipers.**

**The outraged howls he left in the dust were music to his ears.**

"Too close, way too close." Weiss muttered and exhaled softly, releasing a breath she didn't even realise she was holding.

"Gee, could they try any harder to look like bad guys? Full black armour and cloaks… this is White Fang and Grimm masks to the extreme." Yang said, getting Blake to sigh in disappointment and Ruby to protest that there was nothing wrong with cloaks.

"It's the same as GDI and their Mammoths really, it is a significant psychological edge NOD exploits to the fullest. The armour makes them seem inhuman to their enemies, the fact that they kill by burning their enemies alive and are very resilient to small arms fire only compounds their fear factor. They may be infantry and have limited range, but the damage they can do is truly staggering." Blank said.

"As it should be." Cinder smirked, fully appreciative of NOD's living terror weapons. Effectiveness against the commando aside, she could easily see the appeal of such soldiers. Fanatics they may be, they were still far superior to the White Fang fanatical morons she was saddled with.

"Of course, you'd like them, miss dark and edgy." Roman rolled his eyes.

"**Much appreciated." Jaune nodded to the two snipers that bailed his ass out of the fire, literally.**

"**Sniper team ready LT." Ruby hefted her rifle up and saluted.**

"**We have your back sir." Ren echoed her salute.**

"**You two the spotters for the Juggernauts?" Jaune asked.**

"**Yup!" Ruby replied with a pop.**

"**Leave it to us, we'll get it done." Ren said.**

"**Excellent, let's get back to the rest and get this party started." Jaune nodded and started making his way back to where GDI's forces were beginning their push.**

"Ruby as a sniper? Some things never change." Weiss shrugged.

"Why not? Sniper rifles are awesome." Ruby said.

**Bullets pinged off the burning wreck of a destroyed APC, Jaune ducked behind it and slapped a fresh mag home. Popping out of cover, he opened fire on several squads of militants, mowing them down like grass before ducking again when return fire came his way.**

**Their advance into the NOD base had bogged down as expected, the defenders putting up a truly fanatical defence of their holy ground. Every metre gained had to be bought in blood as NOD threw everything they had against GDI.**

**By accident or by design, there were barely any lights to be had in the area. Instead, the battlefield was lit by burning husks and muzzle flashes, playing hell with the combatants' senses. And loathe as he was to admit it, NOD held the home field advantage here.**

**Ambush troops had been carefully concealed and lay in wait for unsuspecting GDI forces. Popping out to wreak havoc only once the 5****th**** Armoured had committed to battle elsewhere. Not for the first time in his military career, Jaune cursed NOD's stealth technology. **

**Emerald missiles streaked overhead as several Stealth Tanks decloaked behind a row of Scorpion Tanks and launched a full salvo. Jaune cursed when the missiles landed on target, reducing a group of Predators to scrap. The accompanying infantry men next to the unlucky vehicles fared no better.**

**And before GDI could retaliate against the invisible killers, they had already cloaked again, the Scorpions in front acting as meat shields to protect the more valuable machines. Jaune felt no satisfaction watching the Mammoths tear through the enemy tanks with their railguns, if their offensive stalled any further, NOD would just pick them off one by one until no one was left.**

"**Vertigos inbound." Ren's report came in and Jaune cursed, scrambling for cover immediately. Moments later, NOD's stealth bombers soared overhead.**

**Countless missiles and rockets fired as soon as the bombers came within range, every unit with AA capabilities unloading on the deadly aircraft. Two were shot out of the sky before they had the chance to release their bombs, detonating mid-air and scattering debris over the battlefield.**

**The third one however survived long enough to jettison its ordinance before it was destroyed. The heavy bomb fell through the clouds and impacted directly on top of one of the Mammoth tanks. The explosion rocked the entire armoured column and kicked up a cloud of dust and flames.**

**Miraculously, GDI's armoured behemoth continued to roll on through despite the heavy damage. It was belching black smoke and one of its treads had been destroyed, slowing it considerably. But its rail guns and missile turrets continued to function, firing continuously at enemy armour, defiant to the last.**

**Jaune's earpiece crackled and Nora's voice pierced the din of battle. "Push up and take out those SAMs, we're sitting ducks out here for their bombers. We need our own air force in play asap!"**

"**Yes Ma'am! Already there!" Jaune dashed out and activated his jump jets, boosting over the line of enemy tanks and making a mad dash straight for the turrets. Several canon rounds shot by harmlessly, destroying nothing but dirt.**

**Slapping the det pack onto the SAM hub and hurrying on to the next one, Jaune left a trail of explosions in his wake. With the central hubs destroyed, the missile turrets were little more than fancy statues, their guidance systems completely offline.**

**Ducking into cover as NOD shadow teams noticed his presence and moved to engage, Jaune exhaled quietly when several bullets lodged in his side. His armour bore the brunt of the attack, blunting the force but still leaving him feeling like someone had taken a sledgehammer to his body.**

"**Don't worry LT, We got em marked!" Ruby's voice came through and immediately the bullets pinging off his makeshift cover lessened, and before long had ceased completely.**

"**All targets neutralised, you're clear to proceed. Heading to new position." Ren followed up.**

"**Roger that." Jaune grunted and peeked out of cover just to make sure there weren't any hostiles around. The fighting had begun to die down again as NOD's inferior tanks were scrapped by the railgun equipped Mammoths and Predators, their stealth tanks had evidently retreated from the zone and were nowhere to be found.**

**Most of NOD's infantry units had fallen back as well, leaving just a few militant rocket squads behind. Confessors mixed in with them urged them ever onwards, driving them to make a last stand and go out in a blaze of glory.**

**Jaune himself had no patience for their rhetoric. Jump jets activated and propelled him behind their ranks. His carbine snapped up and painted the rocket squads' red ponchos crimson with their own life blood.**

**The confessors fared much the same as their lesser brethren, black armour punctured and bleeding scarlet. One shot each marked the end of their reign of terror. When Jaune's rifle fell silent at last, only a field of corpses marked where their last stand had petered out with a whimper.**

"Effective. Very effective." Ironwood praised.

"I was wondering about it earlier already, but that's not a normal rifle is it? Feels too different from the other guns." Taiyang asked.

"That's because it's not a conventional firearm, it's actually a rapid-fire railgun. Exceedingly deadly against infantry, its main drawback is it's borderline useless against enemy vehicles." Blank explained.

"I see… still, the way he fights… he feels like a huntsman, not a soldier. It's… he's just tearing through the enemy on his own, he barely even needs the support of his fellows." Taiyang said.

"GDI commandos are one man armies and represent the second half of GDI's combat doctrine. Move fast, hit hard, move fast again. Overwhelm the enemy with a mix of speed and firepower, exit before they can react, a commando's entire kit is geared towards that. Light armour that offers reasonable protection against small arms fire, a gun capable of wiping out massed infantry, supremely powerful explosives for levelling enemy structures and jump jets for unparalleled mobility." Blank elaborated.

"Jetpacks to go behind enemy lines or break pursuit, personnel deletion with that railgun and then enough explosives to bring down a base on their own, jetpacks to escape again. It's… a very effective strategy." Winter analysed, giving a nod of approval.

"So that's GDI's way of battle. Steamroll the enemy or blitz them into submission. What about NOD then?" Emerald asked.

"Suicidal fanaticism mixed with unmatched stealth. A mix of hit and run strategies, suicide charges and plenty of cloak and dagger. On a one to one basis, their units might not be a match for GDI's forces, but they make up for it with sheer versatility." Blank said.

"And their commandos? They have them too, right?" Mercury queried.

"Ah, just wait and see." Blank said.

"**Coordinates sent, bombardment on its way." Ren called out as he dialled in the targeting data for the first ion disruptor.**

**Jaune rested against one of Magnhild's giant treads, watching in silence as the artillery barrage arrived shortly after, orange shells falling from the sky at an unseen target hidden behind more of the fortress's nigh impregnable walls. **

**Those cold grey walls may have stopped the Mammoths from simply rolling on through but they did nothing to protect against the barrage. An unceasing rain of high explosives fell right on target, blowing through the generator's armour plating and then blasting the sensitive machinery beneath into oblivion.**

**A large blast and a mushroom cloud forming in the distance signalled the total destruction of the first generator.**

**Tired cheering came from the soldiers who still had enough energy in them to celebrate the completion of phase one. Most though were like Jaune, dead on their feet and just getting whatever rest they could during the temporary lull in battle.**

**The commando was fitter and had greater stamina than most, but even he was run ragged by all the fighting. Spending hours sprinting around the battlefield, planting explosives and gunning down enemy infantry had taken its toll. He'd already burnt through his supply of detpacks multiple times bringing down enemy gun emplacements and factories and fired his rifle long enough to wear out the rails twice. And they still weren't anywhere close to done.**

**The sun was nearing its zenith and the GDI offensive had ground to a complete halt. The 5****th**** Armoured was constantly besieged by unending waves of enemy troops pouring in from all sides. All paths of retreat had been cut off as well by NOD reinforcements, and even with constant airstrikes from friendly Firehawks and Orcas, the 5****th**** Armoured barely had any breathing room to work with.**

**Not even other GDI divisions attacking the base from elsewhere was enough to reduce the pressure. NOD's war factories and barracks continued churning out enough weapons and tanks for the insurgents to throw against all challengers, and they had no shortage of willing bodies to feed into the meat grinder.**

"**FANATICS INCOMING!" The shout dragged out a tired sigh from Jaune. Grabbing his rifle and rising, the commando joined a throng of other riflemen doing the same. Jamming as many guns as they could into the hastily erected walls, they opened fire on the screaming red tide rushing them.**

**Then there were these guys.**

**As a rule, GDI forces hated everything NOD. But for Jaune, Fanatics reserved a spot in the deepest pits of hell. The mindless devotion and religious worship of a madman taken to the absolute peak. Unlike most of NOD's other forces, these bastards had no special technological augment, they didn't even hold guns. Their main claim to infamy was their ability to run very, very fast towards danger.**

**Armed with only suicide vests and a prayer, their one strategy was to mob GDI positions en masse, pushing through the bullet storm by force of will alone and then self-destructing to take as many down with them as they could.**

**Death was the highest honour for these twisted souls, and Jaune had no qualms granting it to them. His railgun carbine spat death in an endless stream, scything through enemy ranks while other infantrymen continued firing like their lives depended on it… which to be fair, it kind of did. Those suicide vests packed a serious amount of punch and Jaune had lost a lot of friends to them in the past.**

**The men of the 5****th**** Armoured did their absolute best to keep the suicide bombers at bay, but in places, their best simply wasn't enough.**

"**We will be remembered!" One of the fanatics threw himself forwards, scrambling over the barricades despite the numerous mortal wounds he'd already sustained. Eyes glinting with madness, he depressed the detonator and vanished in a blast of fire and death, taking a full squad of riflemen with him.**

"**Errgghhh…" Jaune growled in frustration as the last Fanatic spontaneously transformed into hunks of unidentified red meat when over a hundred guns took aim at it. Already wounded survivors were being carried off on stretchers to the medic tents while the dead were dragged off and unceremoniously left in a pile where they wouldn't obstruct the war effort.**

**It hurt to mistreat the fallen forms of their comrades like this but there was simply no choice. This attack was just the latest in a series of assaults designed to wear their defences down. After their offensive bogged down completely, they had been forced to hunker down and weather the storm. But there was only so much they could do to patch the growing holes in their defences, sooner or later, the 5****th**** Armoured would break.**

**Wiping away a sheen of sweat, Jaune left the 'base' perimeter and returned to Magnhild, hoping that there was some good news to be had with the ion disruptor down.**

"**Ma'am, we can't last much longer like this. We'll be overrun in hours even with our air support up and running." Jaune said upon entering the tank.**

"**I figured. Good thing we don't have to." Nora sported a large grin as she spun around on her swivel chair.**

"**It's payback time Jaune-Jaune." Nora stuck a finger in the air and cackled.**

"**Thanks to Ren and Ruby scouting ahead for those generator coordinates, we, have, orbital support!"**

**Right on cue, several sapphire beams descended from the heavens. Forming a circle around a section of the NOD base they hadn't been able to push into. Slowly, the beams began to circle and converge inwards, until they formed a single line.**

**Then a blinding flash as the ion cannon fired.**

**The Mammoth rumbled and Jaune grabbed hold of a nearby console to steady himself until the earth stopped shaking. When the light faded and the smoke began to clear, the damage to the NOD base was evident.**

**The factories that had been churning out Scorpion and Flame tanks to harass them had vanished, being at ground zero. Two nearby air towers supplying Vertigo bombers and Venoms had been knocked over as well, cutting down NOD air power even further.**

**But best of all, entire sections of NOD's fortress walls had been completely levelled by the ion cannon strike. Now their forces could simply cut through instead of having to follow the meandering paths packed to the brim with ambush troops.**

"That's some serious firepower." Qrow muttered.

"How hasn't this… NOD already lost when they're up against something this powerful?" Winter asked.

"Same way you haven't stamped out the White Fang I'd wager." Roman replied.

"All the power in the world won't help you if you're up against an opponent you can't hit."

"In essence. Advanced stealth technology grant NOD bases almost perfect invisibility. Aside from the main generator which cannot be cloaked, the rest of the base is undetectable, you'd have to be right next to a building to even notice it's there if you don't have advanced scanners capable to piercing stealth." Blank said, forestalling any argument from Winter or Ironwood.

"Then, they do enjoy significant support from the masses in the Yellow Zones and some supporters in the Blue Zones as well, letting them blend into the people and hide in plain sight. NOD also operates in cells, with MCV technology a thing, it's nigh impossible to stamp them all out, and GDI is playing whack a mole most of the time."

"And I'm sure the suicidal fanaticism doesn't make them any easier to combat." Ozpin muttered, ill at ease with the tactics employed by his counterpart. They were effective, and they were also too Salem like.

"If their biggest advantage is their inability to be detected, why throw it away in favour of such a large base? Even if they had a counter to the ion cannon… something's not quite right with this picture." Blake muttered.

**Repeated ion cannon strikes had softened up most of NOD's defences greatly, GDI's orbital superweapon was more than enough to dislodge even the most deeply entrenched defenders. Walls ceased to be, minefields evaporated into nothing and garrisoned troops were blown away with whatever bunker they were hiding in.**

**The ion cannon coupled with other GDI forces pressing the advantage finally brought the 5****th**** Armoured the relief they needed. Several corridors leading back to friendly territory had been cleaved open, allowing reinforcements to arrive in the form of several Rigs.**

**Now they had something of a proper forward operating base deep behind enemy lines. As long as the battle bases the Rigs unpacked into remained operational, they could resupply there and more importantly fix up their valuable tanks before the next push.**

"**Right, we've got word from the colonel, most of the 5****th**** will continue pushing towards the second ion disruptor once our wounded have been evacuated." Nora said as she pointed out their planned route on a map. Jaune nodded quietly as Nora continued the briefing in a makeshift command tent.**

"**You on the other hand, have a different mission. The NOD science ministry is in the vicinity and so is one of their precious Tiberium chemical plants."**

"**Am I to destroy them?" Jaune asked.**

"**No. Quite the opposite really, your job is to take those buildings intact. High command wants intel and that's what their gonna get. Erase any opposition and escort our own eggheads in safely, they'll handle the rest." Nora corrected then turned to one of the Zone Troopers standing by.**

"**Winchester, you and your boys are going with. Your scanner packs working?"**

"**Yes Ma'am. Yeesh, escort duty again." Cardin grumbled and shifted his bulk, the giant suit of powered armour making surprisingly little noise as he did.**

"**Suck it up Trooper. Our snipers are busy calling in targets for the Juggernauts and our Pitbulls are too damned fragile to send on this mission. That leaves you as our only stealth detectors, we can't tell if there're any Stealth Tanks in the area but if there are, it's up to you to blow them to hell. Keep them off our APCs." Nora ordered and Cardin saluted after a small sigh.**

"**Field recon is sketchy at best, I don't know what you're walking into but it is imperative those buildings be taken intact. We have word that NOD brought something important here, something they fought like hell to secure and keep secret. We need to know what it is, get our engineers in, get out and regroup with the rest of us."**

"**Yes Ma'am. I know the routine." Jaune saluted and left the tent when Nora dismissed them to their duties.**

"I control Cardin too!? Yeah! Other me is awesome!" Nora cheered.

"Still trying to wrap my head around that. What kind of armour is that anyways?" Weiss asked.

"Zone Trooper powered armour, a fully sealed battle suit that augments the wearer and provides quite a good deal of protection from enemy weapons and Tiberium contamination. Zone Troopers are also armed with scaled down versions of the tank mounted rail guns, allowing them to go toe to toe with enemy tanks without needing to worry about being crushed by all but the heaviest of vehicles. For mobility purposes, they too possess jump jets like GDI commandos." Blank explained.

"So between the two of them, they have anti-infantry and anti-armour capabilities in a mobile strike force. What about anti-air though?" Ironwood mused.

"The APCs' themselves are equipped with a heavy machine gun that can shred infantry and cut through the light armour of most enemy aircraft." Blank answered.

"So they have their bases covered. Not bad. Not bad at all." Winter muttered.

**Missiles streaked across the sky and found their marks, blowing the Venoms out of the sky. The Firehawks that launched the salvo streaked by overhead shortly after. **

"**That's the last of my missiles Arc, heading back to rearm now. Skies are clear but you watch yourself down there alright?" Yang said as she picked out Jaune's little group down below during their flyby.**

"**Got it, thanks for the assist. Drink's on me when we're done here." Jaune replied as the burning wreckage of one of the destroyed Venoms crashed into a building nearby.**

"**Heh, I'll hold you to that. Yang out." The Firehawks shot by overhead again on their return pass back to base. Jaune watched them shoot past as their unit pushed on into NOD controlled territory.**

**So far, most of the NOD forces were tied up trying to push back the 5****th**** Armoured's offensive, leaving only a token force to oppose Jaune and company. A few militia groups and confessors, some black hand squads and a couple of tanks.**

**Nothing that CRDL and himself couldn't handle between them. The lone Stealth Tank they ran into shortly ceased to be when the Zone Troopers dropped in behind it with jump jets and lit it up with their heavy railguns at point blank range. And Jaune had to admit, ambushing the ambusher was a bloody sweet feeling.**

"**Got a present for ya!" Jaune chuckled as his own jump jets launched him over a towering barricade and behind two of NOD's oddly shaped barracks. Slapping det packs on them and sprinting off, screams of surprise and fear echoed all around when the explosives went off and brought the structure down, burying everyone inside alive.**

"**What the!? Behind us!"**

**Jaune's rifle was already raised and shooting by the time the militant squads caught on to the fact that Cardin's frontal assault was little more than a distraction for the real threat, and they paid for their mistake with their lives.**

**With the sector clear, the APCs were free to drive up and pull to a halt outside the science ministry building. Jaune walked over to the nearest one and gave the door a rap. "Aight! Ride's over gentlemen, we're here."**

**Riflemen squads spilled out of the APCs alongside a few engineers. While Jaune and CRDL stood guard outside, the riflemen would have the unpleasant task of clearing out the insurgents hiding inside and supporting the engineers until they could do what they came for.**

"**How much time you gonna need in there? I don't know how long it'll be before NOD sends us an eviction notice." Jaune asked one of the engineers, a goggle wearing man with blue hair.**

"**It'll depend on how long it takes us to get to the data centres really. But once we're in, we'll it done asap." Neptune replied.**

"**Good then hurr-"**

"**Yo! LT! we got raiders incoming!" Russel's loud shout interrupted their conversation as the Zone Troopers picked up incoming enemy forces.**

"**Shit. Well you heard the man, double time it. We'll buy you as much time as we can." Jaune cursed under his breath and readied for battle again.**

"**Yessir! Just gimme a sec to get in there!" Neptune said and rushed off to join the others already breaching the science ministry building. Further off, a second group of engineers and soldiers had already started work on taking over the Tiberium chemical plant.**

"**Troopers! In the APCs now! Use them for cover!" Jaune ordered and followed his own advice, hopping into the nearest one and jamming his rifle into one of the gun ports. The Raider Buggies came roaring over the hill soon enough, laser capacitors spitting crimson beams every which way.**

**The lasers slammed into the APCs, slagging armour wherever they hit. Fortunately for the GDI troops sheltering inside, the laser weaponry wasn't anti-vehicle grade, only anti-infantry. They'd get through the APCs' armour eventually with enough sustained fire, but not fast enough to make a difference.**

**Jaune's sniped as best he could with his carbine, trying to nail the drivers with precision shots or hit something vulnerable on the buggy itself. He got lucky with several shots, but for the most part, the Zone Troopers did the heavy lifting.**

**Cardin's squad barely needed to aim with their own railguns, the larger more powerful cousin to Jaune's rifle, every hit they dealt was lethal, especially to a barely armoured light scout vehicle. And whenever one of their railguns scored a direct hit on one of the human occupants, the results were… messy to say the least.**

"They use a lot of magnetic weapons, don't they?" Pyrrha commented, the more of GDI she saw, the more convinced she became that railguns were their answer to just about everything. More firepower on a tank, slap a railgun on it, need bigger guns for infantry, railguns again.

"It's effective. Unlike NOD, GDI doesn't focus too much on outlandish designs or technology. They simply take what already works and pumps it all the way to the extreme. Their successes on the battlefield speak for themselves." Blank said.

"Any chance they could be incorporated into our standing forces? These guns look easier to mass produce and field than some of the others we've seen." Ironwood asked, his mind already filled with images of Atlas troops wrecking Grimm with superpowered guns.

"Of course. Heavier railguns like the ones the Zone Troopers are using require recoil compensation beyond what your Atlesian Knights can handle, but huntsmen with aura and some training should be able to handle them just fine." Blank said.

"And their drawbacks?" Winter raised an eyebrow, it sounded too good to be true, and in her experience, it usually meant it was exactly that.

"Ease of production is one thing, there's the cost of doing so too, and of course, the bigger problem of maintenance. There is a reason why most of GDI still uses regular guns." Blank answered.

"One problem at a time. It's at least a path to consider." Ironwood said.

"**How much longer!?" Jaune yelled into his mic as missiles from several Attack Bikes struck the science ministry building, damaging the structure and causing it to rumble.**

"**Just a bit more! We're grabbing all the data we can and we have VIPs to exfil!" Neptune shouted back on the other end.**

"**Hurry up damnit! We're gonna be walking home at this rate!" Jaune shouted. Cursing under his breath, he lit up a platoon of Black Hand approaching them, slaughtering them all before they could start melting down their remaining APCs.**

**Two of the APCs they brought with them were smoking burnt out husks now and the remainder weren't long for the world either as enemy forces continued pressing the attack. There were only two bright spots to their current conundrum**

**One, CRDL was still in tip top shape thanks to armour self-repair systems and an on-board medical suite while Jaune himself had managed to avoid damage by sheer dumb luck even when his APC was busted by enemy rockets. And two, NOD air power had not returned to the area after Yang's crew savaged them earlier.**

**And of course, fate would not allow them to get off easy.**

"**Uh oh. We got a big one incoming." Cardin's unsure tone got Jaune to pause in his shooting for a split second. Zone Troopers could go ten rounds with enemy tanks and come out victorious without breaking a sweat, what could possibly cause him to hesitate?**

**Jaune received his answer when a crimson beam lanced towards one of the surviving APCs and slagged the vehicle instantly, killing the driver and gunner inside. Jaune's eyes widened as the beam had literally come out of thin air, there was nothing there, no way for it to happen, unless it was… oh… hell.**

**Jaune's face fell when he noticed the disturbance in the dust clouds in the area where the beam had come from. The air shimmered as the perpetrator uncloaked and the Avatar battle mech faded into view.**

**Black and crimson all over, the titan towered over all other NOD vehicles in the area. The only true combat walker of the Third Tiberium War raised its arm and took aim at another APC. Scarlet light coalesced at the end of it before it fired, destroying the APC in one hit. A shoulder mounted flamethrower spat fire into the sky, issuing a challenge to Jaune's group.**

"**You gotta be fucking shitting me. We have to fight that!?" Cardin cursed loudly. It was a sentiment shared among all the GDI forces still alive in the area.**

"Uh oh, big robot." Ruby muttered.

"Damn… of all the times to appear, they have to fight that on foot?" Roman muttered.

"So they do have mechs, why so few though?" Winter asked.

"At this stage of the war, there are really only two walkers left in service barring aging equipment leftover from previous conflicts. GDI Juggernauts and mobile artillery platforms and NOD Avatars which are more classic battle mechs with a variety of weapons. GDI used to field more, but walkers share a crippling weakness that their engineers could find no answer for, and so started phasing their own out in favour of tanks. NOD on the other hand, continued walker development and ended with the Avatar, an all-purpose, all-terrain titan with a surprising amount of modifiability for different situations." Blank said.

"So NOD succeeded where they failed and found a solution to that weakness?" Cinder asked.

"No."

"**Screw it, we're out of time! Get out of there now!" Jaune ordered as he rocketed to safety, a tidal wave of fire engulfing the spot he just vacated as the Avatar warmech immolated everything in its path, heedless of friendly casualties along the way. Other NOD forces were sent scrambling away as the Avatar wiped the field with cleansing fire.**

"**We're not finished! We're still trying to download their database!" Neptune called back.**

"**We're out of time! You stay any longer and the whole building is coming down!" Jaune's words were punctuated by the Avatar firing a beam towards the science ministry, carving an ugly scar on the building and shearing through some of its supports.**

"**Alright, alright! We're on our way out now! Keep them off us!" Neptune replied.**

**Cardin growled as his railgun rounds impacted the Avatar head on and only just dented its armour. If they had more Zone Troopers in the area, they could bring it down with combined fire, but with only his squad, they didn't have a prayer. "Arc, we'll draw its fire. Get the eggheads out."**

"**What the? The hell do you think you're doing!? Get back!" Jaune watched in disbelief as the Zone Troopers jetted out of cover and into the open. Their railguns fired repeatedly on the walker, drawing its attention to themselves and away from the evacuating engineers.**

"**Get the eggheads back to Major Valkyrie. We'll hold that damn thing here, leave us!" Cardin replied as the flames began surging towards them, licking hungrily at their grey and silver armour.**

"**Fucking hell!" Jaune cursed as another wave of fire came perilously close to charcoaling him. Behind him, the engineers and riflemen had finished evacuating alongside some captured POWs. Fear was written all over their faces as they saw the giant robot incinerating everything.**

**But Jaune didn't have the time or energy to deal with them now. His jump jets had just come off cooldown and were usable again. Activating them, he shot forwards, right at the Avatar.**

"**What are you doing Arc!? Get out of here! We're expendable!" Cardin roared, sweat pouring down his face as the internal temperature of his suit spiked. The powered armour wouldn't hold against the flames for much longer.**

"**Not to me." Jaune landed right by the Avatar's feet, his skin felt raw and blistered as though suffering from a bad sunburn. The heat coming off the Avatar's endless deluge of flames was almost unbearable, his armour provided decent protection against bullets, but it was even less useful than CRDL's armour.**

"**Tch." Sprinting off as one of the Avatar's feet came stomping down, narrowly missing him. The walker began to turn slowly, its sensors picking up Jaune's presence at its feet and now trying to stomp the commando flat or immolate him with its flamethrower.**

"**Got for a present for ya." Jaune withdrew one of his remaining detpacks and waited for the Avatar to stomp down again. Dodging at the last moment, Jaune threw himself onto the mechanical limb, scrabbling to find a secure grip.**

"**Argh!" Jaune's visor shattered when the Avatar's attempt to shake him off caused his head to slam into the metal chassis. Despite the rough ride, Jaune managed to hold on long enough to attach the detpack securely.**

**Leaping off the foot when it came down again, Jaune went tumbling across the hard earth upon landing. Ignoring the pain and forcing himself to rise, Jaune staggered a bit before sprinting for the Avatar. Seconds later, the detpack he attacked to the mech exploded, shearing through the armoured limb easily and destabilizing the mech.**

**Unable to right itself, the Avatar toppled over and crashed to the ground, causing the earth to shake. With it brought down to size, it was the perfect time to strike and Jaune didn't waste it. The commando sprinted for the Avatar's control pod and jammed his carbine against the crimson reinforced glass.**

**The stunned pilot inside just managed to gather his wits to look up as Jaune pulled the trigger. His carbine might not be very effective against the heavy armour of the Avatar, but at this range and shooting at reinforced glass, it was enough.**

**Cracks spiderwebbed across the control pod's canopy as it sustained more damage than it could handle. Jaune let up on the trigger when the cracks were numerous enough that the glass was practically opaque. He would have continued shooting but a stray thought caused him to stay his hand.**

**Instead, he brought the butt of his rifle down on the glass, hammering away at it until it finally broke under the strain, exposing the defiant pilot inside.**

"**GDI dog!" The avatar pilot was still struggling to extract himself from his harness and attack Jaune with nothing but his bare hands.**

"**Yeah, sure, whatever." Letting his rifle fall to the side, Jaune pulled out his sidearm and planted a round dead centre in the pilot's head.**

"**Avatar down. Engineers, you're up."**

"Oh yeah, the legs. Too tall, too heavy, its centre of gravity is all off once one of them goes. Then… timber." Qrow muttered.

"They couldn't have slapped more armour on it? Seems like a simple fix." Mercury shook his head and idly scratched at his own robotic legs.

"It actually has enough armour for standard warfare. Normal cannons, guns and railguns don't have an easy time getting through. The issue is commandos carry explosives meant to take down entire buildings in one go, armour tech hasn't evolved fast enough to counter that. It's why GDI retired most of their own walkers, the chance of NOD's own commandos sneaking by to plant their bombs could instantly cripple an entire strike force. It's a pressing concern especially since NOD favours stealth." Blank said.

"The flamethrower would have been effective at keeping people away, too bad it got distracted. If there were more present, I do not believe that manoeuvre would have succeeded." Winter mused.

"Correct." Blank confirmed.

"**You got a fucking death wish Arc? That was reckless as hell." Cardin grumbled, limping slightly as the servos in his right leg were busted. His armour was scorched black in places and half melted in others, the rest of his squad didn't look much better.**

"**But… thanks."**

"**We're GDI, we look out for our own." Jaune replied and waved off the thanks. His attention remained focused on Neptune and the other techs working on the Avatar husk.**

"**Is it salvageable?" He asked.**

"**Yeah, I can get it working. Leg's busted bad, it'll work but it won't be pretty." Neptune replied.**

"**Better than nothing. Do it, it'll help get us back to the rest and I'm sure the boys at HQ would love to tear it apart for the goodies inside. Make it snappy, no idea how long before NOD figures out we're not dead yet and come back for round two." Jaune said.**

"**Yes sir. Gimme a sec." Neptune pried more pieces of the broken canopy off and slipped into the control pod, hooking himself into the Avatar's systems. The other engineers scrambled to finish field repairs on the rest of the mech, patching things up as best they could and making sure its weapons were functional.**

**The Avatar reactivated with a low hum, slowly rising back up as Neptune worked the controls. It was not a pretty sight, battle damage plus the fall had put some major dents into the armour and there was its 'repaired' leg. **

**With the damage Jaune's explosive surprise had done to it, it was pretty much completely destroyed. The engineers had managed to jury-rig a replacement out of what was left of the original limb and parts from destroyed NOD vehicles and the APC.**

**The final result was ugly as sin, but it worked.**

"They stole the mech!? Damnit we have should have done that with the Paladin." Yang snapped her fingers and cursed the missed opportunity to take the machine for a joyride.

"Ahem. No stealing military hardware thank you, not even if it was stolen before that." Ironwood coughed out.

"No stealing, period." Goodwitch's glare bore into the back of Yang's head and she chuckled nervously.

"But man, piloting a giant robot of my own has gotta be awesome." Yang muttered.

"It is. I can assure you of that." Roman smirked before wincing when Neo jabbed him in the side. His assistant quite displeased he managed to lose the stolen Paladin before she had a chance to actually test drive it.

**Jaune sat atop one of the still functional APCs as it rumbled along the road. The captured Avatar was leading the way back to the rest of the 5****th**** Armoured and completely obliterating all opposition.**

**With CRDL scouting ahead to pick out enemy stealth tanks early, Neptune's new ride easily handled them by blasting them into oblivion with its beam cannons. NOD infantry rushes and other light armour were dealt with by immolation and in a few cases, stomping.**

**With no Fanatics in the area and only a handful of rocket squads, their Avatar simply steamrolled everything in its path. And the few venoms that showed up to harass them were dealt with by the APCs own machinegun turret. All that left Jaune little to do by sit and watch the show.**

"**Did you get anything useful out of there?" Jaune asked Neptune during a lull in battle.**

"**We couldn't get everything but what's there was… disturbing." Neptune replied.**

"**Disturbing how? More Tiberium human experiments?" Jaune raised an eyebrow.**

"**Worse. Those madmen were building a liquid T bomb." Neptune corrected.**

"…**In English doc?" Jaune said after a pause.**

"**A liquid T bomb is terrifyingly powerful, it's far beyond the destructive capability of even NOD's most powerful nukes. Worse, when liquid T goes off, it'll cause every Tiberium deposit in the area to go off instantly. We're not talking about wiping out this base lieutenant, we're talking reshaping entire continents if detonated in a Yellow Zone. If it goes off in a Red Zone… we might not have a world left." Neptune said tersely.**

"**Jesus… is the threat neutralized?"**

"**No. We grabbed the plans and their research but the liquid T itself is missing. Probably inside their main base." Neptune's words caused Jaune to sigh explosively and punch the cab of the APC.**

"**Bloody hell, how much time do we have left?"**

"**Enough… I think. From the research we got, it seems that NOD is having problems creating a method to actually detonate that much liquid T in one go. Essentially, they have the bomb but no detonator. We can still stop them." Neptune reassured.**

"**For all our sakes, I hope you're right." Jaune muttered, not quite convinced of Neptune's claim.**

"A planet killing bomb, why would they even have something like that? This world… it doesn't have space colonies or other planets humanity can evacuate to, does it?" Summer asked.

"Some people just want to burn the entire world down with them." Ozpin murmured quietly.

"Or they just don't care about collateral damage as long as they win."

"**Excellent work Jaune-Jaune! I knew you could do it, nice work with the Avatar by the way." Nora gestured to the captured NOD vehicle with an approving nod.**

"**Just doing my job Ma'am." Jaune replied.**

"**You're never going to stop calling me that, are you?"**

"**If you prefer, I can address you as Major Valkyrie." Jaune replied cheekily, getting Nora to chuckle as well.**

"**Heh, but seriously, good work. Only one ion disruption field generator remains. It's protected by more obelisks and Ozpin's elite guard. One last push, and then Temple Prime itself will be open." Nora said.**

"**Am I to take down those obelisks again?" Jaune asked.**

"**No. Not this time. We're on a time limit now, Ruby got back earlier with visual confirmation of the generator. It's next to the damned Temple of NOD that destroyed Castle base, and according to her, they're just about ready to launch the next Nuke. We've got to take it down before Argus goes bye-bye." Nora answered.**

"**Once resupply and refit are complete, the 5****th**** Armoured will make the final push on Temple Prime, Opzin cannot be allowed to fire another nuke. Victory or death."**

"**Yes Ma'am." Jaune saluted.**

"Elite guard? Guess this is where NOD's own commandos appear." Emerald commented.

"It still feels like they're walking into some kind of trap." Blake muttered.

"If it is a trap why is NOD fighting so hard against them? You'd think they'd want them to get further so they can spring it." Weiss replied and to her surprise, her sister spoke up to correct her.

"Not necessarily. There's a saying where if your attack is going too smoothly, you're walking into an ambush. From what I gather, this place is important to NOD, and GDI have come to expect fanatical defence of it. If opposition is lacking, they might smell a trap and back off. A spirited defence lowers their guard, and of course, if GDI itself is defeated along the way, I don't think NOD will be too disappointed with the result." Winter said.

"The victory conditions are different, aren't they? This Ozpin has no intention of winning here. I'd say he wins when NOD loses. I can't tell what his plan is, but he's left GDI enough rope to hang themselves with." Cinder spoke up.

"Correct." Blank confirmed but said no more on the matter.

**Magnhild rumbled across the terrain as a row of Scorpion tanks opened fire on it, their laser cannons scoring black lines across its armour plating. Behind the controls of the Mammoth, Nora grinned and slammed the tank into overdrive, barrelling full steam ahead.**

**By the time the enemy tanks realised she wasn't going to stop, it was too late. They were only just beginning to turn when the Mammoth hit them and then proceeded to roll over them, crushing them to paste under its treads.**

**The turret rotated, bringing its twin railguns to bear against another Avatar squaring off against a fellow Mammoth. The tank rocked as the railguns fired, twin supersonic slugs crossed the space between them nigh instantaneously and struck something critical, causing parts of the walker to explode before it toppled over with a thunderous crash.**

"**Ma'am! Those obelisks are still up, recommend falling back until I get them!" Jaune's warning caused Nora to cackle.**

"**Nonsense! Magnhild and I aren't retreating no matter what! Ye verily, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for I am driving a house sized mass of fuck you!"**

**Magnhild continued forwards, heedless of the incoming enemy fire. Infantry and lesser tanks would wind up crushed underfoot if they tried to impede her and those pesky obelisks of light would not be enough to stop them in time.**

**A scarlet beam lanced out and struck a friendly Mammoth, the beam cut straight through its main guns and then through the armour itself, melting everything inside and gutting the tank. Nora growled in anger when it happened.**

"**Hey bastards! Knock, knock! Here's Nora!" In retaliation Magnhild rammed into the obelisk itself, cracking the armoured casing on it and almost knocking it over. Giant treads churned up dirt as the Mammoth continued driving forwards and bit by bit, the obelisk continued tilting.**

**Until finally, the entire structure was uprooted, not quite the immovable object to Nora's unstoppable force. Magnhild rolled over the toppled obelisk, flattening it too before bringing its guns to bear against the final obelisk in the area.**

"**Fire everything we've got!" Nora yelled and her gunner crew obliged. The Mammoth tank unloaded its railguns and missile turrets on her target, filling the air with ridiculous amounts of firepower as they pushed the weapon systems to their absolute limit.**

**The tooth shaped turret got one final blow in before the barrage landed, a glancing blow that cut through one of Magnhild's railguns and destroyed one of its treads. But the victor was clear. Unable to withstand the overwhelming amount of punishment, the obelisk of light sparked and failed, collapsing in on itself into a pile of rubble.**

"**Ahahahahah! 5****th**** Armoured forever! GDI rules, NOD drools!" Nora cheered as the building went down, leaving the Temple of NOD and ion disruption field generator exposed.**

"How very… Nora." Pyrrha said at last.

"Some things never change." Ren agreed.

"Why change perfection." Nora preened for a bit before falling over in a fit of giggles.

"**God. Damn." Jaune shook his head in disbelief, his rifle hung limply at his side, the commando unable to do anything but watch Nora's rampage across the frontlines.**

"**We've breached the inner walls of the NOD compound commander-" A lone GDI soldier called into his mic, reporting their success back to GDI central command.**

"**look at the size of that thing!" Another interrupted with a loud shout upon seeing just how massive Temple Prime was.**

"**Cut the chatter soldier. Commander, Temple Prime is in sight."**

**Jaune spared them a glance before moving off again. Their assault on the temple's last line of defence was a costly endeavour, wrecked vehicles and fallen soldiers of both sides lay strewn everywhere.**

**With the obelisks destroyed and their remaining war factories in the area reduced to rubble by his explosives. NOD no longer had the capability to continue fighting here. They had more elsewhere undoubtably already producing more arms for a counterattack but for now, this area was theirs, barring a few holdouts.**

**Ozpin and his inner circle were somewhere inside Temple Prime itself and they'd flush the son of a bitch out into the open soon enough. While Jaune wanted to join the troops already battering down the front doors of the great temple, he was distracted by conspicuous silence in the area.**

**There should have been a few riflemen squads and Zone Troopers in the area, but his sensors were reading zero friendlies and there was no chatter to indicate it was an equipment malfunction. Grip tightening on his weapon, Jaune was on high alert as he strode through the seemingly empty battlefield.**

**The hair on the back of his neck stood up and Jaune's eyes widened when his instincts screamed at him to dodge. Trusting his gut, he rolled out of the way immediately and felt something invisible cut through the air, narrowly missing his neck.**

**Coming back up, Jaune raised his rifle and opened fire on the approximate location of whatever had attacked him.**

**Nothing.**

**Jaune eased up on the trigger when his shots failed to connect with anything. Rising, he exhaled slowly, eyes flicking from shadow to shadow, trying to spot anything that didn't belong.**

"**I know you're here. Still hiding behind your stealth generator? What's the matter? Afraid?" Jaune taunted, trying to draw out his invisible enemy.**

**Jaune ducked when his instincts screamed again, this time a laser bolt passed overhead, singing the top of his new helmet. Cursing he rolled away and sprayed the area with another burst, once again his bullets thudded into dirt or sailed into the distance harmlessly.**

**Backing away slowly while sweeping the area, Jaune cursed himself for walking out into the open like that. Classic rookie mistake, assuming the area was safe because friendlies had supposedly secured it beforehand. Now he was left out in the open where an attack could come from anywhere at any time. **

"**I'm not the one retreating."**

**Jaune spun around and brought his rifle up, the barrel catching an invisible knife before it could jam into his back. The air flickered and crimson faded into view as the NOD commando decloaked.**

"**Wonderful evening to run into old friends isn't it? Haven't seen you since Hampton Roads. Hello again." NOD commando Pyrrha Nikos's greeted with a gentle smile that held zero warmth.**

"Oh." Pyrrha whispered.

"Wait what? Cereal girl is the enemy commando?" Yang exclaimed.

"Oh dear." Ren muttered.

"Infinite worlds and infinite possibilities… it had to happen sometime." Blake said, frowning.

"Looks personal. What's the story behind them?" Qrow asked.

"That Pyrrha Nikos was a NOD commando who infiltrated GDI territory on a mission some time back. On it, she killed Jaune's partner and fellow commando Sun Wukong in battle while he himself was away on another mission. Then NOD took control of the area and Jaune Arc was sent in to decimate the enemy around the same time Pyrrha Nikos was to leave. They fought and Jaune Arc stabbed her in the eye before their fight was interrupted and left unsettled." Blank said.

"Oh." Pyrrha whispered again.

"**YOU! You're that bitch who killed Sun!" Jaune snarled and pushed back against her knife, trying to break their deadlock.**

"**Is that what he was called? I don't make it a point to remember the names of inconsequential kills. But you. You owe me an eye, ahhh… it itches just being in your presence. Shall we dance?" Pyrrha's grin widened as she released her grip on the knife suddenly, letting Jaune's force carry him forwards as she drew her laser pistol.**

**Jaune's elbow came up before she could depress the trigger, forcing her aim up as he ducked and the beam went wide. When Jaune himself tried to shoot her with his carbine, Pyrrha returned the favour, kicking the weapon away and throwing his aim off. **

**The two commandos, finest soldiers ever trained by GDI and NOD found themselves locked into melee. Neither of them was willing to back off and gain distance, just in case the other was quicker on the draw. Railgun versus laser weaponry, death in one strike was certain if it connected, whoever got the first shot off won, and neither would gamble on the off chance they lost.**

"**You've lost! Temple Prime is ours! Give up and your death will be swift." Jaune growled and rammed a knee into Pyrrha's midsection, knocking the wind out of her.**

"**Gah! Heh… lost? You're the one who's lost. It's already checkmate, and you fools don't even realise it!" Pyrrha recovered quickly and delivered a vicious uppercut to Jaune's chin.**

"**Your army is beaten! Ozpin will be brought to justice soon and you have no cards left to play!" Jaune snarled back.**

"**Ah, that's true. But you still have a hand left to play…" Pyrrha smiled enigmatically, a cursed half-smile hinting at knowing something exceedingly obvious that Jaune didn't.**

"**You lost long before today, lost before this war even began."**

"**You're delusional!" Jaune roared and punched Pyrrha in the face, drawing blood.**

"**And you're oblivious. Everything has gone according to plan. Now it's time yo-oh. It is actually time. I'm needed elsewhere." Pyrrha ducked under a rifle being used as a club and then roundhouse kicked Jaune in the sternum, sending him stumbling back.**

**Her pistol snapped up and pointed directly at Jaune's face. The GDI commando's eyes widened and he hurriedly tried to tilt away.**

**He was too slow.**

**Pyrrha fired and the beam passed straight through his helmet visor, then struck across his right eye.**

"**AAAHHGHGHGHRRGHGHH!" Jaune screamed in agony, pain wracked his form and his vision was cut down to one good eye, the other totally destroyed. The adrenaline surging through his veins and the pain gave him a burst of clarity for a single instant, allowing him enough room to dodge the second shot and kick Pyrrha away.**

**Raising his rifle with one hand, he fired at the NOD commando wildly, none of his shots landing due to his inability to aim right, but doing its job at suppressing her and preventing a coup de grace.**

**Just as Pyrrha was backing off from the indiscriminate fire, additional sniper fire came flying her way forcing her to jump back and activate her stealth generator or be sniped. "Tch, looks like you get to live today. Heh, it doesn't matter, I got my pound of flesh."**

**She faded into near perfect invisibility and dashed off, leaving Ruby and Ren behind to decide between chasing her or assisting Jaune.**

**Jaune fell to a knee and ripped off his half-melted helmet, the gentle breeze stung fiercely and his face felt like it was on fire. Another agonised howl tore its way from his throat as the commando fought to stay lucid and suppress the pain through sheer force of will.**

"**LT! LT! Oh… oh no." Ruby stumbled in her steps, the words dying in her throat as she saw Jaune's state.**

"**Damnit. Medic! MEDIC! We have a casualty here! MEDIC!" Ren yelled at the top of his lungs.**

"**Hang on, you're gonna be fine sir. We're getting you help now."**

"**N-no! Stop. Her! I'm… fine!" Jaune bit out through the pain. Pyrrha knew something they didn't, Ozpin must have set some kind of trap for GDI. She had to be captured for questioning or they'd risk walking right into it.**

"**We're not leaving you here sir. Where are the medics!?" Ren looked around, and frowned when he saw them hurrying over at a pace far too slow for his liking.**

"**Hurry up! The lieutenant is hurt ba-" Jaune interrupted him by grabbing his collar and dragging him close.**

"**NOD… trap… care…ful…" The last of his energy spent, Jaune Arc collapsed in a dead faint, unconscious before Ren caught his falling body.**

"I… I took his eye!?" Pyrrha pulled at her hair in horror.

"The eye. The eye. Always the eye. Why is it the eye!? What's wrong with these people!?" Emerald yelled.

"Hmmph, not bad, not bad at all. He took yours so you returned the favour, should have gone for both eyes in my opinion but some pesky nuisances interrupted. On the whole, nicely done." Cinder gave a round of applause and smirked when Pyrrha's mood fell further.

"So that's why this universe is a doozy." Taiyang muttered.

"No. This is the one bright spot of this viewing actually." Blank said.

"…What." Came the collective reply of the audience.

"**Ma'am, I can still fight." Jaune protested as the medics wheeled his gurney onto the waiting Ox transport. Half his face was covered in bandages now and numbness pervaded his body thanks to all the painkillers they pumped into him.**

"**You can, but you shouldn't. You've earned your rest lieutenant Arc, we can handle things from here." Cordovin said, her tone brooking no further argument from the wounded commando.**

"**Yeah Jaune-Jaune, just leave it to us. We'll bust down Temple Prime soon enough and then Ozpin will have nowhere to run. You're welcome to join the 5****th**** Armoured again once you've recovered." Nora chimed in.**

"**There's a-"**

"**Trap. We know, Warrant Officer Lie managed to get your message across. We've relayed the warning to GDI central and awaiting their orders now." Cordovin interrupted.**

"**You're off to Stuttgart now, their medical facilities might be able to do something about your missing eye. Focus on your own recovery, we have things handled here. I dare say by the time you've recovered, the Third Tiberium War will be over."**

"**I… yes Ma'am." Jaune gave a weak salute as the medics secured him in place and the transport prepared to take off, giving him another dose of sedatives to knock him out for the flight. The last thing he saw was Cordovin and Nora walking back down the ramp, the major waving goodbye one last time and then sleep took him again.**

"Ah, so the war's over for him, that's a good thing I suppose." Ironwood mused.

"He'll be back in action again soon, unfortunately, the war is only going to get worse from this point forwards." Blank said.

"Get worse? How could it get any worse than this senseless slaughter? What did that Ozpin plan?" Ozpin asked in a horrified tone.

Blank said nothing, allowing the viewing to continue playing, the scene transitioning away from Temple Prime.

"**Well commander. I was wrong, you did a hell of a job capturing the temple and your timing was impeccable." General Ironwood addressed one of his subordinates, Cordovin's immediate superior and commander in charge of the strategy for Temple Prime's takedown.**

"**NOD was in the final stages of assembling a liquid Tiberium bomb, but we've managed to secure all the materials. We also have reports Ozpin and his inner circle have sealed themselves off in a sub-basement of the temple. Unfortunately, the place is impenetrable, so you're going to have to sweat them out."**

"**Tell me general, our ASAT defences are back online, are they not?" Jacques Schnee stepped up and interrupted them.**

**Ironwood sighed before turning to face the bureaucrat. "You're not suggesting the ion cannon."**

"**No general I'm not suggesting, I'm ordering it." Jacques said simply.**

**Ironwood looked to the ceiling in exasperation, wondering how he was going to get it through to Jacques thick skull how bad an idea it was. "You realise we're talking about a facility where liquid Tiberium was being manufactured? An ion cannon blast could be disastrous to the region. Winter, I need Dr Watts in Brazil. Dr Watts is our leading Tiberium scientist, hopefully he can talk you out of this."**

"**General, this is a NOD controlled Yellow Zone." Jacques spoke slowly, enunciating every word as though speaking to a child.**

"**Whatever the repercussions of the ion strike may be, my concerns are not for the locals of this region, my concerns are for our public! The GDI populace who have been promised payback for the Philadelphia!" His voice slowly rose until he was just shy of shouting and Ironwood felt the frustration build inside.**

"**God's sake man, don't make this about your political credibility!" **

"**Excuse me general." Winter stepped in, a frown on her face.**

"**But Dr Watts is missing, he appears to have been captured by NOD."**

"**Well that settles it." Jacques grinned and wave his hands in victory.**

"**Commander, I want you to end this once and for all."**

"He's in charge of GDI!? How the hell did something like that even come to pass!?" Ironwood sputtered in disbelief. Any world where Jacques Schnee ended up in charge of any military was a nightmare.

"If that's GDI leadership, I can see why NOD enjoys popular support in the Yellow Zones… no offense Weiss." Blake said.

"None taken. How could that even happen?" Weiss asked.

"The Philadelphia was a space station and GDI central command once. Until it was destroyed by a nuclear strike that started the war. Nearly the entirety of GDI leadership was on board at the time of the attack save Jacques Schnee thanks to Ozpin's interference. With everyone more senior than him dead, he became supreme leader of GDI by default." Blank answered.

"So the entire war was a lead up to this point? That Ozpin wants to be killed by an ion cannon strike?" Goodwitch frowned in confusion.

"No. Ozpin is long gone at this point. This is just the prelude to the next stage of his plans. Everything else is collateral damage." Blank said.

**GDI forces fell back as blue beams descended from space. The ion cannon was prepared to fire one last time to level the entirety of Temple Prime and wipe NOD out for good.**

**The beams slowly circled inwards, forming a single line right over the top of the structure as soldiers cheered the end of the war. **

**Then it fired and the world vanished.**

**the mother of all explosions erased Temple Prime and the surrounding lands. The titanic blast was visible from space itself as the liquid Tiberium stored under the temple detonated and caused every other Tiberium deposit in the region to blow as well, a chain reaction that covered a portion of the globe.**

**An aurora like glow fired off into space as the blast continued to devastate the lands, killing everyone unfortunate enough to be in the area. By the time it subsided, the world would be forever changed.**

**But for the GDI and NOD forces stationed in the region, they would never have the chance to see what their war had wrought. For them, their war was over for good.**

**GDI losses: 100%**

**NOD losses: 100%**

Silence filled the theatre as the lights came back on and the viewing came to an end. Not even Cinder's group had anything to say.

"Did… did we all just… die?" Nora was the first to break the silence.

"…Yes. The only survivors of the incident are those who were evacuated out of the region before the strike." Blank said.

"Despicable. Absolutely despicable." Ozpin cursed his other self for even coming up with such a plan.

"Bloody hell. Bloody. Fucking. Hell." Roman summed it up nicely.

"Viewings done, take a break, go refresh yourselves, you all could use it." Blank said and dismissed his audience to their own thoughts.

* * *

Author's notes: This chapter was an experiment, I think it came out okay but damn was it hard to write.

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as GDI commando/Lt Fullerton

Nora Valkyrie as Mammoth Tank

Ruby Rose as Sniper Team

Lie Ren as Sniper Team

Caroline Cordovin as local GDI commander

CRDL as Zone Troopers

Yang Xiao Long as Firehawk

Neptune Vasilas as Engineer/Avatar

Sun Wukong as GDI commando

Pyrrha Nikos as NOD commando

James Ironwood as General Jack Granger

Jacques Schnee as Director Redmond Boyle

Arthur Watts as Dr Alphonse Giraud

Ozpin as Kane


	32. Chapter 31: Silent and deadly

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 31: Silent and deadly**

**Inspiration: Call of Duty 4**

"Alright, the next viewing is ready." Blank said.

"Ugh, this one doesn't end with another big explosion everyone dies, does it?" Roman asked.

"No, but it does begin that way." Blank replied.

"…That's encouraging." Weiss grumbled.

"This is a world that has seen better days I'm afraid." Blank said.

"_Really_ not inspiring confidence here." Qrow muttered.

"It's not that bad." Blank's words got most of the audience to stare at him dubiously.

"Okay, maybe it is that bad. I'll uh, I'll just let it play now." Blank flickered and the lights dimmed, the screen coming to life afterwards.

"**All US forces be advised, we have a confirmed nuclear threat in the city, NEST teams are onsite and attempting to disarm, I repeat-" The radio cut off in a burst of static as a flash of light was visible on the horizon.**

**The soldiers on board the helicopter watched in a mixture of shock and disbelief as the giant mushroom cloud formed in the distance. Then the shockwave caught up with them and promptly knocked their heli out of the sky.**

"**Everyone hang on!" A lieutenant shouted, but it was hopeless. The stricken aircraft was in an out of control spiral towards the ground and no amount of bracing would save them. Some were tossed into the ether during the fall, others were dislodged when the helicopter finally hit dirt.**

**The lone sergeant who managed to survive the crash managed to crawl his way out of the downed vehicle and into the abandoned streets. Half destroyed buildings, billowing smoke and clouds of ash carried by the wind painted a vision of hell for him.**

**An attempt to stand and walk again took him several steps before he collapsed, brought down by his own grievous injuries. His vision fading, the last thing he ever saw before he expired was the slowly expanding mushroom cloud in the distance.**

"…That's uh… one way to start things with a bang?" Yang offered.

"No. Bad Yang, bad!" Ruby scolded her sister and swatted her on the back of her head.

"How… how many died there?" Ironwood asked.

"Thirty thousand fatalities for the US forces. An unknown number of civilians and enemy combatants. A trap with no concern for allied or innocent casualties." Blank explained.

"Who would… who would mastermind such a thing!?" Goodwitch spat out.

"The White Fang of that world plus Lionheart." Blank answered.

"Leo, again. Reminds me, I gotta beat his face in sometime." Qrow muttered darkly.

"Adam?" Blake asked.

"Yes." Blank confirmed and Blake sighed.

"They get what's coming to them?" Taiyang growled out.

"Lionheart yes, Adam no, not this viewing at least."

**Ren lowered his rifle as the last White Fang rebel collapsed against a barn wall, dead. Wisps of smoke trailed from his weapon as silence descended once more. With the coast clear, the squad moved up and stacked up against the door to the final barn.**

"**Remember, we want Lionheart alive, he's no good to us dead. Let's go." Jaune said before breaking the lock on the door and opening it slightly. Before the rebels inside had the sense to shoot through the door and perforate them, he tossed in a flashbang and shut the door.**

**Panicked and surprised screams echoed the flashbang going off and Jaune picked that moment to bust in. His sidearm snapped up and planted a bullet into both of Lionheart's bodyguards, icing them before they could react. Lionheart himself received a brutal right hook that knocked him off his feet.**

**Jaune knelt by the struggling terrorist and began raining blows on his face until the struggling stopped. Lionheart's face was a riot of purples, blues and red by the time he was done.**

"He deserves so much more than that." Qrow muttered, wishing he was in Jaune's place.

"So they arrest him? He's off to jail now?" Weiss asked.

"Hahahahah! Not a chance." Roman laughed.

"They're out for blood."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Weiss crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Only way he's leaving is in a body bag." Roman answered.

"And what about trial?" Blake muttered.

"What about it? Even if it's open and shut, you'll think they'll let him get off with something like life imprisonment? After what he caused? Not a chance in hell. There's only one way you deal with people like that." Roman smirked and pointedly stared at cinder afterwards.

"**Why'd you do it!? Where did you get the bomb!?" Jaune slugged Lionheart again, doing his utmost best to beat the secrets out of their captive.**

**Lionheart yelled out something unintelligible as the beating continued.**

"**Who then!? Who!? Give, me, a name!" Jaune punctuated every word with another punishing blow. Their prisoner was being surprisingly uncooperative for a coward, at the rate they were going, he might just die from the beating before coughing up the mastermind.**

"**A name! I want his name!" Jaune growled and introduced Lionheart's battered face to his fist again. The sound of a phone ringing interrupted his interrogation and Jaune held off the blows while one of his men checked it out.**

"**Sir. It's his cell phone."**

**Catching the mobile when it was tossed over, Jaune answered it and put it to his ear. As he listened to the voice on the other end, his expression grew stormier with every passing second.**

**Once he heard enough, he hung up abruptly and tossed the useless device away. Gritting his teeth in anger, he drew his pistol and pointed it at Lionheart, waiting just long enough for the struggling captive to look up into the eyes of his executioner before pulling the trigger and blowing his brains out.**

"Like so." Roman said.

"Summary execution." Ironwood's face scrunched up in distaste.

"Ugly business."

"He… he just executed him? What about justice?" Pyrrha asked, taken aback by the unfeeling execution.

"It is justice… isn't it? Lionheart was guilty of so much death, so this is justice… right?" Ren hedged, trying to see it from Jaune's point of view but still more than a little disturbed.

"**Who was that sir?"**

"**Khan. Sienna Khan." Jaune sighed and glared at the corpse in the room before shaking his head. They had some time now and he might as well fill the rest in on the woman behind it all… and one of his bigger failures from fifteen years in the past.**

"**I was just a leftenant back then… doing some wetwork." Jaune began.**

"**Chernobyl, Christmas for the bad guys. Even a decade later, lot of em still used it to get their hands on nuclear material. A lot of em… including one Sienna Khan." Jaune folded his arms and leaned against a wall as the rest of his squad rested their attention on him, it was the first time any of them had heard about this.**

"**Of course we couldn't just let that happen. Cash for spent fuel rods? Hmmph, that's one hell of a recipe for destruction. It was the first time our government had authorised as assassination order since the second world war… I was under the command of Captain Port." Jaune's eyes dulled slightly as his mind cast itself back through his memories, back to that mission.**

"Sienna? Not Adam?" Blake questioned.

"At this point, Adam Taurus hasn't stepped onto the world stage just yet. Sienna Khan is leader of the Fang and he remains one of her loyal underlings." Blank answered.

"Something tells me that's not going to last for very long." Yang muttered.

"Indeed, but the stage won't be set for his grand emergence for a while. Another viewing perhaps." Blank said.

**An overcast sky with storm clouds rolling in blanketed the world in grey. No rain yet but the dull and dreary atmosphere sapped the life out of things. Abandoned human settlements dotted the landscape, slowly being reclaimed by nature as overgrown grass and trees encroached on what would once have been a thriving little village.**

**Then the tall grasses moved and a lump rose out of the ground as Jaune shifted to a crouch from prone position. Hefting his sniper rifle, he looked out at the desolate landscape with a grim expression, searching for any sign of hostiles.**

"**Too much radiation, we'll have to go around." Another patch of grass suddenly moved as Port rose up as well.**

"**Follow me and keep low." The two of them beat feet with Port leading the way, clearing the open ground as fast as they could without drawing attention to themselves from enemy guards.**

"**Careful… there's pockets of radiation all over this area. If you absorb too much, you're a dead man." He reminded Jaune again, getting a nod in response.**

"Hey, it's Professor Port! He's not…" Yang began then trailed off awkwardly.

"Haven't seen Peter look like that in years." Ozpin mused.

"You mean decades." Goodwitch sighed.

"What happened in this Chernobyl?" Winter asked.

"A disaster at a nuclear powerplant caused the irradiation of a good chunk of the surrounding area. Forced the total evacuation of the locals and the fallout remains even decades later. Absorbing too much radiation is a death sentence." Blank answered.

"Wouldn't both of them know that already? Shit, they're already deep in, and he only mentions it now?" Mercury commented.

"Haaah… guess no matter what world it is, he does love the sound of his own voice." Taiyang answered with a small sigh.

"**Contact. Enemy patrol dead ahead." Port stopped in his tracks and pointed out the two White Fang soldiers patrolling the area to Jaune.**

"**Stay low and move slowly, we'll be impossible to spot in our ghillie suits." Dropping down to prone position again, Port vanished into the tall grass, perfectly camouflaged and nigh impossible to spot. Jaune followed suit before crawling away from his commander to get a better angle on the enemy.**

"**Take one out when the other's not looking." Port whispered.**

**Jaune inhaled and held his breath, peering through the scope and lining it up with his target. The crosshair centred nicely over the militant's forehead and Jaune squeezed off a round. A spray of blood and the body crumpled.**

**When his buddy turned to look, he too copped a bullet to the skull courtesy of Port. "He's down, good night."**

**Both SAS operatives held position for a bit, waiting for any cries of alarm or gunfire to indicate they'd been discovered.**

**Nothing.**

**They were clear to proceed. Port stood and motioned for Jaune to follow. The bodies would be discovered eventually and it was best they be long gone before the alarm went up.**

"Clean." Mercury said.

"What sort of rifles are those?" Ruby's interest was piqued instantly.

"Suppressed M21s. Not the most powerful or advanced sniper rifle, it's a workhorse that gets the job done." Blank answered.

"**Hold up, there's more cover if we go around." Port halted and the two of them skirted the side of an abandoned house. As they passed under a window, voices could be heard coming from inside the building.**

**Jaune frowned and hefted his rifle, the house wasn't quite as abandoned as they thought it was after all. At the very least their tones were unhurried and unworried, definitely still in the dark about their two fallen comrades. With any luck, they'd avoid a firefight here.**

"**Four tangos inside." Port said after peeping through a broken window.**

"**Don't even think about it." The captain cautioned as he noticed his subordinate's fingers begin to reach for the trigger. The look on Jaune's face was borderline mutinous, but he did as expected and lowered his weapon.**

**Motioning to advance again, Port called a halt once more when their path forwards was blocked by a White Fang member taking a smoke break. "Wait there. Tango by the car. Take him out quietly or just let him pass." **

**The suppressed shot and body thudding softly into the grass came seconds later.**

**Port sighed, why did he have to get the one leftenant with a major murder boner for all things terrorists? Well, at least Arc was competent enough to back it up. "Ok, go."**

"Merciless efficiency. I dig it." Mercury clapped, here was another Jaune he could get behind.

"…Awfully quick to jump to killing as a solution, isn't he?" Goodwitch muttered.

"This one is a patriot to the core. In his eyes, the White Fang are a clear and present danger, every one dead at his hands is one less to threaten his home in the future." Blank said.

"There must be another way." Blake stated firmly, that way of thinking was too close to Adam's for her liking.

"Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Considering the state of the world because he failed to kill two individuals on this mission, you see where he's coming from." Blank answered.

"**Don't move…" Port called a halt when he spotted an enemy sniper on overwatch in a church tower.**

"**We've got a lookout in the church tower… and a patrol coming from the north." His mouth curled in a grimace.**

"**Let's move up for a better… view." Port trailed off as Jaune took the initiative to snipe the man in the tower. The bullet passed cleanly through the broken window and lodged in the target's skull. The White Fang member crumpled over and collapsed with nary a sound and the alert remained unraised.**

"**Beautiful." Port gave credit where credit was due.**

"**Target approaching from the north, take him out quietly or just let him pass, your call." Once again Port sighed when a spray of blood coated the faded blue paint on an abandoned car and the already deceased target slumped against it.**

"**Tango down, go. Forward area clear." Port slowly eased the church door open and poked his rifle through. Empty, aside from the dead lookout in the tower, the church was unoccupied. Port nodded and slid inside silently and Jaune brought up the rear.**

**Jaune paused in his steps and his eyes zeroed in on several Stingers just haphazardly stacked in a corner. These White Fang were packing serious heat, not a good sign for things to come.**

"**Coast is clear." Port's words dragged Jaune away from his examination of the weapons stockpile. The two of them exited through the empty church and found themselves in a cemetery. Overgrown with weeds and ivy, it had been a long time since anyone came to take care of the place and Jaune spared the dead a small prayer before hurrying on his way.**

"**You hear that?" Port halted when the sound of propellers reached them, the noise steadily growing louder and louder with every passing second.**

"**Enemy helicopter, get down!"**

**Seconds after they went prone, the Hind soared overhead, the burst of wind that marked its passing kicking up a cloud of dust and buffeting them.**

**Port cursed when he saw the Hind loop back for another pass. "Stay in the shadows, he's circling back around… don't move."**

**Given they survived the first pass, he didn't think the heli was equipped with IR scanners, just regular mk I eyeballs of its pilots and gunners. They should be impossible to spot while camouflaged but no point pushing their luck.**

**After a few tense moments, the Hind finally moved off into the distance to patrol elsewhere. Port exhaled softly, releasing the tension in his body. "Let's go."**

"How big of a threat is this world's White Fang?" Ironwood asked.

"Significant enough that an assassination mission against one of their leaders was cleared. And it just gets worse from there." Blank said.

"How much worse?" Winter followed up.

"Plunge the world into a third world war worse." Blank said simply.

**Rumbling in the dirt indicated their problems weren't quite over just yet. Port cursed and dropped to a crawl, Jaune followed suit and the tall grass concealed them once more. Dread filled a pit in Port's stomach as the White Fang's forces came into view.**

**Less a large patrol and more a small army repositioning themselves. Countless militants backed up by multiple BMPs were rolling through the area. And nothing but open ground in every direction.**

"**Easy lad… there's too many of them, let them go. Keep a low profile and hold your fire." Port cautioned, shooting Jaune a warning look to send the point home. Getting their cover blown here was an immediate death sentence, however good they were, they were no outshooting an entire frigging army.**

"**Try to anticipate their paths. If you have to manoeuvre, do it slow and steady… no quick movements." Port muttered while crawling forwards. The one bright side was the noise those BMPs were putting out would mask any sound they made trying to sneak past, and with the strong winds, any rustling of the grass caused by them would go unnoticed as well… as long as they didn't inadvertently crawl right into anyone.**

**Progress through the field was agonizingly slow. Jaune held his breath as several enemy troops passed within a single foot of where he was lying, close enough he could stare straight down the barrel of their weapon just by tilting his head up.**

**He only released the breath once those soldiers had left him behind a good deal. Beginning to crawl forwards again, he gave thanks for the BMPs on either side of him, they served as great obstacles preventing line of sight for the other soldiers on foot, allowing him to crawl a little faster.**

**It was nerve wracking having to reposition himself ever so slowly whenever a White Fang member suddenly changed his path. More than once Jaune worried that one of them would accidentally step on him and blow their cover instantly.**

**But by luck or divine intervention, none of them did. Eventually, both of them saw the light at the end of the tunnel and made it through the ordeal. They continued crawling even after passing the last soldier, only after the sound of the BMPs' engines were starting to diminish did they dare rise.**

"I'm going to get a heart attack at this rate." Yang sank back into her seat and huffed quietly.

"Why not go around? Hug the treeline instead. Crawling right through the crowd is… ballsy as fuck but I'm not sure on the sanity part." Roman asked.

"They were out in the open and didn't want to risk being spotted if they ran for the trees?" Emerald hazarded a guess.

"In essence. There's also the fact that it wouldn't have worked thanks to the radiation pockets." Blank replied.

**Beyond the clearing lay a boneyard of sorts, countless obsolete military vehicles littered the area, slowly rusting away. A graveyard for broken tools, and now a dumping ground for actual humans too.**

"**Looks like they've already eliminated the men they couldn't buy out." Port mumbled as the two of them watched several militants casually offload corpses and dump them unceremoniously in a pile.**

"**Let's move up for a better view." He lowered his rifle and shuffled off. Shifting to a better spot allowed them to catch sight of a few additional guards in the area, all of them blocking their advance.**

"**Taking them out without alerting the rest isn't going to be easy. But then again, neither is sneaking past them." Port muttered as the guards swept the area. These ones were more alert than the ones they made past earlier, and not a lot of tall grass to crawl by either.**

"**Your call." He left the decision to Jaune instead.**

**Jaune raised his rifle, spending a few moments swapping between targets to get the timing down. Once he was certain he had the timing down, he opened fire.**

**The first round caught one of the body dumpers in the chest, dropping him with a wet gurgle to join his victims. The second nailed his buddy right between the eyes before he could shout an alarm. The third struck true and downed one of the guards. Port himself was no slouch and added his own firepower to the mix, sniping the guards on the other end and silencing them as well.**

**The entire exercise lasted no more than ten seconds, by the time it was done, half a dozen new bodies were added to the rotting pile. Port ejected the spent magazine and slapped a new one home, shaking his head at Jaune. "The word 'stealth' doesn't mean anything to you, does it? Move up." **

"Eh, no one will notice if there's no one left to notice." Mercury shrugged.

"Is it really that difficult to not kill unnecessarily?" Blake sighed.

"It's not like they didn't have it coming. Those bodies they were dumping said as much." Qrow replied.

"How did the Fang get so much men and material here anyways? The place may be abandoned but I don't think anyone will miss an army just moving in." Ren asked.

"I'd wager they have men on the inside covering for them, anyone they can't buy off or misdirect… you saw the bodies." Roman answered.

"Indeed, the White Fang of this world are ultranationalists, and they have a lot of support at every level of the government and industry." Blank confirmed.

**Jaune sat back and watched as Port swung his rifle butt into an unsuspecting guard hard enough to crack his skull. The corpse flopped over bonelessly and Port ducked back into the shadows. Containers everywhere created a maze-like environment blocking their vision, still, they could hear enemy chatter coming from all around them.**

**Slinging his M21 over his shoulders, Jaune drew his sidearm for the close quarters and held it at the ready as he advanced.**

"**Hold up, wait here." Port dashed forwards to get a better look at the opposition.**

"**Patrol coming this way, stay back." Jaune slunk back, allowing his superior to handle things. Port's rifle raised and fired and another body crumpled.**

"**Tango down, forward area clear… go." Port lead the way forwards when no cry of alarm went up. They passed another set of guards taking a smoke break, unaware of the snipers sneaking right by them. Jaune wanted to eliminate their threat but Port held him back, these weren't in their way and there was no sense in pushing their luck trying to eliminate unnecessary targets.**

**As they pushed on, the sound of a helicopter greeted their ears again. Port frowned and slowly eased a container door open, he froze in place when he saw the welcoming committee on the other end. **

"**It's a bloody convention out there. Get ready to move on my signal, stay right behind me." Port said, Jaune nodded and the two of them remained in place, waiting for the **_**other**_** small army on the other side to go about their business and give them an opening.**

"**Hold… Okay… go!" Port hurled the door open and sprinted towards the main road and the line of vehicles waiting. The sound of the helicopter drowning out their footsteps as they cut in behind the oblivious White Fang members.**

**Ducking between the empty vehicles, they shifted from cover to cover, staying out of sight by remaining in the blind spots. Dropping to a crawl, Port made his way under a truck crawling along it to stay hidden. Jaune was right behind.**

"**There's a truck coming, we'll use it as cover. Keep moving." Port whispered.**

**The truck pulled to a halt right at the end of the convoy, granting them an easy time crawling under it too. Boots thudded onto the asphalt as the men inside disembarked, Jaune watched them go by with a wary glance, sighing in relief when none of them had the sudden urge to check their feet.**

"**Just wait here a moment, when they leave, crawl out and stay low." Port instructed.**

"**Patience… don't do anything stupid."**

**Jaune nodded quietly, remaining absolutely still and silent. Much as he wanted these terrorists dead, fighting them was a no win situation. **

"**Stand by… stand by… go!" Port waited until the White Fang had passed them and were well on their way to whatever assembly point they were headed for. Crawling out and remaining in the blind spot for as long as they could, they broke into a flat sprint for a nearby block of flats once they were absolutely sure no one was looking.**

"Damn, what do they need so many people for anyways? They preparing for an invasion or something?" Roman whistled at the sheer amount of force on display.

"They're all on guard duty." Blank answered.

"Guard… duty? You're joking." Cinder shook her head in denial.

"It is how it is, they're here to provide security for an arms deal taking place in the coming days. They're the advance party laying the groundwork before Sienna Khan herself arrives." Blank said.

"Heh, not doing a very good job of that so far." Mercury chuckled.

"To be fair, none of them were expecting an actual assassination attempt. Most of them are operating on the assumption that no one would be foolish enough to try anything with this heavy a military presence." Blank said.

"**Sniper, fire escape, fourth floor, dead ahead. Take him out or he'll give away our position." Port called out.**

**Jaune nodded and took aim quietly, as soon as the sniper looked away, he fired. The White Fang sniper clutched at his chest as the round punched through his heart before he collapsed against the wall and slid down. **

"**Beautiful, move out." Port praised and advanced.**

**Cutting through the apartment complex and the playground beyond, no more White Fang guards or patrols challenged them. Thus far, it appeared they had successfully breached the security perimeter and had a clean shot to their destination.**

"**Don't let your guard down, we're not there yet." Port cautioned as their footsteps on the concrete pavement seemed unnaturally loud in the abandoned city.**

"**Stop! Leave it alone, it's a wild dog." Port pointed out a rather large canine currently feasting on the corpse of an ill-fated White Fang militant. Jaune nodded quietly and the two gave the mutt a wide berth as they proceeded, neither interested in sharing the fate of the deceased.**

"**Pooch doesn't look too friendly…" Port trailed off as the dog growled at them, blood and slobber dripping from its maw.**

"Dogs are evil. Proof!" Blake hissed.

"Ugh, eaten by a dog. Can you possible go out in an even more undignified manner?" Roman shook his head in exasperation, then sighed again when Neo shoved some notes into his hands.

"No Neo, no experimenting with Cinder and her gruesome twosome, we want em dead fast, no trying to humiliate them first."

His assistant pouted and folded her arms in displeasure.

"**Look at this place… fifty thousand people used to live in this city. Now it's a ghost town… I've never seen anything like it." Port said as they moved through an abandoned mall. Toppled shelves and faded posters on the wall only served as a reminder of the people displaced by the disaster, a haunting sight.**

**Another Hind passed overhead, causing the building to shake when it came close. Port and Jaune ducked into cover as it passed by, staying out of sight.**

**Once it was gone, they were free to leave. Their destination was in sight now and nothing more stood in their way. All that was left to do was reach their vantage point to observe the arms deal and set up shop in the ruins. **

"**This way, let's go. There's the hotel. We should be able to observe the exchange from the top floor up there. Let's move."**

"I… I don't like this place a lot." Summer said.

"It's… it reminds me of those villages or towns that have to be abandoned to the Grimm." Taiyang added.

"Yeah… seen too many of those already. Enough for a thousand lifetimes." Qrow agreed.

"**Leftenant Arc, the meeting is under way, enemy transport sighted entering the target area." Port called out as he sighted a convoy of vehicles moving in through his spotter's scope.**

**Jaune stretched lightly, feeling his muscles pop after lying motionless for so long. Shifting over to the sniper rifle set up for the kill shot, he pushed aside the mug shot of Sienna Khan and rested his cheek against the cold metal of his weapon.**

**Zooming in, he noticed the transport in question immediately. The White Fang were already present in force and milling about, waiting for the last arrivals to settle.**

"**The wind's getting a bit choppy. You can compensate for it, or you can wait it out. But she might leave before it dies down. It's your call." Port laid out his options for him.**

"**Remember what I've taught you, keep in mind variable humidity and wind speed along the bullet's flight path. At this distance, you'll also have to take the Coriolis effect into account."**

**Jaune's breath hitched as Sienna Khan walked into view, carrying a large case. It looked like their intel was spot on after all. Zooming in closer again, he kept an eye on a flag waving in the wind, using it as a rough gauge for the wind speed and direction.**

**As he scanned the area, his crosshairs passed over an unassuming vehicle with two individuals inside. One with red hair and the other black.**

"Haa… should have expected it I guess." Blake muttered upon seeing herself and Adam.

"Did I have anything to do with the explosion at the start?"

"No, aside from being unable to stop Adam from setting it off." Blank answered.

"Pity." Blake's mouth curled in distaste.

"**Okay, I think I see her, wait for my mark." Port said.**

"**Target… acquired. I have a positive ID on Sienna Khan."**

**Jaune tuned out his mentor as his world shrank and fell away, until all that remained was the view in his scope. Exhaling slowly, Jaune allowed his nervousness and anticipation to drain away, he had all the time in the world to make the shot.**

**The flag continued waving in the wind, flapping about from side to side as the militants inspected the goods under Sienna's watchful eye. Then the wind died down and the flag went still.**

**Jaune's finger tightened on the trigger and he was just about to squeeze down when his entire vision was obscured by grey. Jaune blinked in surprise and shifted off the rifle to see what the hell just interrupted his shot. A single Hind on patrol had taken that moment to just swoop in and block him. **

"**Ach, where did he come from? Patience laddie… wait for a clear shot." Port muttered as the enemy helicopter maintained its position for a bit, shielding Sienna by sheer coincidence.**

**Eventually it moved away and Jaune calmed himself down, returning his full attention to the world inside the scope. The wind had picked up again and he allowed the irritation to drain away as he awaited the moment of truth.**

**Down below, Sienna was locked in argument with someone. He couldn't hear the details but he supposed it didn't matter, the wind had stopped again. The rifle kicked against his shoulder as he squeezed off the round, the fifty cal bullet found its mark.**

**Sienna had just raised her arms in an animated gesture when the bullet struck. She went down in a spray of blood and one of her arms was blown off too, falling to the ground as someone dragged her body behind cover..**

"**Target is down! Nice shot leftenant." Port praised as he watched the terrorist leader fall.**

"**Shit! They're on to us, take out that helicopter, it'll buy us some time." He cursed when the Hind circled back, someone on board must have noticed the shot and called their position in.**

**Jaune shifted his aim, centring his sights on the pilot. He squeezed off another shot and the Hind's cockpit became coated in crimson. With the pilot gone, it spiralled out of control and crashed to the ground.**

"**Great shot leftenant! Now let's go! They'll be searching for us! It's time to move!" Port called out as he spotted another helicopter coming in to strafe their position.**

**Jaune didn't need any further prompting, abandoning the larger sniper rifle, he shot to his feet and grabbed his M21 before sprinting away to their exit point.**

**Attaching pre-prepared ropes to their harnesses, both of them started fast roping downwards, hurrying to leave the area asap. Seconds after they did, the entire floor they were on vanished in a series of explosions as the Hind unloaded its missiles on the place.**

"Alright, I get that it's a flashback, but how the heck are they supposed to escape an entire pissed off army now?" Emerald pointed out.

"Guns blazing? Hide it out? I don't know, just damn… can't believe she survived that. That's an arm gone, I thought the blood loss would have got her." Mercury said.

"They did so too. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, they were able to stabilize her long enough to get proper medical attention." Blank replied.

"Somehow, I don't think she's going to let that slide." Roman muttered.

"Why leave the rifle behind though? If they're going to have to shoot their way out? Wouldn't more firepower be better?" Nora asked.

"Too unwieldy, I think. Ammo issues too. Their standard M21 is probably better for mobility, since they don't have aura to help them." Ruby replied.

"**Delta Two Four, this is Alpha Six! We have been compromised, I repeat, we have been compromised! Now heading to extraction point four!" Port radioed through to HQ their current situation.**

"**Alpha Six, Big Bird is en route, ETA twenty minutes, don't be late, we're stretching our fuel as it is. Out." Came the reply. Port grunted in response, their evac was on the way and now they just had to survive long enough to get there.**

**Jaune crouched behind a wrecked car as bullets pinged off the engine. The White Fang were pouring in now, drawn to them like moths to a flame thanks to the Hind broadcasting their position to every god damned terrorist in the region.**

**And just like the moths, their wings would burn for it. They were still way out of their effective range, just hosing bullets downrange in the hopes of getting lucky. Unfortunately for them, the same could not be said for Jaune and Port.**

**As one, the snipers raised their weapons and began picking off the incoming hostiles. The steady crack, crack, crack, of their rifles heralding death with every report. Screams of the wounded and dying filled the air as the militants were scythed down without mercy.**

"**Forget these guys! We're going to get left behind! Let's get to the extraction point!" Port roared as he noticed even more enemy soldiers rappelling down from helicopters in the distance. There were more militants than they had bullets, the time limit hanging over their heads just added more pressure.**

**Jaune nodded in understanding and booked it across the parking lot once the last militant in their way had copped a bullet to the heart. He could hear the angry shouts and gunfire from their pursuers, but there was no time to deal with them now.**

"**We'll lose em in that apartment, come on!" Port led the way into an abandoned block of flats. Jaune grabbed a machine gun off the corpse of a White Fang member and sprayed the area behind them, forcing enemies into cover. It bought them a few seconds before he tossed the weapon away and hurried to catch up to Port.**

"What's Adam's role in all this?" Blake asked.

"At this point, nothing much. He's the one who got Sienna to safety, got himself noticed here. This is the first of many things that catapulted him through the ranks of the White Fang." Blank said.

"Pity Arc didn't take the extra shot then." Ironwood said.

"Well, with or without him, that world isn't in the greatest of shapes. Things would have gone to hell anyways. Adam Taurus just gave the world a little push."

**Jaune's pistol fired once and the dog clawing at the fence between them fell over dead. They were ahead of the pursuit force but if that dog was anything to go by, other units were already moving to encircle them, they'd have company soon enough.**

"**Standby!" Port halted in his tracks and blocked Jaune from advancing any further. The White Fang massing outside failed to notice them in the shadow of the doorway they were in. Sweat trickled down the back of Jaune's neck as he realised he had been seconds away from blowing their cover.**

"**Quick, plant a claymore by the by the door up ahead." Port ordered and crouched down with his weapon at the ready. Jaune hurried forwards and placed the explosive right by the door before doubling back and joining Port.**

**Soon enough, the militants rushed in and were promptly blown to hell when the claymore was triggered. The few survivors who stumbled forwards in shock were put out of their misery by the snipers lying in wait.**

**Upon pushing out of the building, more enemies arrived, busting through another door. Shouts of surprise echoed into the air as the White Fang reinforcements were not expecting to just run into Jaune and Port there.**

"**More behind us!" Port called out as he downed the closest targets to him.**

**Jaune ducked back into the building as bullets punched through the plaster walls and showered him with dust. Priming a grenade, he tossed it towards where the militants were bunched together. The subsequent explosion silenced their cries.**

"**Incoming helicopter! Snipe the bastard!" Port growled as an enemy heli picked that exact moment to swing around the buildings. The two of them emptied their magazines into it and struck something critical when it started belching smoke and flames.**

"**Good night ya bastard…" Port waved his hand dismissively and began walking away. Then the helicopter crashed against the side of the apartment building and fired off its missiles, causing rubble to rain down when they scored hits across the flat.**

"**Ahh… crap! RUN!" Port and Jaune began sprinting away when the stricken helicopter hit dirt and began skidding right towards them.**

"**Gah!" Port cried out when he tripped on something hidden in the grass and collapsed. Jaune looked back with eyes wide as the helicopter continued barrelling down right on top of them, losing its sections of its main propeller as it struck the ground and snapped off.**

**When it finally came to a stop, it kicked up a large cloud of dust and smoke everywhere. Jaune coughed and waved away the smoke, searching for any sign his mentor was still alive.**

**He sighed in relief when Port's voice came through. "Bollocks! My leg's all mess up, I can't move!"**

**Port pushed against the propeller section that had come close to bisecting him, struggling to crawl forwards and failing. His legs were numb, probably broken but the pain hadn't set in yet.**

"**Sorry mate, you're going to have to carry me!" Jaune slung his rifle and grabbed Port's arm, gently picking his superior up, doing his best not to agitate the wound any further.**

"**If we run into trouble, you'll have to find a good spot to put me down so I can cover you."**

"Ooh… tough luck." Taiyang winced.

"At least it's not our Port there." Qrow said, looking on the bright side.

"Hmmph, should have just left him behind." Cinder said.

"Of course you'd think that. Not even surprised." Roman rolled his eyes.

"Is there anyone you don't consider expendable?"

"Tools are there to be used. Besides, he's just dead weight now. Better to leave him and save himself, no one would ever know. It's what I would have done." Cinder said, oblivious to her underlings staring at her with differing levels of disbelief.

"Then it's a good thing Jaune is nothing like you." Pyrrha shot back.

"Such a bleeding heart. It'll only get him killed one day." Cinder's cruel smirk spoke for itself.

"Actually, saving Port here pays off in the future. But that's a story for another time." Blank corrected.

"**Target neutralised." Port continued sniping from the cover of the bushes Jaune left him in. White Fang were swarming in from everywhere and the pain was starting to creep in.**

**Jaune was further ahead, drawing enemy fire away from Port and shooting back with a captured AK-47. As long as they were focused on him, Port's shots would go unnoticed amidst all the gunfire, keeping him safe and letting him pick off hostiles before Jaune could be overrun.**

**When a transport heli flew overhead and began unloading its human cargo right on top of them. Jaune simply raised his AK and fired on the fast roping militants, shooting them down before they could touch dirt. Internally he gave thanks the helicopter wasn't armed, or this would have already been over.**

"**Looks like we're in the clear, we should get moving." Port said when the heli flew off. Jaune nodded and clasped his hand, hauling him over his shoulders and double timing it to the extraction point.**

"**Head for that apartment! We'll try to lose em in there." Port pointed forwards and Jaune replied with a soft grunt, changing course and heading for it. Worry gnawed at Jaune on the inside, as snipers their greatest asset was stealth, now that they had lost the element of surprise, they were in seriously deep shit.**

**More troops were still scrambling after them on foot or dropping in by air. They just couldn't catch a break. At least there weren't any tanks knocking on their doors yet.**

**Pushing through the maze-like apartment complex was difficult to say the least. Sections of the building had already collapsed and fires were still burning in other places, for the time being, the floor of the second level held their weight, but the ominous creaking that echoed his footsteps at times inspired no confidence.**

**As he rounded a corner, Jaune's face paled when he came face to face with a very angry dog. Dropping Port to the floor with as much haste as he could, Jaune's hands snapped to his side, trying to draw his sidearm.**

**The gun had just cleared its holster when the dog was on him. Jaune dropped his pistol to free both hands for keeping the mutt's jaw at bay. Stumbling backwards, he fell, knocked over by the weight of the dog leaping on him.**

**Vicious barking and snapping teeth filled his vision, slobber and drool dripped from the rapid canine as it tried to bite down. Jaune struggled with the animal, forcing its jaw away with all the strength he had to muster, until he got a better grip on the beast.**

**Then with a brutal wrench, he snapped the dog's neck, killing it instantly. Shoving the body off him, he scrambled back to his feet and grabbed his discarded sidearm, shouts and more barking indicating there were more hostiles in the area.**

**The first White Fang soldier that bust into the room went down when a bullet from Port pierced his neck, going down in a spray of blood. The second met his end when Jaune took a side door and snuck behind him, shooting him in the back of his head before he even realised anyone was there. The final dog picked that moment to lunge out of the shadows and promptly ate several bullets as Jaune emptied the pistol's magazine into it.**

**Staggering back as the dog's corpse crashed into him, Jaune tossed it away and looked down at his chest. The entire front of his uniform was covered in dog blood now, and he threw his arms up in disgust. Sparing the dog one last hateful glare, he turned and headed back to Port, ready to just get the hell out of this cursed land.**

"Thank goodness Grimm don't bleed. Imagine all that blood getting into your hair. Ick." Yang said, shuddering in disgust and getting nods and mutters of agreement from the others.

"Thank you for putting that image in my head Yang, thank you very much." Weiss grumbled and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to wash that image out of her imagination.

"You're welcome." Yang smiled cheekily, grin growing wider when Weiss started growling.

"**We're almost there! The extraction point is on the other side of that building!" Port said.**

**Jaune nodded and entered and old dilapidated swimming complex. Paint peeling, some walls knocked over and all the glass in the place shattered. Not a pretty sight.**

**Several wild dogs were resting in the empty pool, Jaune gave them a wide berth, skirting the edge instead, after the last encounter with angry canines, he had no intention of giving an encore. A small curse died in his throat when he looked out the shattered windows to where their extraction point lay, several militants had already beaten them there and were milling about, searching for them.**

**Carefully lowering Port to the ground, Jaune drew his rifle and prepared to snipe the hostiles. His trigger finger was squeezing down when he paused, one of the militants had the brilliant idea to kick a rock through the windows, out of boredom maybe.**

**Whatever his intention, it was a fatal mistake. The rock clattered into the empty pool, the sound thunderous in the silence. The dogs were spooked instantly and began barking angrily, rushing out of the pool and towards where the rock came from.**

**Jaune lowered his rifle and swallowed hard as he watched the White Fang be set upon by the wild dogs and torn to pieces before they could put up any kind of fight. Quick, brutal, and extremely messy. Once they were dead, the dogs simply ran off to god only knows where.**

**No time to dwell on things, Jaune slung his rifle and picked up Port again, continuing forwards. Just a bit more now and then evac would be here.**

"Ooh… bad luck. Hehhehe, nice to see someone else get hit with it for a change." Qrow chuckled.

"I thought dogs were supposed to be man's best friend. Guess I'm wrong on that count." Mercury said.

"**Alpha Six, this is Big Bird, standing by for your signal, over." Their pilot's voice came through the comms and Jaune felt his mood lift.**

"**Our helicopter is standing by at a safe distance, put me down behind the Ferris wheel, where I can provide sniper support." Port said.**

**The old fairground that was to be their extraction point wasn't the most defensible of places but it was all they had. Enough hiding spots for a sniper to vanish and pick off enemies at least.**

**Jaune set Port down by a large hedge, the injured man blending in with the shrubbery perfectly thanks to his ghillie suit.**

"**Take the rest of my claymores, now's the time to use them." Port shifted in place painfully, retrieving his stash of explosives and handing it to Jaune. They'd managed to lose the White Fang for the moment but it was only a matter of time before someone found them, and once the first search party sounded the alarm, the rest would come swarming.**

**Jaune took the explosives wordlessly, hurrying off to plant them in choke points or where he estimated hostiles would take cover in. While he did so, Port signalled their extraction team to begin their approach.**

**Once the last of his claymores had been planted, Jaune retreated into the shadows to take up his own sniping spot. Only thing to do now was wait for reinforcements and hope they didn't get overrun before the cavalry arrived.**

**They didn't have to wait long. Additional White Fang troops arrived, possibly having been drawn in by the patrol those dogs butchered.**

**Jaune held his breath and allowed them to get closer, sweat trickled down the back of his neck. Noticing a few getting closer to where he planted some of his claymores, he exhaled slowly and took aim.**

**The first shot came out of the blue, puncturing a man's neck. The second caught his buddy in the chest when he turned to look. Then the claymores were triggered and explosions drowned out the cries of pain and screams of outrage.**

**That was the signal that opened the floodgates. Other White Fang units started pouring in, drawn by the explosions and alerting every other asset they had in the area.**

**It was on.**

"That's a lot of bad guys." Nora said, staring at the sheer numbers arrayed against them.

"They really want them dead." Taiyang folded his arms.

"And they die disappointed." Roman followed up.

"**Enemy choppers inbound!" Port yelled when he noticed the troop transports coming in.**

**Jaune's aim snapped to them and he opened fire. Sparks flew as his shots pinged off the helicopter's armour harmlessly, the damn thing was bulletproof and his M21 just didn't have the firepower needed to get through and do some damage.**

**Cursing silently, he switched back to sniping the troops already on the ground, keeping them at bay. Enemies were everywhere now and their camouflage wouldn't be effective much longer, just a matter of time before their hiding spots were narrowed down and they'd be flushed out with grenades or killed.**

"**Big Bird! We are heavily outnumbered! Where are you!?" Port roared, dropping his empty magazine and slapping a fresh one home.**

"**Copy that Alpha, we'll be there ASAP, hold tight."**

**Jaune resisted the urge to add that if they didn't get here fast, they'd be extracting a pair of corpses. Tossing aside his M21, he grabbed a discarded RPD and began spraying the area with lead. His position was compromised and taking out targets one at a time was no longer viable, these White Fang zealots were unheeding of death and his sniping had lost its psychological edge.**

**When the sound of another helicopter reached his ears, Jaune's heart sank. Then bullets started raining on the militants and he blinked in surprise, looking up, his mood lifted when he noticed the heli didn't have any White Fang markings.**

"**Alpha Team, this is Big Bird, get your ass on board, over." Their ride had arrived.**

**Jaune abandoned his position and made a mad dash for Port, several stray rounds zinged past his head but most of the enemy were focused on the helicopter and allied troops shooting out from it. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, he grabbed his mentor and booked it towards the air craft.**

**Once on board, Jaune set Port down on an empty seat and joined the relief team in shooting at the militants while they fell back. Once all were aboard, the aircraft lifted off and began flying off, eager to escape hostile airspace.**

**As they left that hell hole behind, Jaune himself collapsed against his seat and closed his eyes, glad that they were home free.**

"A few more minutes and they'd have been toast. Cutting it close there." Ren said.

"All's well that ends well?" Nora hazarded.

"Hmmph, there is the detail that their mission was a colossal failure. Sienna Khan lives and so does Adam Taurus. All for nothing in the end, _what a pity_." Cinder's sarcastic clapping caused Nora to start growling at her again.

"They stopped an arms deal, it counts for something." Ironwood objected.

"Yeah, delayed the inevitable, I think. Just put it off for fifteen years until the big bang at the start." Roman muttered.

"**And that was it, intelligence thought Khan dead for years. Until she resurfaced awhile ago. Bloody hell, they let her go because she didn't **_**look**_** like a threat anymore. Bollocks! We **_**really **_**dropped the ball on that one." Jaune slammed his fist into the table, bitterly regretting his failure fifteen years ago.**

"**Haaah… nothing we can do about it now, she'll get what's coming to her soon. For now, look alive gents, the White Fang will be here in force soon to try and reclaim Lionheart… or what's left of him. Search the village, grab everything we can use and start fortifying the place. Extract will be here in the morn, we just have hold out until then. Everyone clear?" Jaune looked to his unit, receiving several nods and salutes in acknowledgement.**

"**Good, you have your orders. Dismissed."**

And with that, the viewing came to an end.

"And that's it for this viewing, feel free to go refresh yourselves." Blank said, dismissing his audience to their own devices.

* * *

Author's notes: Unemployment is coming to an end. First job is starting soon, not sure what kind of a schedule I'll be working with or how much free time I'd have left to write. I will do my best to continue writing though.

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as Captain John Price

Lie Ren as John 'Soap' MacTavish

Blake Belladonna as Yuri

Adam Taurus as Vladimir Makarov

Peter Port as Captain MacMillan

Leonardo Lionheart as Khaled Al-Assad

Sienna Khan as Imran Zakhaev


	33. Chapter 32: End of the nightmare

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 32: End of the nightmare**

**Inspiration: Bloodborne**

"Welcome back, I trust you've all had a good rest?" Blank said and received a choir of mumbles and grunts of acknowledgment in response.

"So, what is it this time?" Qrow asked.

"We're revisiting a world we've already seen. This time, I'll be showing how that road ends." Blank answered.

"Huh, sure, whatever." Qrow shrugged and took a big swig from a bottle of brandy.

"Indeed. We're returning to the world with hunter Jaune." Blank said in a matter of fact tone. Qrow blinked once as the words registered in his mind, then he executed a perfect spit take.

"EW! UNCLE QROW!" Yang screamed and fell out of her seat in her haste to get away from the mist.

"How unsightly, have you no class Branwen?" Winter grimaced in disgust and shook her head at the display.

"Gack! Piss off ice queen." Qrow sputtered out once he was done coughing.

"As… crass, as my colleague is, I must admit I do share his opinion on things." Goodwitch muttered.

"Hunter… hunter… oh crap! That's the one with that frigging monster corpse brain singing _thing_, isn't it!?" Mercury paled considerably and began shivering upon remembering the mind hurting appearance of the winter lantern.

"You know what? I think I'll just keep my eyes closed for the entire viewing this time." Emerald nodded sagely.

"That's… a valid suggestion." Cinder admitted, on the one hand showing weakness went against everything she believed in, on the other, her sanity was precious too.

"Ahem, I'll just start playing now." Blank coughed and flickered once, beginning the viewing.

'**World's gone mad.' That one thought plagued Jaune as he ran through the twisting streets of Yharnam. A weight hung over the entire city, forcibly pressing down on the minds of anyone who still retained their sanity.**

**The chime of a bell rang in his ears and Jaune swore under his breath. Space distorted in front of him, a font of red and black heralding the emergence of twisted phantoms of the mutated citizens. Their grotesque forms glowed a dull crimson and their weapons glinted in the firelight.**

"**Get out of my way! I don't have time for this!" Jaune swung his holy moonlight sword in a wide arc, firing a beam of arcane energy that cleaved through the horde of abominations in front of him.**

**Bestial roars and howls tore at his ears as he sprinted past the disintegrating corpses. Already he could hear the chime of the bell once more, more phantoms would be arriving soon to harass him, the summoning would go on infinitely until he found the chime maidens and silenced their bells permanently.**

**High above the twisted city, the sky was awash in a riot of colours, blues, reds and purples clashing chaotically while a giant blood moon dominated the heavens, an image not too dissimilar from what a mad artist might have envisioned.**

"What's wrong with the sky? That's no way that's normal… or whatever passes as normal in that world." Summer asked.

"The veil is broken. There's nothing holding back the power of the great ones anymore and their true impact on reality is now visible. I suppose you could say the line between the dream and the waking world has blurred almost to the point of nonexistence." Blank answered.

"It's beautiful… and also creepy at the same time." Ruby mumbled.

"Veil broken? So uh, what happened to the people in the city?" Taiyang asked.

"You'll see, you'll see." Blank said ominously.

**Jaune stabbed a summoned huntsman in the back and kicked the disintegrating corpse over the bannisters, tuning out its death cry and focusing on the next target.**

**The stairwell rumbled as the bulk of a scourge beast crashed down onto it. An inhuman roar was met with a grimace from Jaune as he backpedalled and retreated upwards, dodging away from the abomination's furious swipes.**

**Unlike every other scourge beast he'd butchered in Yharnam, these ones were even more twisted than 'normal' and Jaune found himself wishing he was still fighting the originals. Instead of a single human mutated into a beast by the old blood, this one was an undead mishmash of human body parts crammed together to form some twisted semblance of life.**

**Sliding into a stance, Jaune charged his weapon with magic and thrust forwards, unleashing a wave of energy that blasted the mishappen beast backwards, off the stairs and onto the ground far below. It crashed to dirt in a tangle of limbs and while scrabbling to get back to its feet, gave Jaune some breathing room.**

**Jaune sucked in a deep breath, the foul odour of rot and death permeating the very air itself, before tossing himself over the edge as well. Stabbing downwards with the holy moonlight sword and impaling the beast right through centre mass. **

**Drawing back and then stabbing down again, blood splattered everywhere and the struggling finally weakened and ceased. Extracting the blade, Jaune staggered back and clutched at his head, the pressure of the Great One was setting in again.**

**Jaune grit his teeth and shook himself violently, shaking off the taint. The oppressive feeling receded slightly but remained ever present. "Gah! Get out of my head!"**

**Shaking himself like a wet dog, he tightened his grip on his sword and dashed out of the building, rushing back onto the streets of Yahar'gul. Time was in drastically short supply now to save the few who remained in this damned city.**

**Glaring at the blood moon hanging overhead, Jaune bitterly cursed healing church with every fibre of his being. The little pissing contest between the School of Mensis and the Choir had escalated into a full-blown civil war, and the whole city was paying for it when the School stepped up their timetable.**

**Provost Polendina had done his best keeping the influence of the Great Ones at bay with his own little ritual but all that had done was delay the inevitable. In his efforts to buy time, no one noticed that time had already run out.**

"Pietro is here as well?" Ironwood said.

"Indeed. Dr or Provost Polendina here was one of the founding members of the college ofByrgenwerth. Despite his exile from the city proper when the healing church came to power, he continued his own research in private and when the School of Mensis activated their ritual for ascension, he countered with his own, keeping the effects at bay temporarily until someone else can shut it down." Blank explained.

"Things didn't go according to plan then." Ren stated.

"Correct, his ritual worked a little too well, most unaffiliated hunters failed to notice that the latest outbreak of the scourge was more than it appeared to be. And the Choir's own forces were decimated by the School, leaving them too weak to interfere before it was too late." Blank answered.

"Would things have been better if he had failed?" Pyrrha asked.

"Probably not to be honest. The ritual would have gone unopposed anyways and the healing church would have remained locked in their civil war. Unaffiliated hunters might have left or chosen to focus on hunting beasts, poking one's nose into church business leads to greatly reduced life expectancy after all." Blank said.

**The steady crack, crack, crack of gunfire pierced the cacophony of roars, growls and howling from the beasts. Jaune ducked hastily and the quicksilver round sailed overhead, burying itself harmlessly in the road. **

**Summoned huntsmen were taking potshots at him from various vantage points, trying their damnedest to snipe him. As Jaune weaved between their bullets, he simply gave thanks the buff given to them by the chime maidens did not extend to their accuracy. **

**Behind him, more undead abominations were hot on his tail, and once more he found himself wishing he was fighting the 'normal' beasts from before the blood moon. Instead he had to deal with creatures birthed in the darkest of nightmares.**

**Whether they were victims of the healing church awaiting disposal or just regular Yharnamites who died of 'natural' causes, there was no questioning what they were now. All those dead bodies piled into cramped caskets to save space had reanimated and fused together when the lingering old blood in them activated. **

**Just more abominations with human features now. The sound of wood splintering and the squelching of flesh as the fused corpses dragged their bloated forms and caskets in hot pursuit of the fleeing hunter sent chills down Jaune's spine, heavily encouraging him to pick up the pace.**

**Such creatures should not exist, not even with the power of the blood. But with the blood moon overhead signalling the power of the Great Ones bleeding over into reality in full, the word impossible was rapidly losing its meaning.**

**As he sprinted down the main road towards the site of the ritual, Jaune spared the walls a glance and grimaced. His question about where the citizens who used to live in Yahar'gul went was answered with horrifying clarity.**

**All along the grey walls, detailed carvings of people running away screaming at an unseen threat stuck out. It could have been written off as just another design choice by whatever mad artist contributed to the décor of the city save one tiny detail.**

**He had passed by this way earlier in the night. **

**And the walls had been just plain grey.**

"…The people… fused with the walls? What in the…" Blake recoiled in shock.

"Ugh, that thing is nasty, why can't it just stay in its coffin?" Nora was squicked out by the cramped caskets' contents spilling out everywhere.

"Great, is everything going to be a disgusting mashup of… of bodies!?" Weiss threw her hands up in frustration before sighing and glaring at Blank.

"No, no, you don't have to say it, I can see the pattern. It gets worse." She said glumly.

"It gets… worse?" Winter hedged.

"Always, always does! This universe is cursed!" Weiss whined and buried her face in her hands.

"That's not a bad summary of things actually." Blank chimed in.

**Firing Evelyn backwards over his shoulder, Jaune's blind firing struck something critical, causing the lead corpse golem to stumble in its path and become a roadblock for the others. He didn't have the time to worry about the pile up, not when two bullets struck him in the back and caused him to stagger.**

**Gritting his teeth and injecting a blood vial to regenerate, Jaune powered through and dashed into an open plaza. He skidded to a halt when he felt the world shift ever so slightly. Jaune's flesh tingled when the chime of multiple bells resounded all around him.**

**Glancing up to the walkways above, he counted **_**six**_** chime maidens ringing their accursed summoning bells. As with every other time he'd heard the damnable bell ring, space and time started distorting.**

**Jaune took a step back and held his sword at the ready, feeling the raw arcane energies wash over him. Black fog manifested in the sky, blocking out the giant blood moon in a mockery of a lunar eclipse. It pulsated slowly and ichor began dripping from it, bringing with it the terrible stench of decay.**

**Lights flared across the dark void, granting an illusion of the cosmos, and something was moving within it. Jaune blinked in surprise and his grip slackened slightly when a half-rotted torso suddenly jutted out and hung limply.**

"**The hell? Oh..." Jaune grimaced as the rest of the creature revealed itself. Uncoiling in an almost liquid manner, the titanic being was finally 'birthed' from the rift. The cramped caskets taken to the utmost extreme, a monstrous abomination created out of countless bodies, a colossal affront to life itself.**

**When the behemoth hit dirt, it kicked up a massive cloud of dust and shattered the ground beneath it, the shockwave causing the entire plaza to rumble. Jaune brought his hands up to shield against the wind, once it died down, he was greeted with the sight of the monster rearing up and stomping its 'feet' in preparation for battle.**

"THAT'S DISGUSTING!" Emerald shrieked, having picked an inopportune moment to take a peek.

"Heheheh… it got worse." Weiss said drily.

"Haaah… excuse me while I drink myself into a coma." Taiyang muttered and snatched Qrow's bottle out of his hands, chugging away at it like his life depended on it.

"H-how did they even make something like that!? Why would they even make something like that!?" Roman sputtered.

"Some questions you really don't want answers to." Ozpin replied.

"Ah, fair point." Roman conceded.

"What even is that?" Goodwitch asked.

"It's called The One Reborn. Best not think too hard about it, madness lies that way." Blank answered.

**Jaune dodged away from the titan as it flailed every single limb on it furiously, every human arm and leg attached to it lashing out violently in the hopes of landing a lucky hit. The wounds inflicted on it by the hunter were already mending themselves as the chime maidens healed it with their infernal magics.**

"**This isn't working." Jaune backstepped in disgust as The One Reborn began spewing corrosive vomit everywhere. As long as the chime maidens lived, killing this abomination would be unnecessarily difficult.**

**Dashing around the beast, Jaune sprinted towards the other end of the plaza where stairs leading to the maidens were. Running up the stairs two at a time, several fireballs greeted him as soon as he stepped onto the landing.**

**Cursing and quickstepping away, he allowed the fireballs to crash into the wall behind him harmlessly. Surging forwards before the maidens could start casting again, he began hacking at them with the holy moonlight sword, cutting down the School of Mensis' last bastion of defence in the waking world.**

**Once the last maiden had been cut down and her corpse kicked over the edge, Jaune followed it, leaping over and chopping downwards with all the force he had. The One Reborn roared as his enchanted sword bit deep into its flesh, it began flailing its limbs wildly again and Jaune retreated.**

**Dispelling the magic blade, Jaune returned the great sword to his back and drew his secondary. A heavy club that he slammed into a circular drum, forming a massive Buzzsaw. Pulling back, he set the sawblades alight with fire paper and revved it up. **

**Quickstepping forwards during a lull in the spasming, he thrust the Whirligig Saw forwards, tearing into rotten flesh and bone with unrelenting force. The serrated teeth easily chewed through muscle and sinew, grinding it all down to slurry and causing blood and gore to splatter everywhere.**

**The One Reborn collapsed forwards when one of its composite limbs broke under the offensive. Jaune sidestepped its bulk and then dashed in close, one hand already formed into a wedge. Ramming it into what passed for a torso, Jaune fired off a wave of blood magic then ripped his hand free in a shower of blood.**

**An anguished howl assaulted his ears as the beast snapped backwards from the sudden damage. Jaune's arms came up in a guard as The One Reborn reflexively lashed out with a kick, sending him skidding backwards several feet.**

"**Kuh!" Jaune felt something crack in his arms, pushing aside the pain, he injected another blood vial and began dodging again as the abomination started opening portals overhead, raining body parts down on him.**

"One, that is disgusting, two, exactly what is that supposed to accomplish?" Weiss grumbled. Compared against other attacks they'd already seen from this twisted universe, a rain of dismembered body parts definitely ranked near the top for repulsiveness, but its effectiveness was… questionable at best.

"Not sure you can expect rational thinking from that thing. I'm not even sure if it has a brain." Blake said.

"Or maybe it has too many and can't make up its minds?" Yang offered.

"Has the thing gone away yet?" Ruby asked with her hood still pulled down over her eyes.

**Jaune backed off as the beast unleashed a massive arcane blast, decimating everything in a sphere around it. As it paused to recharge for another blast, Jaune surged in again for several quick jabs at its exposed flank, inflicting heavy damage with the flaming Buzzsaw.**

**Jaune dashed off once body parts began raining on top of him again. The fight wasn't even difficult, just an exercise in frustration with its refusal to die. Compared to Ironwood, The Orphan, Lionheart, hell even the very first cleric beast he fought, The One Reborn was a joke.**

**But weak or not, the thing served as a pretty effective road block, sealing off the ritual site until it could be killed. Jaune growled in frustration once another window to attack was cut off by the beast's uncontrollable spasming.**

"**I do not have time for this! Die already!" The longer he spent fighting here, the more damage the ritual would do to reality and the people trapped in the city. Madness had already set in for the surviving humans, they didn't have very long before their minds collapsed entirely.**

**Something in The One Reborn's good 'leg' broke when Jaune jammed his weapon into it all his might. The amalgamation of corpses fell forwards, placing the lone torso controlling the whole thing withing Jaune's reach.**

"**Go to hell." Jaune swapped back to the holy moonlight sword and immediately blasted the thing with a shockwave of emerald energy, blasting the horrifically disfigured being to scraps of unrecognizable flesh. **

**The One Reborn reared back and then collapsed once more, it's multitude of limbs flailing weakly before falling still. The diseased flesh began sloughing off its bones, decaying into nothing rapidly, soon there was nothing left to mark its presence save the damage to the plaza and the fetid stench hanging in the air.**

**Jaune felt the barrier lift and dashed off. Clock was still ticking and he had no time to lose.**

"Out of curiosity, what happens if he's too late?" Ozpin asked.

"Every human not sufficiently protected from the Great Ones' influence dies when their minds melt. At this point, that's pretty much everyone left in the city. Then, there is the issue of the veil being permanently ruptured so there is every possibility the situation will spread out of Yharnam and consume the rest of the world." Blank said.

"How… how is Jaune supposed to fix this?" Pyrrha stammered.

"Since the ritual is already in play, only solution left is to terminate the man responsible for the nightmare and the Great One he is hosting." Blank said.

"So he'll stop it this time. Hmmph, what's stopping someone else from trying this again? This can't be the first time someone's tried I'm sure." Cinder said.

"At this point? Nothing really. Right now, Yharnam holds most of the knowledge about the cosmos and the Great Ones, that's why the ritual happened here. But should anyone else discover it elsewhere, then the cycle begins again." Blank answered.

"So this is all for nothing in the end then? How quaint." Cinder smirked.

"Not exactly." Blank fell silent and said no more on the matter.

**Jaune sprinted up the steps and into a building. Rows upon rows of mummified corpses were arrayed on either side of him, the metal cages around their heads signified them as belonging to the School of Mensis.**

**Jaune ignored all of them, his glare was firmly fixed on the lone corpse at the very centre. A macabre rictus grin on his face, even in death Merlot retained his smugness.**

"That bastard again." Roman growled out.

"He's behind this?"

"Indeed." Blank confirmed.

"But, he's… he's dead." Weiss pointed out.

"His body is, but his mind is still very much intact and alive in the nightmare." Blank replied.

"Ugh, this is another one of those things that trying to process will hurt my brain isn't it?" Yang grumbled.

"Hmm… I guess you can think of him as being an astral projection of sorts, except his body died while he wasn't paying attention." Blank said.

"So… that's possible too? Eh, don't really feel sorry for him." Nora shrugged.

"**I'm coming for you, you son of a bitch." Jaune growled and reached out with one hand, closing his eyes, he hunted for the thread connecting to the nightmare with his insight. Upon finding that lone ephemeral connection, he grasped it with his mind's eye, letting it guide him down the path to its conclusion.**

**The world fell away around him, Jaune felt himself fall into a void, and then he was through to the other side. His eyes snapped open and he rose from his kneeling position.**

"**A school building? No, never mind, where's Merlot?" Jaune shook his head to clear the cobwebs and readied his weapons. He'd heard of this place before, an entire lecture building lost to the nightmare along with all its occupants long ago. No telling what stalked the halls these days.**

"So the School of Mensis is based in an actual school. I feel like there's a pun in there somewhere but I really don't want to praise them." Yang grumbled and folded her arms.

"How do you lose an entire school building like that?" Goodwitch said incredulously.

"Experiments destabilized local reality, creating a rift in spacetime, when the rift fixed itself, the building was trapped on the wrong side of it." Blank answered.

"Ya know, you'd think they'd get the idea to stop messing around with shit that's going to get them killed. How many warning signs do they need?" Mercury snarked.

"I don't know. How many do many do_ you_ need." Roman fired right back. The master thief simply grinned when Mercury shot him a glare.

**Wooden floorboards splintered and flew everywhere when the giant smashed its flaming fists into the floor. The aging building creaked ominously when the juggernaut ripped its hammer like hands from the crater.**

**Slashing with the holy moonlight sword, Jaune cut a deep gash into the chapel giant's legs. The enchanted blade bit deep and caused it to stagger, opening it up to several more follow up slashes. Once the mutated former human had regained its footing, Jaune backed off.**

**The chapel giant lifted its foot and slammed down hard, shattering another section of the floor and kicking up a large cloud of dust. It groaned in pain when the heavy impact caused its knee to shatter and its shin bone to burst through its skin.**

**Seizing the opportunity, Jaune started chopping at it, inflicting heavy damage and bringing the giant down for an easy visceral attack. Rupturing its internal organs with his blood magic, Jaune allowed the corpse to topple over and crash with an earth-shaking thud. **

**Injecting a fresh blood vial and discarding the empty container afterwards, Jaune sucked in a deep breath, revelling in the feeling of damage from a lucky hit fading away. Tilting his head to the side, Jaune glanced at several slime scholars approaching slowly, leaving trails of pale ooze in their path.**

**These pitiful wretches were all that remained of the faculty and students trapped inside the building when it was lost to the void between worlds. Hopelessly mishappen and twisted into a mockery of what they used to be, whatever intelligence the best and the brightest once possessed had been stolen away long ago.**

**Raising the holy moonlight sword, Jaune made for them. Whether they were guilty of the sins of the healing church or the college he didn't know, no answer would be forthcoming from these degraded blobs anyhow. All that was left to do, was put them out of their misery.**

"Those things used to be human? Ew. At least they aren't as disgusting as some of the rest." Yang muttered.

"Those don't look like the normal beasts… or even those undead things." Weiss said.

"That's because they aren't. They're twisted by the power of the nightmare and old blood into their current forms. You could say evolution took a side path for these souls." Blank said.

"That's evolution? They really drew the short straw there." Qrow opined, before grabbing his bottle back from a blackout drunk Taiyang whose grip had finally loosened enough.

**Jaune paused at a door, closing his eyes, he searched for the thread leading to Merlot again and felt it continue through it. Once upon a time, the door would have led outdoors, but with the entire building lost in the void, only a swirling purple abyss greeted him on the other side.**

**Jaune sighed and steeled himself, stepping through without a moment's hesitation. Despite the fact that there was no solid ground beneath his feet, he didn't simply fall away into a bottomless pit, in fact, he could continue walking for a bit before the void closed in.**

**When the swirling energies faded away and he could see clearly again, he was… elsewhere. The lecture building he left behind was nowhere to be seen and all around him huge stone formations lined the path. Protrusions looking remarkably like screaming skulls covered them from top to bottom.**

**He didn't know this place, but he recognised the feeling making his skin crawl. This was the nightmare realm again, yet another twisted reflection of the waking world like the hunter's nightmare.**

"**Charming place." Jaune sneered before readying his weapons for whatever horrors lay in wait.**

"At least it's not-" Ruby began but Qrow cut her off with a cough.

"Don't. Say. A word."

"Okay." Ruby squeaked.

"**Crying? Who's crying?" Jaune looked up in confusion as the corpse of the silverbeast fell off his blade. A baby's cries continued resounding in his years before fading into silence. His brows furrowed into a frown before he started his trek again.**

"Creepy." Nora said.

"That's not a real baby, is it?" Summer asked.

"No, that's the source of the nightmare and the current scourge plaguing Yharnam, just as the Orphan was the anchor for the hunter's nightmare and the curse placed upon them." Blank said.

"Still, murdering babies? Damn that's dark." Mercury muttered.

**Jaune ducked behind a twisted boulder, hiding from the golden glow emanating from the castle in the distance. Downing a bottle of pills to numb his mind, he felt the alien taint recede as soon as he ingested them. Drawing in a shuddering breath, he injected a blood vial to recover from the damage the light inflicted onto him.**

**Initially he thought the glow as some kind of searchlight from a watch tower or sorts. Then as soon as he was enveloped in it, his brain started to hurt and it felt like something was stabbing him over and over again all over his body.**

**Whatever it was, it was certainly not friendly. The sheer malevolence Jaune felt from the light was enough to sear his flesh.**

**After several seconds, the glow dimmed and faded away to nothing, and with it, that infernal howling in his ears died too. Peeking around the boulder, Jaune glanced towards the source of the light, all that remained of the radiance was a dim orange ember in the distance.**

**Scanning the rest of the area, he picked out several silver beasts milling around aimlessly. Drawing his Evelyn, he decided to test the nature of radiance, carefully taking aim, he opened fire on them. Quicksilver rounds struck home and alerted the beasts to his presence.**

**Enraged roars and howls marked the stampeding of feet as the monsters came rushing out into the open. Immediately the glow returned in force, bathing the silverbeasts in its burning radiance while Jaune remained safely hidden behind the rocks.**

**Jaune narrowed his eyes as he saw black ethereal spears simply pop into existence **_**inside**_** the silverbeasts, inflicting heavy damage and killing them before they could reach his position. And despite being beasts, he could still see their faces contort in agony before they expired.**

"…**That's encouraging." He murmured.**

"What was that? A light that kills just by shining on something? That's absurd." Cinder asked, eyes wide from surprise.

"The power of a Great One, one of the few openly hostile of humanity instead of benign like its brethren." Blank said.

"Not quite so absurd actually." Summer whispered under her breath.

**The giant doors creaked and groaned, slowly opening as Jaune pushed against them. Behind him lay the corpses of several yetis, either destroyed by the cursed light or cut down by his blade. Thankfully the path leading up to the castle had plenty of cover from him to avoid the searing radiance, letting him reach his destination with his mind intact.**

**Once the doors were open wide enough, Jaune strode through and then froze in his tracks. Hanging from the high ceiling were spiders, giant spiders. And there were plenty of them.**

"**Eh, this is someone's nightmare for sure." Jaune shook his head and opened fire on the arachnids with his pistol. As expected, the spiders weren't happy about being shot at and dropped from their webs, surging towards him.**

**Stepping back through the doorway, he allowed the giant doors to serve as a funnel, forcing all the spiders down the choke point if they wanted to get to him. Feet sliding into a stance, he held the holy moonlight sword at the ready, emerald energy flickering along the blade as he charged it up.**

**Once they were in range, Jaune let them have it. Thrusting forwards, he unleashed the wave of power, blowing the smaller spiders away instantly. The blast continued forwards, striking the largest one of them dead centre in its head and causing it to stagger.**

**The giant spider chittered angrily and stabbed forwards with its front legs, the sudden strike caught Jaune off guard and slammed into his chest, knocking him off his feet and throwing him backwards.**

"**Gah! Not bad, but not good enough." Jaune coughed out and regenerated the damage by cutting down several small spiders that managed to make it out the doors. He grinned when he noticed the giant spider trapped in the doorway, he hadn't opened them wide enough for the spider's massive bulk to fit through.**

**Evelyn raised and fired, multiple bullets punched through the spider's flesh and into its head. It's legs flailed, trying to stab and Jaune again but falling short. Eventually, it couldn't stand the punishment Jaune was dishing out and collapsed, twitching weakly.**

**A follow up energy blast dealt the coup de grace, and the corpse faded away into nothingness.**

"The place is infested with vermin, how long have they been here?" Ironwood asked.

"Time doesn't work right in this universe." Blake answered.

"This is their base, isn't it? I can't imagine they'd just let things be overrun like that. This is like letting Grimm set up a nest inside your home." Winter said.

"Normally it wouldn't happen, but there's nothing normal about the situation. And just about every human staffing the place is no longer among the living." Blank said.

"Like Merlot?" Goodwitch asked.

"No, they did arrive the same way he did. But their minds have died their final deaths in the nightmare. There's no coming back for any of them." Blank answered.

"Good riddance." Roman sneered.

**Jaune sidestepped several humanoid drones. The diminutive figures simply shambled past without paying him any attention. Exhaling slowly, Jaune waited for them to pass before continuing on his way, not interested in fighting the strangely non-hostile beings. As long as he stayed out of their way, they wouldn't bother him, and that was perfectly fine in his opinion.**

**Further up, there were larger versions of those drones guarding a set of elevators. These ones proved more violent than their brethren, necessitating Jaune deal with them in the usual manner.**

**Once the guards had been disposed of, the elevators were free to ride, carrying him to an upper level. The only path forwards led him back outside, and there Jaune was greeted with more of the nightmare's twistedness.**

**Noticing several carrion crows tearing into some unfortunate, Jaune tried walking past them quietly. No dice. They detected him and spun to face him, revealing their heads had been replaced with that of a dog, snapping and barking at him, ivory teeth flashing in the moonlight.**

"**Birds with dog heads? Great, what next? Dogs with bird heads?" Jaune mused and blasted the lot of them with a wave of emerald energy, silencing their annoying yapping.**

**On cue, a feral dog leapt out from behind a tree, awakened by the sudden commotion. And true to form, it had one of the missing crow heads attached in place of its original.**

"**Haaah…" Jaune sighed and simply slashed with the holy moonlight sword once, bisecting the twisted creature before it could lunge at him.**

"Someone, somewhere has a twisted sense of humour." Qrow said.

"You're not wrong on that." Blank confirmed.

"**Ah Kos, or some say Kosm… do you hear our prayers?"**

**Jaune perked up when the words echoed down to him. Fog covered the floor of the winding, twisting corridors he found himself in. "Merlot."**

"**No, we shall not abandon the dream. No one can catch us, no one can stop us now! hahahha…. Ahahhahahaha!"**

"**We'll see about that." Jaune growled and started sprinting down the corridors in search of his prey. The madman was delusional and needed to be put down.**

**Catching sight of Merlot's robes disappearing around a corner, Jaune sprinted up the steps, ignoring the skeleton puppets assembling themselves around him.**

**In his pursuit, Merlot led him to a dead-end room. The madman spun around and fired a blast of tentacles that Jaune narrowly evaded. Backing off, Jaune held his weapons at the ready, wondering what tricks Merlot had up his sleeve.**

**Two additional skeleton puppets formed inside their prison, standing by as Merlot's guards while the head of the School laughed madly and continued using the augur of Ebrietas to launch salvo after salvo of tentacles Jaune's way.**

**Digging deep, Jaune activated the art of quickening for a quick burst of improved evasiveness. Quickstepping all around the place, he hacked down the skeleton puppets before they could make an annoyance of themselves and then went after Merlot while they were reassembling themselves.**

**Unlike every other hunter and member of the clergy he'd fought and killed to this point, Merlot was unique in that he fought with his bare hands, and his blows didn't carry a lot of weight behind them. Jaune supposed that was more due to his position as an academic instead of a frontline hunter.**

**Shrugging off a weak punch from Merlot that barely stung, Jaune retaliated with a slash at Merlot's head, aiming for an instant finish by decapitation. But the metal cage around Merlot's head prevented that, deflecting his strike with a harsh clang.**

**Jaune growled and dodged away, the skeleton puppets had already reformed and were harassing him from behind. Merlot was undeterred by the damage dealt to him, cackling and charging back in to attack with his fists again, occasionally spicing things up with the augur.**

**Jaune swung his sword, releasing an emerald flash that knocked down the puppets yet again. He backstepped when several tentacles shot by and narrowly missed impaling him through the head. It was… frustrating to say the least, it must have been part of Merlot's mastery over the nightmare, but the man seemed to be able to use it unlimited amount of times in short succession, not even the Choir elite could boast the same.**

**In any case, Merlot was lacking in combat experience, his offensive ultimately boiled down to spamming the augur and throwing random punches when he thought it would work. Jaune found an opening in his defences and exploited it, shooting the man once in the chest while he was mid-punch, staggering him.**

**Stabbing forwards with his fingers, Jaune rammed his hand into Merlot's chest and attempted to destroy him from the inside. At once, he knew something was wrong, there was the usual spray of blood and Merlot keeled over from his attack, but his magic screamed at him that it was a failure.**

**Then Merlot's 'corpse' vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving Jaune alone.**

"**AH… hahahahah! Ooh! Majestic! A hunter is a hunter, even in a dream." Merlot's voice came from everywhere at once, mocking him.**

"**But, alas, not too fast. The nightmare swirls and churns unending…"**

**Jaune growled and stormed off in search of the real Merlot. "You can't hide behind illusions forever! I will find you! And I **_**will**_** kill you!"**

"That was an illusion? But… but it was bleeding, and it dealt damage!" Emerald protested, having started to watch since it was just a fight between two humans now instead of the horrors of Yharnam.

"That's what you're concerned with? We have the living dead already and it's a solid illusion that you're worried about?" Mercury rolled his eyes.

"Excuse me for thinking at least something would make sense." Emerald threw her arms up in exasperation.

**Merlot led Jaune on a merry chase through the building. The man displaying his mastery over the nightmare's systems by simply jumping into mirrors and reappearing elsewhere, forcing Jaune to backtrack and fight his way past the endlessly respawning puppets.**

"**As you once did for the Vacuous Rom, grant us eyes… grant us eyes…" Merlot's prayer drew a snort from Jaune as the hunter kept up pursuit.**

"**Plant eyes on our brains, to cleanse our beastly idiocy."**

"I really don't think eyes on the brain will improve anyone's intelligence." Pyrrha murmured.

"Or sanity." Ren added.

"**You pray to a dead god Merlot!" Jaune called out, Kos may have been a Great One, but she was most assuredly dead now. Her corpse still rested on that shore.**

"**Didn't they tell you!? Your precious healing church already bore witness to her death!"**

**Jaune dropped in from the ceiling after Merlot barricaded the room with a set of portcullises. He grinned when Merlot glared at him. "Your prayers have never been heard, Kos is dead… and so is her child." **

"**You lie! There is no way the great Kosm could be dead!" Merlot denied vehemently.**

"**But she is, and she's been dead for decades now. Death is the only cure for your… beastly stupidity, and I am more than willing to help with that." Jaune levelled the holy moonlight sword at his enemy.**

"**Grrrrr… no, it's fine. If Kosm will not answer our prayers, Mergo will. We can wait for however long the child of the Great One needs to mature. We will ascend." Merlot fired the augur without warning, catching Jaune off guard and sending him tumbling back.**

"**Mature? Keh! You won't live long enough to see that day." Jaune growled and got back to his feet. Another child of a Great One? A concerning prospect, but Merlot needed to be dealt with before he could get to that problem.**

**This time around, Merlot was a lot more aggressive than his illusory copy. Spamming the augur even more frequently and utilizing a call beyond to bombard the area with explosions too.**

"**What's the matter Merlot? Getting angry?" Jaune taunted as he charged between the explosions, avoiding them by rushing straight for the caster and using the fact that as mad as Merlot was, he wasn't quite mad enough to blow himself up yet.**

"**Why do you insist on getting in our way hunter? There are no beasts here for you to hunt!" Merlot snarled.**

"**You are a threat to humanity, as a hunter, it is my duty to purge you." Jaune replied in an even tone, firing the Evelyn to prevent Merlot from casting again.**

"**A threat? A threat!? We are the vanguard of humanity's evolution! You stand in the way of progress!" Merlot shot back and swung wildly at Jaune, none of his punches connecting.**

"**Evolution without guidance will be the doom of a species, didn't you pay attention in class?" Jaune mocked and slashed at Merlot, rending his scholar robes to shreds.**

"**And we'll be there to guide it!"**

"**No. You will not. Your guidance has already led to the deaths of thousands! I have seen your… experiments… down in Yahar'gul. You've done quite enough!"**

"**Hah! Progress demands the sacrifice of the unworthy! They should be honoured! Each and every one of them represents another step down the road of enlightenment, another step towards a new, superior humanity!" Merlot cackled, his madness on full display.**

"**It's for the greater good!"**

"**I've heard that before. It sounded just as hollow the first time." Jaune was unamused.**

"Damn straight." Roman nodded in approval.

"Funny how people saying sacrifices are needed for the greater good are rarely willing to sacrifice themselves."

"It's easy to demand others pay a price when you don't have to." Blake muttered.

"It helps if you just don't care about others or see them only as tools." Weiss added, thinking of her father's blatant disregard for the people under him.

"I'll say." Roman spared Cinder a glare before returning his attention to the screen.

**As the fight wore on, Merlot got in a few good licks with his indiscriminate bombardment. But at the end of the day, he was a researcher, not a fighter, and Jaune wore down his defences completely.**

**The proud leader of the School of Mensis was brought low by a swipe at the back of his knees. Blood splattered everywhere as Jaune cut through the thin cloth and into the flesh beneath, bringing Merlot down.**

**When Merlot struggled to rise again, Jaune impaled him with his sword, ramming it through his back and embedding it in the floor.**

"**AAAAAHAHHAHHAHAHGGGHRRGHGH!" Merlot screamed in pain and Jaune ripped the weapon free in a shower of crimson.**

"**NO! Now I'm waking up! I'll forget everything…" Merlot whined as his body faded away for good this time, no more last second illusions to cheat Jaune of his victory.**

"**To oblivion." Jaune spat where the corpse used to be and knelt, focusing on his connection to the hunter's dream to send him back. Even with Merlot's death, the ritual was still ongoing, perhaps Ozpin would have some advice on the matter.**

"Isn't… isn't Merlot dead in the waking world?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, that was his corpse at the start. So uh, what happens to him now? It's not going to get up and start walking about, is it?" Yang followed up.

"Nothingness awaits Merlot. With his body dead, he can't wake up in it anymore. And with his mind expelled from the nightmare, there's nowhere left for him to exist either. Oblivion is his destiny." Blank answered.

"Good riddance." Roman chuckled.

"**Ah, you have returned young hunter." Ozpin greeted once Jaune entered the workshop and made for the workbench.**

"**Merlot's dead, for good this time." Jaune said without looking up from his work.**

"**But the ritual is still ongoing. How do I stop it?"**

"**By killing the one responsible for the outbreak of course, it is as I told you when you first awoke here." Ozpin wheeled himself into a corner to watch Jaune work.**

"**But I've done that, the church is effectively destroyed. And Merlot, the one who started this, is dead by my hands too. Yet, things haven't improved." Jaune placed the repaired whirligig saw to the side and began work on the holy moonlight sword, inspecting the implanted blood gems and debating whether to replace them.**

"**Started, yes. Responsible? No. No human can spread the scourge of the beast in this manner. The answer is the same as it's always been." Ozpin said.**

**Jaune paused his work, processing the words. "The Great One, it's Mergo isn't it?"**

"**Hehehhe… indeed. As long as the great one at the heart of a dream remains alive, it is self-perpetuating. There is no way to end the dream without killing it, believe me, I would know." Ozpin said in a sad tone.**

"**Then… if I kill Mergo… will things be fixed?"**

"**Things will return to normal, and a new day will dawn, with it, comes the end of the hunt, for Yharnam… and you." Ozpin replied.**

"**Normal huh, you know, I've forgotten what that word means for me now." Jaune smiled bitterly and grabbed his weapons, strapping the holy moonlight sword to his back and the Chikage to his side. The whirligig saw he left on the table.**

"**The night nears its end, take solace in that at least." Ozpin called out towards Jaune's diminishing back.**

"A Great One at the heart of the dream… if the Orphan maintained the hunter's nightmare and this Mergo is responsible this one… there's a great one at the heart of this hunter's dream too isn't there?" Ozpin said.

"Correct." Blank confirmed.

"So Jaune-Jaune's gonna kill it too?" Nora asked.

"Nora, that great one is maintaining the dream, killing it is a bad idea, that means no more hunters to stop the next outbreak." Ren corrected.

"To kill or not to kill, it's neither good or bad, it just is." Blank said.

"And… what is that supposed to mean?" Weiss asked, receiving only silence for an answer.

**Jaune's skin crawled as familiar singing assaulted his eardrums, his instincts screamed at him to run back the other way.**

"**You gotta be shitting me. Winter lanterns." His mouth curled and Jaune slipped a hand into his pouch, making damned sure he had enough sedatives on him.**

**While investigating the rest of the castle in search of where the baby's cries were coming from, he found this little section cut away from the rest of the building, accessible only by stepping off an elevator midway.**

**Now that he was hearing the dreaded singing again, he was regretting his decision to come investigate.**

**But investigate he must.**

"No! Nonononononononoooo! Not those things again!" Mercury all but shrieked, pulling his metal legs into a foetal position and hugging them close. He screwed his eyes shut and refused to open them again.

"Nope, nope, nope, I ain't opening my eyes for this." Emerald concurred.

Cinder said nothing, but she too had her eyes closed.

"What are they doing?" Winter looked over in confusion.

"The smart thing for once. Close your eyes sister, somethings are best left unseen." Weiss replied.

"Yeah, what she said. Just keep em shut until the singing stops." Qrow added.

Winter and Ironwood exchanged a glance, but after a nod from Ozpin and Goodwitch, they followed suit, trusting that they knew better.

**Jaune popped open a bottle and swallowed everything whole, even before the pills took effect, he was already shooting with the Evelyn, keeping the winter lanterns and their grasping hands at bay.**

**Even without frenzy or being eaten alive by them, just fighting them hurt. Multiple ethereal spears pierced him every second the monstrosities kept him in their sight. It was like whatever was shining that glow upon him outside the castle.**

**Still, this time he was prepared for their mind breaking tricks and had more than enough sedatives and blood vials to last him. Slashing at them with the Chikage, he hacked them down with extreme prejudice, carving them to bits with rage fuelled blows.**

**By dodging around several rock formations scattered about on the bridge, he broke up the three winter lanterns. This kept him in the gaze of only one of them at a time, preventing the trio from melting him with their gaze all at once.**

**The going was slow, with him having to back off to heal and down his pills every few seconds. But with careful rationing of his supplies and brutal offensives whenever the window appeared, one by one, the winter lanterns fell to his blade.**

**And then, sweet, blessed silence returned.**

"It's over? It's over, right? I don't hear the singing anymore." Mercury asked, his eyes still firmly screwed shut.

"Indeed, it's safe to open them now. there is just one… moderately disturbing sight left. But it shouldn't have the same effect as the winter lanterns." Blank said.

"Oh okay… wait. Shouldn't? What do you mean shouldn't!? Does it or does it not!?" Emerald yelled.

"I'll leave that for you to find out." Came the reply.

Emerald's mouth flopped open and close like a fish for several seconds. "You know what? I'm just gonna them closed for the rest of this. Yep! Movie's over!"

Blank chuckled in amusement.

"**Spiders with human heads, is this someone's idea of a practical joke?" Jaune grumbled and kicked away the disintegrating corpse. Whether they were humans turned into… that… or converted beasts, he didn't know and he didn't care.**

**Having cleared out the area, all that was left was to investigate a solitary lever. Insight told him pulling it was the right idea and he did so, even if it led to some kind of trap that would kill him, death was hardly anything to worry about.**

**The sound of machinery filled the air and he heard some kind of catch release, followed by something falling, something big.**

"**What was that?" Jaune asked, but no answer was forthcoming.**

"Nothing's attacking him? Lucky." Qrow grumbled.

"Not everyone has things explode when they pull a lever Qrow." Summer said.

"What did he drop exactly?" Goodwitch questioned.

"The other Great One picked up by the School of Mensis. Far weaker than most, it is still a Great One though. Bereft of a name, it's just called the Brain of Mensis." Blank answered.

"That's the thing was shining the light earlier right? It still gonna do that?" Yang asked.

"No. It can't." Blank said.

**Jaune leaned against the bars of the cage elevator he was in as it descended into the darkness. There was no light down here, just pitch black everything. Even with his enhanced senses, he couldn't see the walls or even the floor.**

**But one thing was visible, a giant brain lined with eyes, immobile where it was dropped.**

"**So much malice." Jaune muttered as he approached the Great One and beheld its grotesqueness in full. He could feel the evil radiating off the brain even from far away, this wasn't like the other Great Ones. With those, any trouble they brought to humanity was ultimately due to humanity's own wishes, but this one, this one would inflict suffering just because it could.**

**There was nothing benign or benevolent about it.**

"Ew. It's leaking brain juice everywhere." Nora complained.

"Thank you Nora, but I don't think you need to point that out. Please." Pyrrha replied, squicked out by the disgusting sight.

"Alright! That's another thing on the list of things I never needed or wanted to see crossed out." Yang slapped her palm against her face.

"**I'd say I have no quarrel with you, but I can tell, leaving you alive will only lead to greater sorrow in the future." Jaune raised the holy moonlight sword, it's emerald glow bathing everything in soothing green light.**

"**Die." Jaune thrust forwards and unleashed the sword's energies right into the brain, destroying its insides and ending its existence.**

"Alright, creepy brain is dead. What's next on things to disturb us and give us nightmares?" Blake said flatly.

"Heheheh… that's it actually, you're not going to see the next one anyhow." Blank said.

"What."

"You'll see… or rather, you won't."

**Jaune leaned against some railings and patiently waited for all the blood echoes to come to him. Several feet away, a heavily injured Shadow of Yharnam limped up the stairs, bloody katana in hand and all but dead on its feet.**

**After running into two oversized maneater boars and then a troop of shadows ahead, he'd simply lured the giant pigs to the shadows. In their haste to devour him, the pigs had inadvertently run over the shadows when he dodged away from them.**

**It sparked a pitched battle between the two sides, leaving Jaune free to just saunter past and wait from them to kill each other, then clean up the survivors.**

**As it was, the shadows won, even if they were cut down to one last man. Jaune chuckled humourlessly and shot the shadow in the head, blowing its brains out and taking its echoes as well.**

"**Easy enough." Jaune continued upwards. He paused when he saw the spectre of Queen Yharnam standing there. As with the last time he saw it after killing Rom, the shade ignored him, simply looking forwards with a forlorn expression.**

**That was fine with him, if nothing else, it served as a marker that he was on the right track.**

**Ascending the stairs, he found himself in a garden of sorts. An empty pram stood in the centre of it, and he could hear the baby's cries again. **

**As he approached, his danger sense suddenly flared. There was a gust of wind and something fell on top of the pram. Whatever it was, it was cloaked in purple cloth so dark it looked black, and it was hiding the pram from view.**

**Jaune held the holy moonlight sword at the ready as the thing raised its head. His eyes widened in surprise when he could see nothing under the cloth. There was definitely something there, but it was completely invisible to the eyes, almost like the lesser amygdala from before he had enough insight to process them.**

"**I lack insight? No that can't be right." He didn't have time to ruminate on it anymore when the thing suddenly swept towards him. The fight was on.**

"It's invisible? Ah! So we don't see it. Eh, it's a passable pun." Yang shrugged, just happy to not have to see anymore vomit worthy sights.

"No. No it really isn't." Weiss denied with a vigorous headshake.

"We have to fix your sense of humour one day." Blake sighed.

**Silver blades flashed overhead as Jaune quickstepped away. Inside, he gave thanks that whatever granted this foe invisibility neglected to cloak its weapons and cloth wrappings too. With them there, he could still make out the position of its multiple arms and react accordingly.**

**Stowing the holy moonlight sword and drawing the Chikage for quicker attacks, Jaune kept moving, staying just one step ahead of the swinging blades. Strafing around to the sides, Jaune slashed at the being's exposed back, drawing multiple lines into it, unexpectedly, it bled dust and feathers.**

**Then the being swept its arms back, further than any human limb could bend. Not expecting the sudden strike, Jaune caught two swords to the chest, tossing him back and causing heavy bleeding.**

"**Tch, not bad." Injecting a blood vial, Jaune got back up and spat out a wad of blood. Just as he was about to charge back in, the being lifted its hands and unleashed a burst of energy.**

**Jaune raised his hands to block and waited for the pain, when it failed to arrive, he lowered them cautiously. "What is… ah crap."**

**Purple mist descended on the battlefield, obscuring everything from sight and trapping Jaune in the shadows. He lost sight of his opponent, the thing's massive bulk disappearing into the darkness and fading from almost all his senses.**

**Slowly circling the arena, he kept his eyes peeled. Seconds passed without anything happening, then a purple glow blossomed in one corner. Jaune's senses screamed at him to dodge and he threw himself to the side.**

**The being came gliding over, floating weightlessly through the air with its swords outstretched and swiping at where Jaune used to be.**

**The hunter grunted when he felt the breeze from its passing, scrambling back, he opened fire with the Evelyn, not wanting to get close to its wildly swinging blades. His shots failed to find their mark when the being faded into the shadows again. He couldn't even see where the bullets went, only hear them impact the wall.**

"What is that thing?" Ren asked.

"A wet nurse." Blank replied.

"…Excuse me?" Ren glanced at the ball of light, unable to tell if it was joking.

"Mergo is an infant Great One, unlike the Orphan of Kos, it is not able to survive on its own yet. Hence the need for a protector and a wet nurse." Blank answered.

"That is one hardcore wet nurse." Nora voiced her thoughts and no one could argue against it.

**Jaune hissed in pain, his back felt like several red-hot coals had been dragged along them. A copy of the wet nurse had appeared in front of him and he'd been too slow to evade. He managed to avoid a fatal blow, but its swords still raked across his back.**

**Sprinting off, Jaune grit his teeth and bore the pain. More and more copies were spawning everywhere, trying to overwhelm him with numbers and speed, the onslaught left him no time to heal at all. **

**The only thing he could do was keep running and evading everything it threw at him. Then just when he thought it would never end, the mist faded and he could see clearly again. **

"**My turn you son of a bitch." Jaune growled and charged, no telling how much time before it could blanket the field in darkness again, but the faster he attacked, the more likely he could kill it before being subjected to the gauntlet again.**

**Ducking under a wild swing, Jaune injected a blood vial and began slashing at the wet nurse rapidly. Feeding his own blood to the Chikage was a risky move considering how much damage the wet nurse could dish out in an instant, but it was a risk he had to take.**

**Their deadly dance continued, with the wet nurse getting more and more desperate as the fight wore on. Twice more it deployed its field of darkness, and twice more Jaune evaded death by the skin of his teeth.**

**Their seeming stalemate was finally broken when Jaune switched back to the holy moonlight sword. Swinging it randomly, he fired off arcane blast after arcane blast into the shadows, hoping one would connect.**

**And one did.**

**The mist faded instantly and the wet nurse crumpled, dissolving into nothing. All that was left was a destroyed pram and a basket lying on its side.**

**The sobbing and crying of a baby returned and Jaune approached cautiously, still expecting some kind of a trick. But no last second attack came flying at him, no hostility to be detected at all.**

**Kneeling down, Jaune inspected the abandoned basket, his insight informing him something powerful was there. But he couldn't see it with his eyes, reaching down with his hands, they failed to make contact too.**

**Still, there was no denying the fearful crying and sobbing. Jaune grimaced at the ugly necessity of his task. For all its power, Mergo was but a baby, the sole crime it was guilty of was being used by a madman.**

**It didn't deserve this cruel fate.**

**Jaune placed his weapons on the floor and reached into his pocket. From it he retrieved a small music box, given to him a lifetime ago by someone he failed too. Winding it up, he allowed it to play, and the frightened sobbing changed to happier giggles.**

**Jaune didn't say anything, didn't move from his spot, simply continued kneeling there allowing the music to play as the giggling grew fainter and fainter until it ceased completely. **

**Once it did, Jaune felt the world shift on its axis. Insight told him his duty was done, the scourge of beasthood plaguing Yharnam had come to an end and the dawn would be breaking soon.**

**Despite his victory, he felt no satisfaction. This entire night had been nothing but a series of tragedies, one after another, and now, now he was completely empty inside.**

**He continued kneeling for a bit before rising and grabbing his weapons. It was time to return to Ozpin.**

"Is it strange I'm pitying what is basically a god?" Weiss asked aloud.

"Not really." Ren said.

"It's all that bastard Merlot's fault. He just dragged everyone else down with him." Roman shook his head with a sigh.

"The Great Ones… they just wanted to help right? How did things go so wrong?" Ruby shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"Just goes to show, sometimes, people are the biggest monsters of them all. All those problems, all of it stemmed from humanity's own failings." Blake shrugged.

"They had so many chances to turn away, but they didn't."

"And everyone paid for it." Ozpin surmised.

**When Jaune awoke in the hunter's dream, he was greeted with the sight of the workshop engulfed in flames. "What the!?"**

"**Good hunter, you have come." The Weiss doll greeted him and his head snapped to her.**

"**Dawn will soon break… this night, and this dream, will end. Ozpin awaits you, at the foot of the great tree." She pointed towards a section of the garden that had always been locked off.**

"**What does he want?" Jaune asked.**

"**That is between you, and him." Weiss answered.**

"**I see… then I won't keep him waiting." Jaune turned on his feet and began heading down the path. **

"**Farewell good hunter, may you find your worth in the waking world." Weiss intoned sombrely.**

**Jaune found Ozpin exactly where Weiss said he would be. The old man sat in his wheelchair under the great tree, gazing out at a large field of flowers.**

"**Good hunter, you've done well. The night is near its end. Now, I will show you mercy. You will die, forget the dream, and awake under the morning sun. you will be freed… from this terrible hunter's dream." Ozpin said, a slight tremor in his voice towards the end.**

"**That's it then? I die, awake and I'm freed from this contract? Free to return to my life from before? Cured of my disease?" Jaune asked.**

"**Yes. The scourge is over, now, there is no risk of you succumbing. You have freed yourself. Congratulations." Ozpin said, a wan smile on his face.**

"So it's done? Fearless leader is free to go back to normal?" Nora hedged.

"No." Pyrrha narrowed her eyes.

"Jaune won't quit here. I can feel it."

"But, there's nothing left to do? He's broken the curse." Yang pointed out.

"…Altruistic fool." Cinder sighed.

"What. What do you know?" Yang glared at Salem's agent.

"He hasn't broken the curse on _this_ nightmare, and he's going to try. Fool, he should just take his victory and leave. Nothing good will come of this." Cinder muttered.

"**Mergo is dead, the healing church is finished, with it dies the legacy of Byrgenwerth." Jaune said.**

"**Indeed. Yharnam is damaged, maybe it'll never recover with the church gone. But perhaps that is for the best too." Ozpin agreed.**

"**But this can happen again, can't it? Pthumeru, Loran, Yharnam, how many more times will this cycle repeat itself? Humans discover the Great Ones, humans make contact, humans make wishes, humans suffer, and a hunt begins anew." Jaune's mouth set in a thin line as he stared at Ozpin.**

"**Can? It will. But you need not concern yourself with it. When it happens again, you will have passed long ago. But fret not, I will remain here, in the hunter's dream, to instruct the next generation. You have earned your rest, it's time to go." Ozpin replied.**

"**No." Jaune shook his head.**

"**No? It's done, there's nothing left to do here young hunter. This hunt has ended, you are free, just as you desired at the beginning. You reject that?" Ozpin asked, confusion in his voice.**

**Jaune closed his eyes, losing himself in his memories. His old life before Yharnam was a complete grey, he could no longer remember anything about it. He was Jaune Arc the hunter now, that was all he knew.**

**Every encounter, every battle, every death, every failure, every triumph, he replayed them all in his head. Starting with the dying Mergo and going all the way back to the first friendly face he met in this cursed land, Ruby.**

"**Yes." Jaune stated firmly when his eyes opened again.**

**Ozpin sighed and laughed hollowly. "Dear oh dear, what was it? The hunt? The blood? Or the horrible dream?"**

**Rising from his wheelchair slowly, Ozpin spared Jaune a tired glance. "Oh it doesn't matter, it always comes down to the hunter's helper to clean up these sorts of messes."**

**Drawing a curved sword from his waist, Ozpin attached it to a folded staff on his back. It locked in place with a click and the staff unfolded, revealing a wickedly sharp scythe.**

"**Tonight. Ozpin joins the hunt."**

"**I'm not blood crazed Ozpin. I just won't allow this to happen again. It's too much, too much unnecessary suffering." Jaune said, drawing his own weapons.**

"**You don't have a choice." Ozpin said sadly.**

"**But I do. But I do." Jaune replied, returning Ozpin's sad smile.**

"They're going to fight? Why? Can't they work together? I thought they were on the same side." Winter was perplexed.

"There's no choice. That Ozpin wants Jaune Arc gone from the dream, to spare him the fate of being imprisoned there for all eternity. He's been locked up for decades at this point and he's so jaded he can't be convinced that there's another way… not that he'll agree to Jaune Arc's plans anyways." Blank answered.

"And what is his plan?" Ironwood asked.

"Ascension. He intends to complete the goal of the healing church and become a Great One himself." Blank said.

"What? Isn't that what caused this whole mess to begin with? Heh, so the lure of power _is_ too much for him to resist after all." Cinder clapped sarcastically.

"On the contrary, he doesn't want the power, he just doesn't see any other viable route. It helps that thank to the hunt, he's closer to ascension than just about any other human has ever come. In fact, he's the only one who can truly ascend this cycle and at no further sacrifices. But to do that, he must remain in the dream, something Ozpin won't allow." Blank said.

"So he ascends, what then? What will he do with that power to prevent the tragedy from repeating?" Goodwitch queried.

"Cut off the dream, separate humanity from the Great Ones until humanity has evolved past its own self-destructive nature. Without the temptation and interference of the Great Ones, humanity of that world is free to grow and develop on their own, until a day when they are ready to interact with the cosmos again." Blank replied.

"But before that, he has to kill me." Ozpin muttered.

"Yes. He will have to grant your other self the peace he has been denied for too long." Blank confirmed.

**Their fight was terrifyingly symmetrical. The first hunter and the last, clashing over and over again in the field of flowers, a burning building behind to set the mood.**

**Jaune ducked under a swipe that would have decapitated him. Retaliating with a strike from the Chikage, he just barely nicked Ozpin in the side with the blood blade. Age and decades of inactivity in the dream had not dulled his skills one bit.**

"**I don't want to fight you Ozpin! I'm trying to fix things!" Jaune yelled as he opened fire with Evelyn, forcing Ozpin to back away.**

"**You can't. No one can." Ozpin replied, drew his blunderbuss and filled the air with buckshot.**

"**I can! I have seen the research, I have the thirds needed, all I need is this dream and ascension is at hand. I can break the cycle for good!" Jaune shouted.**

"**Do you even know what you're asking for? If you stay, you'll be trapped here like me. There is no salvation, only suffering. There must always be a hunter's helper to facilitate the hunt, ALWAYS!" Ozpin roared, swinging his scythe wildly and preventing Jaune from landing a good hit.**

"**I can free you!" Jaune thrust the Chikage forwards, finding only air when Ozpin vaulted over him. **

"**Then you will become me!" Ozpin retaliated with a swipe across Jaune's back, drawing blood.**

"**I have failed enough students! I won't condemn anymore! Not to this fate!" Ozpin slashed at Jaune at the same time Jaune thrust forwards. Their blows connected at the same time, sending both hunters stumbling back.**

"**AAaahhhahgghhh!" Ozpin roared as pale blue aura surrounded him, he was drawing upon the power of the hunter's dream in full now. The power of the Great One residing here suffusing the dream's caretaker.**

**Jaune's eyes widened when Ozpin practically blinked across the field to attack, his art of quickening boosted to the point he could barely follow the movements with his eyes. Biting back a curse, Jaune fell back, trying to put distance between them and keep the old man in his sight.**

"**Stop this! It doesn't have to be this way! I can end the cycle, no more hunts, no more hunter's dream!" Jaune yelled.**

"**You can't!" Ozpin roared, leaping into the air. With the giant moon behind him, he swiped his scythe with enough force to unleash a blade of wind.**

**Jaune grunted as the invisible attack landed, his entire body screamed in protest as the blast picked him up and tossed him like a ragdoll.**

"**I… CAN!" Jaune's arm snapped up, Evelyn in hand. He fired once, catching Ozpin upon his return to the ground, and injuring his shoulder.**

"**I've already done the impossible so many times Ozpin, why can't you just believe in me one more time?"**

"**I… ahhrgh… have… no… CHOICE!" Ozpin groaned as the pale aura around him intensified. Jaune shielded his face as the light increased to blinding levels before a blast of pure white moonlight decimated the entire area around Ozpin.**

**Even further empowered than before, Ozpin's attacks hurt even more now. And when Jaune retaliated, his strikes no longer staggered the other hunter, the severe injuries inflicted barely even phased him.**

"**Flora won't let me stop. The hunt has ended, only one hunter may remain as the caretaker, the other must be expelled." Ozpin said before unleashing another combo of slashes and gunfire that had Jaune on the backfoot.**

"**If you beat me, it will convert you." Ozpin continued.**

"**I can beat it. Trust me!" Jaune opened fire on Ozpin again, using up the last of his quicksilver bullets to do some damage.**

"**Keheheh… then prove your worth young hunter. Give this old one a proper send off."**

**The two of them charged one another again, meeting in the centre of the field in a shower of sparks and arcane blasts.**

**Strike and counterstrike, Jaune dredged up every bit of skill he had honed over the long night. It hurt, everything hurt, Ozpin was stronger, tougher than any hunter he'd fought to date. Only the real Weiss in the astral clocktower had posed a similar challenge.**

**But he'd triumphed there, he'd be victorious here too.**

**Meeting Ozpin's curved sword with the Chikage, Jaune winced when it cracked and shattered under the strain. Tossing the broken sword hilt at Ozpin's face, he force the man to blink and shield himself, giving him a small window to draw the holy moonlight sword and strike with it.**

**Swinging it from his back and charging it with magic, Jaune thrust forwards with all his might, putting everything he had left into the one thrust. Still off balance from having a broken sword hilt nearly hit him in the face, Ozpin never had a prayer.**

**The emerald flash from Jaune's sword was the largest he'd ever unleashed, blasting Ozpin at point blank range and tearing right through his defences.**

**Ozpin went flying. When he crashed down to earth, the pale aura around him was already fading and his wounds were catching up to him.**

"**Ah. The night, and the dream, were long…" Ozpin whispered as he felt the hunter's dream lose its hold on him. He was slipping away now, to the death he should have had long, long ago.**

"**Go in peace Ozpin. You may rest now. I'll make sure this nightmare never resurfaces again." Jaune knelt by the dying man's side.**

"**Kehehehe… that… sounds like a nice dream. Ah… I think… I think I shall sleep now… a good… dreamless… slee…" Ozpin trailed off and his eyes closed forever. A burst of magic later and he was gone.**

"So he has his rest at last." Ozpin closed his eyes, wondering when it would be his turn to put down his burdens. He was tired, so very tired, but unlike his counterpart, there wasn't anyone to grant him his eternal rest.

"Flora… that's the Great One? I don't think it's going to be very happy the kid offed Oz." Qrow muttered.

"Can he win? He's exhausted, and down a weapon." Ren asked.

"Of course he can win! He's Jaune-Jaune!" Nora affirmed.

**The pale moon in the sky turned blood red, bathing everything in a crimson glow. Jaune narrowed his eyes and glanced up. There it was, the Great One powering the hunter's dream, the Moon Presence.**

**The thing landed softly, its corpse like appearance jarring against the otherwise beautiful picture. Unbidden, Jaune found himself walking forwards as the Great One compelled him to do so, it was using its link to him to enforce obedience.**

**Jaune growled but before he could break free, the Great One had already grabbed him and was trying to impose its will, reshape him into another caretaker for this realm. Jaune could feel it, tendrils of an impossibly alien will reaching into his mind.**

**And Jaune refused it. A blast of energy forced the Great One back as Jaune severed his own connection with the dream, supplanting it with his own power, and the power given to him by the thirds he absorbed.**

**He could feel it changing him inside, reshaping him, opening his eyes to the cosmos beyond. And he welcomed it, this change was good, this change was ascension, soon he'd have the power he needed to do what needed to be done.**

**Flora was silent, but he could feel the anger radiating from it. Its chosen caretaker Ozpin had been vanquished and now instead of another hunter it could 'recruit', a fellow Great One stood there, trying to usurp control of the place.**

"**No more hunts. No more suffering. This ends now." Jaune levelled his weapon for one last battle, then he charged.**

**Flora's fighting style was beastlike, as with most other Great Ones he'd encountered, it had never fought humans before, never had the need to learn how to fight like one or how to fight against one.**

**And that now proved to be its undoing. Its attacks were largely just wild flailing without any thought given to tactics or strategy. Jaune easily evaded them and then countered with his own, far more damaging blows.**

**The one attack Flora had that proved troublesome ultimately proved useless in the face of his will too. The Great One reached up to its face and then unleashed a blast of light, Jaune staggered as he felt himself nearly get expelled from the dream by force.**

**He grit his teeth and clung on stubbornly, refusing to be evicted despite his body screaming in protest. This was a dream, and in this dream, will was power. Ignoring the pain, he charged and began attacking in force, rallying himself and drawing strength with every blow, forcibly anchoring himself to the dream.**

**Even when Flora severed his connection to the old blood, preventing him from regenerating with blood vials, he powered on through. Refusing to back down and relentless in his offensive.**

**In the end, it was the elder Great One who gave ground. Jaune slowly chipping away at it with his strikes until it could no longer stand. Crashing to the ground weakly, it struggled to raise its head, unfortunately putting it in line with one last swing from Jaune.**

**The enchanted greatsword struck true and decapitated the titan in a single stroke.**

**With Flora's death, Jaune felt a weight he didn't even know was present lift from his shoulders. Only one Great One remained, the dream had a new master now.**

**A wave of tiredness washed over him and Jaune sank to his knees. It was done, all that was left was to wait for ascension to complete, then… then he could rest too. Waving his hand once, Jaune's final act was to erase the flames consuming the workshop before he fell unconscious.**

**When he awakened again, his human form would have been shed. **

**Then the real work could begin.**

**A fresh start for humanity. A new childhood's beginning, and he'd be there to watch over them.**

The screen went dark and the lights came on after that.

"Woah, Jaune-Jaune's a god now. Wicked…" Nora whispered with a barely suppressed grin.

"Not quite a god, but I suppose that's semantics." Blank said.

"Shed his human form… does… does that mean Jaune's going to end up looking like those… things?" Yang asked, very disturbed by the image.

"Yes, and no." Blank replied.

"He's a great one, for them, reality itself is malleable. They can look like whatever they want. Form is irrelevant compared to the substance within."

"So he can look like a human, or a squid or whatever else he chooses? Huh, that's convenie-" Yang trailed off and her eye began twitching once she caught sight of Neo.

Roman's assistant was busy using her semblance to turn into squid-human abominations that vaguely resembled them. The tongue sticking out left no doubt that it was on purpose.

"Yep, more things I never wanted or needed to see, seen." Yang grumbled, with the barrier between them, there wasn't anything she could do about it.

"Well that's that, enjoy your break, go refresh yourselves." Blank said cheerfully.

* * *

Cast list:

Jaune Arc as the hunter

Ozpin as Gehrman the first hunter

Weiss Schnee as the doll/Lady Maria of the Astral Clocktower

Leonardo Lionheart as Laurence the first vicar

James Ironwood as Ludwig the accursed/holy blade

Pietro Polendina as Provost Willem

Merlot as Micolash host of the nightmare

Ruby Rose as young Yharnam girl

The Great Ones as themselves


	34. Chapter 33: Hereafter

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY or any of the franchises referenced in this work

**Chapter 33: Hereafter**

**Inspiration: Justice League (DCAU)**

"Welcome back." Blank flickered in greeting while his audience filed back in and took their seats.

"So… what's up?" Nora asked, kicking her legs back and forth, waiting for the viewing to start.

"No more of those ugh… disgusting things, right?" Emerald scowled at the memory of the last one.

"None of that in this one, this is a possible future for your world." Blank answered.

"Oh? Tell me it's one we kick Salem's ass." Yang punched the air and grinned.

"Fool, such an attitude will only get you killed." Cinder sneered, causing Yang to glare at her.

"No it is not." Blank shot down the idea.

"Then… we lose?" Ruby said in a small voice.

"Yes." Blank flickered again and the lights dimmed, the screen came to life seconds later.

**Ruby swung Crescent Rose, bisecting a Nevermore swooping down towards her and the disintegrating Grimm halves tumbled over the side of the airship into the void below. Sweat beaded on her forehead and she paused to wipe it away before it could get into her eyes.**

"Look at you go sis." Yang gave Ruby the slow clap for the clean kill.

"That's not so bad." Pyrrha hazarded.

"But that's over the city of Atlas itself." Weiss's words put a damper on their spirits immediately.

**The floor lurched under her as the another Nevermore made a suicidal dash into one of the ship's engines, destroying both of them in the crash. Planting her scythe into the ground to stabilise her footing, the ships hull creaked ominously from all the stress heaped on it.**

"**Ru… get ou… there! Ship's goin… down!" Ruby's ear piece crackled to life and Jaune's static filled voice pierced the din.**

"**Jaune? I can't! There's still people on board, I have to save them!" Ruby said tersely, stumbling forwards and blasting the jammed doors apart with Crescent Rose.**

"What kind of Grimm fights like that?" Ironwood's stared wide-eyed at the kamikaze tactics being deployed against the Atlesian vessel.

"Grimm under personal direction." Ozpin said grimly.

"Ohhh… I'm too sober for this." Qrow muttered and began chugging from his flask.

**Salem's offensive on Atlas was in full swing and to say they were doing poorly was an understatement. The Atlesian air fleet had been caught with their pants down and they were all paying for it now.**

"How'd they get past our early warning systems!?" Winter growled and slammed a fist down onto her armrest.

"Concerted assault from Grimm to disable or destroy your sensors. You were too focused on the agents inside the city to notice Salem bringing her army closer." Blank answered.

"There are fail safes, it can't be that easy!" Winter protested.

"True. But she has Arthur Watts." Blank's rebuttal caused Winter to fall silent.

**All of them had scattered across Atlas and Mantle, doing their best to help wherever they could. Ruby herself had boarded one of the warships to try and blast as many of the flying Grimm as she could with her eyes and rifle.**

**That plan was being derailed rapidly, Salem had noticed and had sent a detachment of Grimm on a suicide mission to bring down her ride. Too many to shoot or petrify, not even the deck guns could hold back the tide. The ship was going down and now she had to rescue the men trapped below decks before it reached its final destination.**

"**No tim… get ou… ther…" Jaune's crackling voice intruded on her thoughts as she pushed several injured soldiers towards the exit.**

"**I can make it! Don't worry about me!" Ruby insisted. Bursting into petals, she pushed her way deeper into the doomed ship, searching for anyone left. Alarms blared in her ears and flames licked at her cloak as the ship began to break up in the air.**

"**Help! Somebody!" A scream got her attention and Ruby made a beeline for it immediately.**

"**Hang on! I'm coming!"**

**Rematerializing inside what appeared to be an engine room of sorts, she found an engineer trapped under a fallen steel beam. Another engineer was trying to lift the heavy piece of debris to no avail. Ruby nodded and stowed Crescent Rose away, rushing forwards, she grabbed onto the beam and added her strength to the rescue effort.**

**Inch by painful inch, the steel shifted and the trapped engineer was able to crawl out. Once he was safe, Ruby released her grip and allowed the beam to crash to the floor.**

**Another explosion rocked the ship, lightning crackled along the machinery and several sparked and blew as well.**

"And this is the part the ship blows up." Mercury commented.

"**What's going on!?" Ruby raised her hands to shield herself from the blasts as they retreated towards the thankfully unbarred exit.**

"**No good. The dust storage is critically unstable… you need to leave now." One of the engineers said tersely.**

"**Alright, let's go, I'll lead the-"**

"**No." The engineer interrupted.**

"**There's no time left. We're won't make it, but you can."**

"**I'm not leaving y-"**

"**We're more expendable than you, huntress! GO!"**

"All that way for nothing? How pitiable." Cinder smirked.

"Ruby will find a way out." Weiss shot back.

"So, delay the inevitable then. You don't win in this one, remember?" Cinder shrugged.

**Ruby's mouth's clacked shut and she grit her teeth. "No. I'm not letting anyone else die."**

**Before the engineers could protest, she grabbed them both and used her semblance's speed to drag them off. Even with aura enhanced strength and the speed her semblance afforded, it was awkward and slow, the two engineers were larger than her and dragging them along without crashing them into something or killing them by whiplash was harder than she thought it would be.**

**Still, she refused to give up and fortune seemed to smile on her. Another Nevermore rammed into the ship, breaking through the battered armour plating and tearing through the decks before disintegrating, inadvertently giving the three of them a shortcut back outside.**

"Ah, so that's where all my stolen luck went." Qrow chuckled, inwardly delighted at the sudden turn of events.

"Like you had any luck to steal in the first place." Taiyang ribbed.

"Boys. Behave." Summer chided.

"**Alright! This way!" Ruby cheered and dragged the two engineers with her up onto the burning surface deck.**

"**Parachutes… parachutes… where are th-" Ruby's danger senses spiked and she shoved the two engineers towards what she hoped was safety. Drawing Crescent Rose, she spun around and just barely brought her weapon up to block the Griffon's talons in time.**

**Ruby grunted as the force behind the blow sent her skidding backwards. Swinging her scythe to force the Grimm back, she backpedalled and shifted Crescent Rose to sniper rifle mode. No time to charge up a silver eye blast, she just had to open fire with her gun and hope it was enough.**

**Somewhere in the melee she lost track of the engineers, hoping they got to safety, she pushed aside thoughts of them to deal with the Grimm in front of her.**

"Yeah! Kill the big chicken!" Nora cheered.

"Chicke-why would-it doesn't even look like a-" Weiss sputtered, only stopping when Ren put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

"Don't question it." He said quietly.

"It's easier that way."

**After almost emptying her entire magazine to push the Griffon into position, she used her last shot to boost herself forwards, the momentum looping the scythe blade around the Griffon's neck. With a savage yank, the blade cut through Grimm tissue and cleanly decapitated the beast.**

**Unfortunately for her, the Griffon managed to connect a kick in its death throes, knocking her back down the hole the Nevermore made.**

**As Ruby rose to her feet shakily, her eyes widened when she realised where she was. Shaking off the disorientation, she burst into petals and shot towards the outside, trying to clear the ship before it exploded.**

**Just as she reached the edge, the world vanished in white light.**

"What!? She was so close! BULLSHIT!" Yang roared, her hair lit up and her eyes flared red.

"Calm yourself Ms Xiao Long. I do not believe it's over just yet." Goodwitch spoke up.

**Ruby awoke with a gasp when raindrops fell on her face. As the slight drizzle became a torrential downpour, she dragged her battered body into a sitting position. Everything hurt and what little of her aura remained was working overtime to fix her up.**

"She's alive." Blake sighed in relief and slumped in her seat.

"Oh. So that's how it is." Emerald muttered.

"What is it?" Mercury looked over.

"She's not the one that needs worrying about." Emerald said and left it at that.

"**Ow owowowow… where am I?" Ruby winced and surveyed the desolate landscape she had awoken in. The heavy rain made visibility poor, but she could still make out the ruins surrounding her.**

"…**Is this… is this Mantle? N-no, this can't be." She whispered and tightened her grip on Crescent Rose for comfort, but the freezing metal offered none.**

"**W-where's everyone? I-my scroll!" Fumbling with her weapon in a panic, Ruby reached into a pocket and pulled out the palm sized device, heaving a small sigh of relief when it lit up with a pale blue glow.**

"**Come on, come on, pick up Yan-no signal!?" Ruby stared at the words disbelievingly. Rainwater splashed onto the screen and dripped off, but no matter how much she stared at it, no miracle happened.**

"…We're the ones that didn't make it?" Nora stopped kicking and stared at the bleak scenery.

"M-maybe it's just the CCT network down?" Yang offered.

"**YANG! WEISS! BLAKE! JAUNE! PENNY! ANYBODY!" She howled into the storm. A crack of lightning and peal of thunder the only responses she got.**

**Ruby spun her head around slowly, looking at the devastation all around her, feeling more alone than ever before.**

"**N-no. I can't be the only one left, t-they must have evacuated from the city, y-yeah, that's probably it." Ruby stammered. Rising to her feet painfully, she grit her teeth and soldiered on, picking a random direction to walk in and hopefully find someone or something useful.**

"Damn that sucks." Roman muttered and pulled his hat down. He didn't need the Mount Glenn reminder.

**As she trekked through the ruined city, dread and confusion warred within her. There was no longer any doubt that this was Mantle, several of the destroyed buildings retained enough of their original form for her to recognise them.**

**Only… they were old, very old. Much of the destruction could be attributed to the fight against the Grimm invasion, but at the same time, buildings also bore the wear and tear of age. More than should be possible for the short time she'd been knocked out.**

**And through her entire trek, there was not a single soul to be found. The only life in the area being the flora slowly reclaiming Mantle for nature. The questions mounted yet no answers presented themselves.**

"Plant dust gone out of control? That kind of foliage takes years to grow normally." Winter said, trying her best to not think about what such rampant plant growth meant for the previous inhabitants of the city.

"Doesn't explain the rain. If the city is in this bad shape, the heating grid should be offline as well, it should be snowing, not raining." Ironwood added.

"The grid is offline." Blank confirmed.

"So how is it raining?" Ironwood asked.

"The world changed." Blank answered succinctly.

**The hopes that maybe the Grimm had left as well were dashed when she came upon a lone Sabyr prowling the empty streets. Ruby's eyes narrowed and she took aim with Crescent Rose.**

**The sniper rifle's report pierced the storm and the Grimm crumpled, half its skull blown away from the perfect shot. Ruby exhaled softly and gripped her weapon tighter upon hearing answering howls.**

**The rest of the Sabyrs came pouring out of the woodwork, clamouring vengeance for their slain. With the cloud of negativity emanating from her and the fact that she was probably the only aura user around for miles, hiding was impossible.**

**And, she didn't even try. Bursting into rose petals, Ruby swept through the black and white tide trying to overrun her, her scythe flashing through the air, cleaving through the Grimm like a hot knife through butter.**

**Once she emerged on the other side, the Grimm collapsed one by one, dead and disintegrating before they hit the ground. Ruby spun her scythe and slid into a stance, there were more Grimm on the way, the clopping of hooves on stone said as much.**

"Effective use of semblance and weaponry." Goodwitch gave her praise.

**A chill ran down her spine once the Grimm came into view. Its bone armour plating was slightly different and this one lacked the battle damage its brethren had. But there was no mistaking the Nuckelavee for any other Grimm.**

"Why is that thing here!?" Ren shouted in a rare outburst.

"It's a scout." Blank said.

"There are more of those things!?" Ren was on the verge of hyperventilating and Nora was busy patting him on the back to calm him down.

"You can relax, this one is friendly."

"FRIENDLY!? ARE YOU FU-" Ren's mind was going into complete meltdown and Nora did the only thing she could think of to calm him down, grab him by the shirt and press her lips to his.

Once she broke away for breath, Ren was sputtering gibberish as his mind tried to reboot. He wasn't focused on the Nuckelavee anymore so Nora would count that as mission success.

"It doesn't look friendly though." She observed.

**Last time, they fought it as RNJR, this time, she was on her own. Even so, she refused to back down. The Grimm's horrible screech tore at her ears and Ruby launched herself forwards. Pushing aside her doubts and fears, she gave killing the Grimm her all.**

**Ducking under its stretchy limbs, she used her superior speed and agility to literally run circles around the ancient Grimm, slashing at its flanks whenever an opening presented itself. Every successful strike bit deep and caused the Nuckelavee to howl in pain and flail its arms about in the hopes of scoring a lucky hit.**

**Then it gave up trying to hit Ruby and reared up on its hind legs. Slamming back down onto the ground, it struck with enough force to crater the asphalt and unleashed a shockwave that sent Ruby stumbling backwards.**

**Her boots skidded along the slippery ground and she stabbed Crescent Rose into the dirt, arresting her backwards drift. Glancing up at the Grimm, she scowled when she noticed its wounds healing before her very eyes. Black mist leaked off its numerous injuries and once it dissipated, the wound had sealed completely with no sign it had even been struck to begin with.**

"That's friendly? Then what the hell is unfriendly!?" Qrow stared at the ball of light incredulously.

"It'll be clear soon." Blank replied.

"**Fine! Be that way." Ruby's eyes began to glow silver as she charged up her power. The Nuckelavee howled in anger and was about to charge the stationary target when it suddenly halted in its tracks. It simply stood in place and tilted its head in an almost quizzical manner.**

**Ruby noticed its strange movements but didn't give a damn about them anymore. Just as the Nuckelavee raised its right arm, she blasted it with her eyes, enveloping it in radiant silver and lighting up the entire area.**

**When the brilliance faded, the Nuckelavee had been completely petrified. A hideous stone statue stood where the demonic Grimm used to be. Lashing out with her scythe once, Ruby smashed the ugly aberration to pieces.**

"I can do that?" Ruby asked in wonder.

"What was that?" Cinder leaned in closer for a better look, none of her intelligence gathering had ever indicated Ruby could do something like that. But a blast of light from silver eyes, she could have sworn she heard Salem mention something about it in the past.

"So she does have it after all." Taiyang murmured.

"**Is that it-" Ruby spun around, scythe at the ready when more clopping reached her ears. Her eyes narrowed when a second Nuckelavee emerged from around a building. Its yellow eyes were blazing embers in the darkness and the rain pouring down did nothing to extinguish their unholy fire.**

"Another one? This one friendly too?" Qrow stared at the screen dubiously.

**Ruby breathed in deeply, preparing another silver eye blast, then the unexpected happened. A pale white glow suffused the Grimm, coating it in a shimmering barrier against the downpour.**

"**A…aura? It has aura!?" Ruby's eyes widened and she took a step back from surprise. She raised her hands to shield her face when the glow suddenly intensified to an almost blinding degree.**

"This… this is like that Merlot one, isn't it?" Roman narrowed his eyes.

"Doesn't have the glowing green stuff, but I don't like where this is going." Yang muttered.

"Something has clearly changed." Ozpin sipped from his mug to hide his own worries.

"**Assuming direct control."**

**Ruby dropped her arms to stare at the Grimm in spite of the glow around it, instantly recognising the voice despite the heavy distortion.**

**Once the light faded, the Nuckelavee was still largely the same, save one key detail, its previously amber eyes were now a dull sapphire.**

"…**Ruby."**

"**Jaune?"**

"That's Jaune!? What happened to him!?" Weiss exclaimed.

"Assuming direct control? He can possess Grimm too like that mad scientist maybe?" Blake hedged.

"He can, although the process is a little different from that version of Merlot." Blank replied.

"**Are you… real?" Nuckelavee Jaune asked.**

"**O-of course I'm real, you! You're a Grimm! What!? why!? How!?" Ruby sputtered.**

"**It's a long story. I'm just borrowing this body for now. It's easier to explain in person, come, I'll give you a lift." The Nuckelavee said before its form wavered. The imp on its back hunched over and the Grimm seemed to fold in on itself, bits of it bulging out and other parts sinking inwards, melting and fusing back into a misshapen lump.**

**Ruby watched in horrified fascination as the monstrous Nuckelavee morphed into a giant Nevermore. Once the transformation was done, it bent forwards, beckoning to her to get on its back. She gulped once before gingerly stepping forwards. **

**No attack came.**

"**I have full control over this Grimm… relax." Jaune's distorted voice came from the Nevermore in an attempt to assuage her fears. Slightly more confident, Ruby took a deep breath before walking the rest of the way over and climbing onto its back. Through it all, the Grimm remained perfectly docile, lending credence to Jaune's claims.**

"That is freaky." Yang summed up nicely.

"**Hold on." Water sprayed everywhere as the Nevermore flapped its wings, taking to the stormy skies instantly. Ruby clung tight to the Nevermore's feathers while the howling winds buffeted her.**

**Once in the air, Ruby had a bird's eye view of the entire city… or what was left of it. Her heart sank when she saw how widespread the devastation was. She had thought the section of Mantle she traversed was in bad shape, in truth, it had gotten off largely unscathed compared to the rest of the city. Entire sections of Mantle were simply gone, nothing but giant blast craters filled with twisted steel to mark where towering skyscrapers had once stood.**

**And when she turned her attention to the skies, Atlas was also conspicuously missing. It could have simply moved somewhere else for safety, but somehow, Ruby doubted that was the case.**

**The longer they flew, the bleaker the surroundings. The world outside the city limits had been reshaped as well. Entire mountain ranges had been flattened and new ones raised elsewhere. Not to mention the giant craters that were everywhere too. **

"God. Damn." Ironwood exhaled.

"Bloody hell, even Mount Glenn doesn't look as bad as this." Roman paled.

"What kind of Grimm could do something like this?" Goodwitch asked.

"It wasn't a Grimm." Blank said.

"**What happened?" Ruby whispered, realising she no longer recognised the world she was in.**

"**We lost." Jaune's reply was succinct and soul crushing.**

"**Lost? H-how? I was… I was out cold for just a bit! How did all this happen a-and where's… where's the snow? This… this is Solitas… isn't it?" Ruby glanced at the storm clouds blanketing the world. The rain was still pouring down even beyond the city, which didn't make sense. In Solitas, it snowed, not rained.**

"**The world has changed Ruby. You… you disappeared a long time ago." Jaune's reply made no sense to her.**

"**A… long time? B-but I was just on that airship! I… there were two engineers I tried to save, a-and a Griffon!" Ruby protested.**

"**The frigate exploded, you never came down." Jaune replied.**

"But… she did?" Mercury frowned in confusion.

"Idiot, clearly something happened and she got kicked into the future or something." Emerald rolled her eyes at his inability to see the obvious.

"Bullshit, that's impossible." Mercury said flatly.

"Last time red got caught in an explosion, didn't they get knocked into a parallel universe. You telling me getting shot forwards in time is impossible after that?" Emerald raised an eyebrow.

"Ah… fair point." Mercury conceded with a grumble.

**So many questions burned inside her, but before she could voice any of them, the Nevermore shot into the clouds. Her vision was completely obscured for a few seconds before they burst through into the night skies.**

**The sea of stars greeted them and Ruby found her breath stolen away by the sight in spite of the situation. Then she looked to the moon and her mind crashed.**

"**W-wha… the moon!" She babbled.**

"**What's left of it." Jaune confirmed.**

**High above them hung a single thin crescent. **

**Remnant's shattered moon as she knew it was gone.**

"What in the…" Winter trailed off, gobsmacked.

"Salem did this?" Ozpin whispered.

"She shares some of the blame, yes." Blank confirmed.

"**We've arrived." Jaune said once the Nevermore landed in what used to be Argus. Ruby got off silently, her mind in even greater turmoil after the lunar revelation.**

**Belatedly, she realised the Nevermore had deposited her at Saphron and Terra's house. It was the only one still standing in the ruined port city. And even then, it too bore countless signs of repairs and patchwork.**

"**Releasing control." The Nevermore shuddered once Ruby left. The aura glow returned, flaring briefly before fading. The Grimm screeched once before collapsing, dissolving into shadows and leaving Ruby alone.**

**She perked up when the sound of something unlatching reached her ears, deafening in the total silence. The door to Saphron's house creaked open and Jaune stepped out to greet her.**

"That's fearless leader now? W-what happened to him?" Nora shifted uncomfortably.

"He looks just like her." Ozpin whispered.

**He was both the same as she remembered yet completely different. His armour, faded jeans and Pumpkin Pete hoodie were gone, replaced with a simple hand-woven T-shirt and pants. But by far the most striking change was his face.**

**His once fair skin and blonde hair were now completely bleached white. If one closed an eye, they could have written it off as by-products of age and not getting enough sun. But the pitch black sclerae and crimson pupils as well as the black veins framing his gaunt face put paid to that theory.**

"**Jaune? What… why do you look like Salem?" Ruby stammered.**

**Jaune reached up to his face and rubbed it gingerly with one hand, a sad smile on his face. "Ugly sight isn't it? Done to me, this was."**

"**Salem…" Ruby growled and her hands tightened into fists.**

"**We can fix this, we jus-"**

"**No. You can't." Jaune shook his head.**

"**We can!" She insisted.**

"**Ozpin must know something, or Salem did this, she can… she can reverse it!" Ruby wracked her brain, trying to come up with a solution.**

**Jaune's sad smile never wavered once. "Ozpin is gone. And Salem… if she could fix this, she would have fixed herself long ago. You caring is enough. Ah, where are my manners, come in, you must be cold." Jaune gestured to the door and beckoned Ruby to enter before leading the way inside.**

"Gone?" Ozpin frowned, was he dead and hadn't reincarnated yet? No, something told him it was more than that.

"Fix… herself? What is that supposed to mean?" Cinder was confused, what exactly needed to be fixed about her? She was the most powerful person she ever met.

"He feels so… sad? No that's not it…" Pyrrha wracked her brain, trying to find the word she was searching for.

"Defeated?" Blake offered.

"Yeah, that's it. He's… he's given up. But, there's something more…" Pyrrha trailed off.

"**Gone? What do you mean gone?" Ruby asked. Jaune shook his head and gestured to a beat-up couch for her to sit on.**

"**Relax, just… rest. I'm afraid I don't have a lot here in the way of clothes, but you can use some of my spares. Just sit, I'll get you a dry set and some tea. We have plenty of time to catch up later." Jaune waved off her questions and left Ruby to her own devices while he moved deeper into the house.**

**Ruby sighed and acquiesced. The entire world had gone mad, and Jaune was her only link to 'normalcy'. Arguing with him here and getting everyone mad served no purpose. As she plopped herself down on the couch, she looked around the place, taking in all the changes from the last time she'd been here. It felt like an eternity ago now.**

**The layout of the living room was still the same as it was the last time. Only, this time there were piles of books lying everywhere. Everything from fiction, to history textbooks to lawbooks lay scattered about, their well-worn pages yellow with age.**

"**Blake would have loved it here." She whispered.**

"I would actually." Blake shrugged.

"By the coast, so fresh fish too." She added as an afterthought.

"**You think so?" Jaune replied, startling Ruby who hadn't heard him approach.**

"**That's… nice then." Jaune handed over the spare change of clothes and set a teacup down on the coffee table. He turned and left without another word, gliding across the floor noiselessly and giving Ruby some privacy to shed her soaked attire.**

**By the time jaune returned, Ruby had already changed and was halfway through her cup. He forestalled her questions with a raised hand, taking the time to pull out his own seat. "I know you have a lot of questions, take your time. Time, is something we have no limit of after all."**

**Ruby's mouth worked for several moments, but no words left them. Until she finally got the courage to ask the question she dreaded the answer to most. "Everyone else… where are they?"**

"**Gone." Jaune's one word crushed her spirits completely.**

"**No…" Ruby whispered heartbroken.**

"**How did… how did it happen?"**

"**I don't know. By the time I got back, there was nothing left." Jaune replied.**

"Got back? That phrasing seem off or anything?" Roman said.

Neo poked him in the side and displayed her scroll to him.

"Oh yeah, that's right, he was fighting at the start too, wasn't he? He get kicked to the future too?" Roman's question received no answer.

"**And **_**Salem**_**?" Ruby all but spat out the name as a curse.**

"**In Evernight. She hasn't left her castle in… I can't remember anymore." Jaune frowned as he tried to recall the last time Salem had even stepped foot outside her castle and drew a complete blank.**

"**She needs to be stopped." Ruby said, a small crack appearing in her teacup from the strength of her grip.**

"**She isn't doing anything that needs to be stopped. I'm not sure if she's even doing anything anymore. It's why I just leave her alone now, fighting her is pointless." Jaune said in an even tone.**

"Well, looks like there's finally a version of him that gets it." Cinder chuckled.

"Isn't doing anything that needs to be stopped? What!? It's Salem! She's trying to end humanity." Ironwood protested.

"Maybe… maybe she's doesn't need to be stopped because it's already too late." Taiyang's words caused a hush to fall over the audience.

"This future… we lost right? And Ruby is even further along in that timeline? What happens after we lose?" He continued before falling silent himself.

"**How can you say that!? Yang, Weiss, Blake, Ren, Nora, Penny… they're gone because of her! How many more will she take!? We need to-" Ruby exploded in anger and Jaune interrupted her.**

"**There's no one left to take. We lost."**

"**I know we lost! Even so! We can't just give up! For the people-"**

**Jaune interrupted again with a tired voice. "Humanity. **_**Lost**_**."**

**He held her gaze with his Grimmified eyes. "There **_**is**_** no one left. You're the last 'real' human on Remnant."**

"What?" Summer spoke up.

"**What?" Ruby whispered.**

**Jaune sighed and looked into his own cup of tea. "You've been gone a long time Ruby. Humanity went extinct six centuries ago."**

"WHAT!?" This time the exclamation came from the entire audience.

**Silence dominated the living room after Jaune dropped that bombshell. Seeing as Ruby was at a loss for words, Jaune spoke up. "I suppose, I'll start at the beginning. After you di-disappeared, we continued fighting. And believe it or not, we actually won the battle of Atlas."**

**Jaune paused to take a sip of his tea, casting his mind back to the days before his corruption. "It was close. Atlas's fleet was almost completely destroyed, we were losing ground by the minute. Then a miracle happened."**

**Jaune chuckled softly as he recalled the giant Colossus from Argus busting through a wall of smoke to punch the Grimm whale in the face with its drill. His memories from those days had largely faded into oblivion but there was no forgetting that sight.**

"**Cordovin brought reinforcements from Argus and Mistral. Between them and Penny, we managed to hold."**

"**Then what happened?"**

"**What happened was Salem is immortal. So she lost that day, nothing more than a minor setback. She came back for rounds two, three, four…" Jaune trailed off and shrugged.**

"**Eventually she would have worn us down to nothing. So we made one last gamble, to beat her before she could overrun the rest of the world. Haaaaa… let's just say, things didn't go according to plan."**

"No one's invincible, there must be some way to win." Winter insisted.

"A war of attrition, how do we overcome that though." Qrow pondered aloud.

"Mankind is hopelessly outnumbered, outgunned and at times, outmatched by the Grimm. How do we beat back a never-ending onslaught?"

No one had an answer for him.

**Jaune's shield arm held firm as several large explosive quills struck the hardlight barrier. Rustling spines heralded the paladin sized porcupine Grimm reloading for another barrage and Jaune called out a warning. "It's about to fire again!"**

"**Understood, eliminating targets now friend Jaune." Penny raised her hands and a ball of lightning collected in her palms. The bolt fired in a blinding flash, zapping the lead Grimm and chaining to the others nearby, frying them all from the inside.**

"Go Penny!" Ruby cheered for her friend despite the circumstances.

"Lightning? But she doesn't… ah, I see. So it worked after all." Ironwood exhaled, piecing together the fact that Penny now had the maiden's powers within her.

"**Way is clear, let's go!" Jaune charged out of hiding and into the castle proper with Penny and Weiss trailing behind him. The opening they cut into Salem's defences wouldn't last forever, not with the endless amounts of Grimm she could spawn.**

**But with any luck, their two-pronged assault would be able to rectify that problem. Splitting their group into smaller teams, their mission was to infiltrate and destroy the Grimm pools or die trying. Much as he would have preferred to have Ren with him for this, necessity dictated they be on separate teams.**

**While Ren's group snuck behind enemy lines with his semblance and wreaked havoc. Jaune had the unenviable task of being with the heavy hitters. With maiden Penny and a fully buffed up Weiss, they could draw the main bulk of the defenders towards them, making Ren's infiltration even easier.**

**Their window was limited as all hell and their plan was far riskier than Jaune was comfortable with. But they were simply out of options. If they didn't stop the Grimm spawning or at least slow it down, humanity would be overrun before the year was out. With Ozpin and Ironwood on the front lines occupying Salem, it was all or nothing now.**

"**Scans indicate a pack of Beowolves approaching us from the front. Please step back friends, I shall deal with them." Lightning crackled along Penny's fingers as she prepared another blast.**

**Weiss gently pushed her arm down and shook her head. "The thunder indoors will deafen us Penny, please, allow me. Jaune?"**

**Jaune nodded and placed a palm on Weiss's shoulder, flowing aura into her and amping her semblance. Weiss exhaled softly as the Beowolves came rushing down the hall towards them.**

**Snapping her fingers once, a massive armoured gauntlet sprung into existence and rocketed forwards in the mother of all punches. As the ethereal arm occupied the entire corridor, the Beowolves had no chance to dodge.**

**All of them were simply picked up by the giant fist and slammed into the wall at the end hard enough to be instantly dusted. As a bonus, the wall itself crumbled, allowing them access deeper into Salem's base.**

"…I need to learn how to do that." Weiss whispered in awe.

"Hey! I'm the punchy one of this team, don't go stealing my job Weiss." Yang laughed good-naturedly.

"**My scans do not pick up any more Grimm, I believe we are clear." Penny said after a moment.**

"**Good, then let's go." Jaune led the way forwards again, shield at the ready in case Penny's sensors were wrong.**

**The further into the castle they got, the heavier the opposition as expected. Jaune watched Weiss summon a giant Megoliath right on top of a dozen Sphinxes, squashing them all flat under its massive bulk. **

"Ahahahaha! Puny Grimm go squish!" Nora cheered.

"…Interesting semblance application." Winter grimaced slightly. On the one hand, it worked, but on the other, surely there must have been a more dignified way of using summons.

"If it works, it works? Gotta say, squashing Grimm with other Grimm isn't something I've every tried before." Qrow shrugged.

"Hmm? There was the time that-" Taiyang began.

"Didn't happen!" Qrow cut him off.

"Are you still mad abou-"

"Didn't. _Happen_." Qrow stressed the words and shot his brother in law a glare.

Taiyang's mouth clicked shut.

**Unease ate at Jaune despite the progress they were making.**

"**I don't like this. This is too easy, it's some kind of trap." He voiced his worries at last after they finished clearing out yet another room full of Grimm.**

"**Easy? What do you mean easy!?" Weiss looked at Jaune like he'd grown a second head and gestured to the destruction all around them.**

"**We've killed more Grimm in the last two hours than most huntsmen will in their whole lives!"**

"**Indeed, friend Jaune, I believe the word difficult would be more apt to describe this mission." Penny concurred.**

"**It doesn't make sense. All the Grimm in the castle should have noticed us by now, why are they not coming to us? In fact, why the hell are there so many Grimm here in the first place!? This isn't the spawning pits, this is… it's Salem's home, right? Where she lives and keeps her minions? This many Grimm inside, and the destructive type too? We're missing something here!" Jaune threw his arms up. His instincts were screaming at him to run, that they were walking straight into a trap and they should get the hell out of there while they could.**

"That… is true." Cinder muttered, in all the time she'd spent in Evernight, there had never been so many Grimm just running about.

Under Salem's control or not, they tended to be… messy.

**Weiss and Penny exchanged a glance, noticing the oddities as well now that Jaune pointed them out. It was Weiss who broke the silence first. "So, she let us in? Why go through all this trouble?"**

"**I don't know. But I don't like it. We should retreat for now." Jaune said.**

"**What about the mission?" Penny asked.**

"**I'm seventy percent sure the mission was screwed from the beginning. We should leave while we have the chance, before whatever trap this is goes off. We can… we can try again once we have better intel." Jaune's uncertainty bled into his voice.**

"**Perceptive. But you're too late." Salem's voice rang out from all around them and the next thing Jaune knew, the floor beneath them had vanished. Penny started flying, Weiss kept herself aloft in place with her glyphs and Jaune tried arresting his sudden fall with his shield.**

**For a moment it seemed like it would work, then an unseen force crushed his precious shield into scrap metal and Jaune plummeted into the abyss.**

"**JAUNE!" Weiss screamed and stretched out her hand, trying to summon another glyph beneath him. Penny too tried rocketing towards the falling huntsman to save him. But it was not to be, something invisible grabbed his leg and dragged him down into the deep before either of them could reach him.**

**The last thing Jaune saw was his friends reaching for him, then he hit the surface of the Grimm pool and darkness took him.**

"That can't be good." Mercury muttered.

"Understatement much?" Emerald countered.

"What… what is that thing? He called it the Grimm pools, but what are those things." Pyrrha shifted in her seat uncomfortably.

"That must be where the Grimm are spawning from." Ozpin said.

"And what happens when someone falls in?" Weiss asked.

"They die. Or…" The headmaster trailed off.

"Or?" Goodwitch prompted, never hearing this before.

"Or Salem happens." Ozpin finished.

**Unbelievable, mind fraying agony consumed his entire being. The pain was all-encompassing, so total in its obliteration of his senses that he didn't even know if he was still screaming or had already bitten his own tongue off.**

**The Grimm pool was anathema to everything he was, an alien poison invading his system seeking to corrupt everything it touched and destroy everything that resisted. Jaune's very soul screamed in protest, and his semblance answered.**

**In an effort to protect himself, the most primal side of Jaune's subconscious fought through the pain and corrupting haze to force his aura amplification to the maximum… and then beyond. First a barrier against the essence, then the expulsion of every last drop of poison within and finally beginning the healing process.**

**At least… that was what it should have been. The essence of the God of Darkness would not be thwarted so easily, its tendrils had already ensnared Jaune and refused to yield to the will of a single man. The war between his soul and the corruption engulfing him intensified with every passing second, causing more pain and his semblance to push even further, far, far beyond the limit of what was humanly possible.**

**Time held no meaning in the void, he could have been floating there for eons or perhaps just a scant few seconds, in which case this torture was most heinous indeed. Periods of lucidity were exceedingly rare for Jaune, most of the time his mind was simply shut off to escape the pain while his semblance ran on autopilot.**

**But bit by bit, the pain started receding and the periods of lucidity grew longer and longer, until one day, Jaune managed to 'kick' towards the surface.**

**Ripples formed on the surface of the tar like liquid and one bone white arm burst through the surface, latching onto the edge of the pool and pulling the rest of the body through in an undignified crawl back to dry land.**

**A fit of coughing took him as Jaune struggled to draw breath. Lungs that hadn't seen use in ages suddenly forced to work again burned from the strain, but compared to the hell he just crawled out of, it was sweet merciful release.**

"He survived." Cinder said, genuinely impressed with that fact.

"Is that a good thing? Or a bad thing?" Mercury asked.

"I… don't know." Emerald admitted.

"He's what, half Grimm now?"

**Black smoke poured off Jaune's body as the excess Grimm liquid evaporated away into nothingness, leaving behind only the transformed human. Not all of it went though, enough of the liquid darkness clung to him, slowly coalescing into imitations of the clothes he wore before the fall.**

**Wrong.**

**That was the only word Jaune could use to describe himself now. Everything was off, nothing was right and he was a stranger in his own body. All of his sensations felt strangely muted, his actions delayed, almost like he was puppeteering his own body from a distance.**

"**Wha? Wha happun ter mee?" Words came out slurred, his tongue not able to mould them well anymore. Jaune staggered to his feet, nearly stumbling back into the pool from a sudden bout of weakness but fortunately catching himself before that could happen.**

**When his right hand came up to touch his cheek, the feeling was again muted, the sensation of touch barely registering. No, there was one thing that he could still feel.**

"**Cold." In fact, his cheek felt positively freezing. When he pulled his fingers away, it took a little bit of effort, upon glancing down, he noticed the icicles where they had frozen to his face. He should have felt confusion at the sight, maybe fear at the unknown fate that had befallen him, instead an overpowering surge of anger nearly overcame him.**

"Magic? He has magic?" Ozpin's eyes widened.

"Yes and no. It's not quite the magic you know of, but it is magic all the same." Blank answered.

"The different Grimm subtypes have powers of their own that would be termed magic, after his change, he can now access all of them."

"So he's some kind of… super Grimm in human form now?" Roman asked.

"You could say that. It was a fluke he managed to survive, anyone else would have been erased by the Grimm pools." Blank said.

"**Wha iz dis!?" Jaune's head spun as the urge to lash out and destroy everything around him flared and faded just as suddenly as it had come, leaving him feeling weak and drained.**

**The sound of footsteps growing louder drew his attention towards the woman walking down a flight of stairs. Salem raised an eyebrow as she saw the disoriented Jaune. "My, my, isn't this a surprise."**

"**Ssshaalem!" Jaune growled and felt the urge to destroy return in force, this time laser focused on the one who personally sent him to hell.**

"**Monssther!" He accused. The temperature dropped drastically and the entire chamber began to ice over as his power ran rampant with his emotions. A howling gale began to pick up within the chamber and the air became charged with energy.**

**Salem stood there unfazed by Jaune's display. "You… survived. I thought dropping you into the pool would have finished you… yet, here you are. How curious."**

"Kick her ass Jaune!" Nora yelled.

"She looks… different." Cinder remarked, something about this version of Salem was off, compared to the one she knew. A certain flair or energy was missing from her movements.

"**Aaaahhhrgggh!" Jaune thrust out one of his hands on instinct, a massive spike of ice formed mid-air and shot towards Salem at supersonic speed. For her part, the immortal witch didn't even bother dodging, simply standing there with the same blank expression as the spike impaled her through the heart.**

**She remained standing for several seconds before keeling over and dying. Then in a flash of light, she fully resurrected without any sign of her previous violent death. "Are you quite done, child?" **

"So much for a quick finish." Qrow muttered.

"Things are never that easy." Summer sighed.

**Salem shook her head and chided Jaune. Snapping her fingers once, a sheet of pristine ice formed in front of him, in its mirror-like sheen Jaune could see his reflection perfectly. Horror slowly dawned on his face as he reached up to his face and watched his reflection mimic his actions.**

"**No."**

"**I don't know how you survived falling into the pool, but it matters not. We're the same now. Grimm in human form." Salem's words cut deep and her disinterested tone sealed the deal.**

**An unholy screech tore at Jaune's ears and the ice mirror shattered into a million crystal pieces. For a brief moment Jaune wondered what tortured creature could make such a sound, then he realised, the screaming was coming from himself.**

"That can't be good for his psyche." Goodwitch said.

"Kid's gonna need a lot of alcohol." Qrow added.

"And he spent what, six hundred years as that? Is he immortal?" Roman asked.

"Essentially. The mix of his semblance and the Grimm essence means he's ageless and immortal. Even if he's completely destroyed he'll just reform again, angry and ready to kill whatever killed him." Blank said.

"Just like her." Ozpin whispered.

"**And that was it really. Spent four years drowning in that muck, by the time I escaped, the world already ended." Jaune closed his eyes with a sigh. Even centuries later, it still stung, some wounds, time would not heal.**

**Silence filled the living room as Ruby found herself at a loss for words while Jaune took the moment to recompose himself.**

"**To answer your question, after our assault on Evernight failed. Ozpin activated some kind of backup plan involving the remaining relics. I don't what it was but Salem interfered somehow, the plan backfired and ended up destroying the moon completely. Orbital bombardment across the entire planet, wiped out ninety percent of all life on the surface instantly." Jaune finished.**

"That explains the craters everywhere." Blake said.

"What the hell kind of plan did you come up with Oz!?" Qrow turned to stare at his boss.

"I… I don't know. It must be something I came up with in the future. I… don't have any plans that could end with the moon being destroyed." Ozpin admitted.

"**And the remaining ten?" Ruby asked hesitantly.**

"**Most surviving species went extinct slowly over the next few decades. Humanity included. It wasn't even the Grimm that did us in, with the kingdoms devastated by the shattered moon, we lost our farms, our homes, water supplies, everything we needed for civilisation vanished overnight. Those that survived the collapse just… lacked the will to go on." Jaune said sadly.**

**Snapping his fingers once, a pool of darkness formed next to them and an alpha Beowolf emerged from the shadows, rising out of the ground like a spectre. "I can create, control, modify and takeover Grimm now. Spent decades using them to guard the remnants of humanity from Salem, but it wasn't enough, it just wasn't enough."**

**Waving his hand once, he directed the Grimm outside and it left without so much as a growl in their direction. "And I'm immortal to boot. Got to watch humanity dwindle away to nothing and still I'm damned to continue existing."**

"…What a horrible fate." Winter frowned.

"Hey! What happened to the rest of us?" Mercury piped up.

"You did not survive the shattering of the moon. None of you do." Blank said.

"That wasn't the plan." Cinder muttered.

"It really wasn't. In that timeline, everyone lost. _Everyone._"

"**A-and what about Salem?"**

"**What about her?" Jaune said in a disinterested voice.**

"**She's immortal, completely and totally unkillable… well no, that's not quite right. killing her is easy, it's getting her to stay dead that's the problem. After humanity went extinct, I gave into hate and fought a war against her for over two centuries. Killed her hundreds of times, died a lot too." Jaune's eyes had a faraway look as he recalled every battle he presided over after the end. Armies of Grimm clashing in pitched battle amid the backdrop of a ruined world.**

"**There aren't many things more pointless than two immortals killing one another over and over again. To the victor the spoils? Heh. Pointless." Jaune laughed bitterly.**

"**My hate eventually burned out and I was sick and tired of it all, so I walked away. Now, Salem remains in Evernight, and I stay here in Argus. Been that way for… four centuries now? I don't know, the days slip away from me so easily…" A defeated sigh came from Jaune before he shook his head to get rid of the negativity.**

"He's been alone for all that time, hasn't he?" Pyrrha said.

"In effect." Blank said.

"How is he still sane? That level of isolation…" Roman shuddered.

"Once humanity disappeared for good, he went completely insane. Spent two centuries fighting Salem, driven by nothing more than hate and instinct until he started to put his broken pieces back together again." Blank said.

"I wouldn't call his current state a picture of good mental health, but it's what he's got."

"**I… you can't give up! There… there must be some survivors, maybe, maybe in hiding or something!" Ruby protested.**

"**If there are, I haven't found them. I've been sending my Grimm out to scout, searching… always searching. Nothing… until you appeared in what used to be Mantle. Speaking of which… how did you get there anyways?" Jaune's dull eyes sparkled with a small twinkle, Ruby's arrival was the first break in this world of endless grey and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't curious.**

"**I'm not sure myself, all I know is that I was on the airship and then…" Ruby began explaining everything she had done and experienced up until the white light engulfed her. Jaune listened without interrupting, simply absorbing and processing the new information quietly.**

"**The frigate you were on… the Resplendent I believe, it was carrying a cargo of lightning and gravity dust meant for the Amity project. I wonder…" Jaune stood and walked over to a pile of books, pulling out several massive tomes in search of something.**

"**Ah, here it is." Jaune returned most of the massive books back to the pile, keeping only one that bore the SDC's mark. Ruby's eyes bugged out of her skull when he flipped it open and an endless array of handwritten numbers and meaningless symbols greeted her.**

"**W-what is that!?"**

"**SDC dust research, I retrieved it from their archives after I quit fighting Salem. Say what you want about them, they're pretty damned paranoid about keeping their records and backups, worked out for me." Jaune shrugged.**

"**You can understand all that? Ruby's gaze returned to the gibberish on the paper and then snapped back to Jaune.**

"**Yes."**

"**How!?"**

"**I'm immortal. I have a lot of spare time to teach myself things. Reading keeps me sane…ish." Jaune shrugged again.**

"It… is better than drinking his life away." Ozpin whispered, reminded of some of his earlier lives.

"**But that's beside the point. I compiled most of their research on theoretical dust application here. Most of these never went anywhere due to lack of funding, interest or time, but I do recall reading about the possibility of tearing open rifts in spacetime with gravity dust."**

"**Time travel?" Ruby muttered dubiously.**

"**Yes. Unless you have a better explanation? You disappeared more than half a millennium ago, then suddenly reappeared again out of nowhere." Jaune replied.**

"**Then… if it's time travel… is there a way to go back?" Ruby asked, hoping against hope for some way to turn the situation around.**

**Jaune didn't answer immediately, mulling the question over in his head for a minute before sighing. "I don't know. The SDC never went anywhere with the research beyond recording the theory and the hypothetical requirements. But…"**

**Jaune's expression soured instantly. "Salem would know. She has the relic of knowledge after all."**

"He's kidding right? Someone tell me he's joking." Qrow lowered his flask and stared ahead blankly.

"**You're joking." Ruby said flatly.**

"**I'm not. I suppose, it's time to pay her a visit." Jaune grimaced and rose to his feet.**

"**There's no way she'll help us."**

"**You'd be surprised. This isn't the victory she was searching for. Give her a chance to undo this mess and she just might take it." Jaune said.**

"**It's Salem! She caused all this, didn't she!?"**

"**And maybe she can help fix it. Ruby, what have we got to lose at this point?" Jaune's simple question silenced Ruby's protests instantly.**

"**I don't like this either. But if there's even the smallest chance of preventing this world from coming to pass… you jumped into the future, if we can send you back before the world ended. You might be able to change things for the better."**

"…**Alright. But I still think this is a bad idea." Ruby muttered.**

"Preaching to the choir." Weiss muttered.

"There's no way she'll help. She'll just find a way to double cross them even if she does." Ironwood stated firmly.

"But… they don't have any other options, do they?" Summer replied.

"Anything else is preferable to going to the one responsible for mankind's extinction for help." Ironwood said.

"Hmm? Isn't Ozpin also to blame for that general?" Cinder's mocking laughter caused Ironwood to start grinding his teeth hard enough it was audible.

"**This is Evernight?" Ruby stared at the ruined castle once their wyvern touched down.**

"**Hmmm… she never bothered rebuilding after our last battle. Didn't see the point in it I guess." Jaune said and dismounted.**

**A lone seer floated through a section of destroyed masonry and approached them. Ruby reached for Crescent Rose but Jaune held up his hand a shook his head.**

**Black mist emanated from the Grimm and a hologram of Salem appeared shortly after. "I felt the world shift on its axis awhile back. I presume that was your doing?"**

"**Not mine. Hers." Jaune nodded towards Ruby.**

"…**Who are you again? I thought humanity went extinct. Was I mistaken? Silver eyes too… how curious, but, inconsequential." Salem glanced at Ruby dispassionately before writing her off completely.**

"**Wha!? I'm Ruby! Ruby Rose!" Ruby all but shouted.**

"**And? Is that name supposed to mean something?"**

"Ice cold." Roman commented.

"Hey! Where does she get off being that rude to Ruby!" Yang growled out.

"It is more than six hundred years in the future. Memories do fade with time." Blank pointed out.

"**She's a comrade of mine. From before the collapse." Jaune interceded while Ruby sputtered angrily at being forgotten.**

"**Oh? Hmm… yes, I do recall a silver eye from back then. If memory serves, she died before the collapse. In… Atlas I think." Salem's brows furrowed as she tried to find Ruby's place in her memories.**

"**She didn't die, somehow she got sent to the future instead." Jaune replied.**

"**Is that so? Then you're here for the relic of knowledge. Trying to find a way to send her back and stop me in the past?" Salem mused to herself before chuckling.**

"**Very well, come on in. If nothing else, this will make for a fine distraction from my boredom."**

"What." Qrow's flat tone spoke for everyone.

"She's… she's willing to help?" Ruby frowned.

"What's in it for her?" Winter asked.

"Same thing that's in it for them. A second chance. A do-over." Blank answered.

"**Wait. You're willing to help us?" Ruby stared at the queen of the Grimm in confusion.**

"**Why not? I have nothing to lose from this, but so much to gain. If you fail, then I am entertained for a bit and nothing changes. If you succeed, then I too get another chance to succeed." Salem's hologram dissipated after one final chuckle and the Seer began heading back into the castle, leading the way forwards.**

"There's the catch." Taiyang shook his head.

"What's the worst that could happen though?" Qrow mused.

"Everyone's already dead. Is it even possible to have a worse outcome than this?"

"I'd prefer not to come up with an answer for that." Winter said drily.

"…**What if I go back and she wins?" Ruby asked after a while.**

"**If she wins, she wins. Maybe humanity will find a way to beat her later on. Even a chance at a possible future victory is better than this." Jaune waved his hand at the destruction around them.**

"**How do we beat her? You've fought her right? How do we win?"**

"**There will be no victory through force, that's all I can tell you, at best I only drew with her. But don't worry yourself too much, living in the 'what ifs' is a dangerous and painful exercise, not to mention useless. You just have to give it your best shot come what may." Jaune muttered.**

"Encouraging. Real encouraging." Blake smiled grimly.

"Look on the bright side. If we know what won't work on her, we won't waste time and effort trying it again. We can try something else that might succeed." Ren said, finally coming back to reality.

**Stepping into the destroyed throne room, the two of them found Salem seated on her throne with an amused smile on her face. The lamp floated in mid-air in the centre of the room, held aloft by her power.**

"**Fortunately, I have not used the relic in a long time. Three questions, make them count, would you?" She made a small pushing gesture and sent the lamp floating towards Ruby.**

**Once it was close, Ruby snatched it out of the air and hugged it close. When Salem made no move to renege on her offer of assistance, she took a deep breath. "Jinn."**

**Time froze for everything except the three of them and the spirit of the lamp emerged. "Wonderful! Familiar faces once more, tell me, what knowledge do you seek?"**

"**How do I go back?" Ruby asked immediately.**

"**Same way you arrived. Through a rift in reality caused by a mixture of gravity dust, lightning dust and your own semblance." Jinn answered cheerfully.**

"**My… semblance?"**

"**Yes. Your semblance is the only thing that will allow you to survive passing through the rift, anyone else will be torn apart by the stress and never finish the transport, essentially erasing themselves by scattering their being across the entire timestream. But while you haven't reconstituted your petals, you get a free pass on it." Jinn answered.**

"So no chance of Salem going through the rift. That's good news at least." Goodwitch exhaled softly.

"**As to the procedure…" Jinn trailed off and snapped her fingers once, Jaune winced as the information flowed directly into his mind. A full list of what machinery they would need and how much dust would be required to recreate the event.**

"**Got it."**

"**Any other questions?" Jinn asked and Salem was next to go.**

"**Just one spirit. If she goes back, can she change the past? Prevent this present from every occurring?"**

"**Oh but of course she can. But what new future will be born from her actions, who can say?"**

**Ruby sighed in relief to hear that. She had a shot at fixing things after all.**

"**Anything else?"**

"**What happens to this timeline should Ruby change the past?" Jaune asked the third and final question.**

"**It will never have existed of course. This world and everyone in it will be erased because they never came to be. It will be replaced by whatever present is born from her actions in the past." Jinn answered, not at all concerned that she would be erased as well. With the third question answered, Jinn faded away, returning to her lamp and time began to move again.**

"**WHAT!?" Ruby shouted.**

"**I see. That is acceptable." Salem nodded.**

"**Couldn't ask for anything more." Jaune agreed.**

"T-they agree on that!? B-but they're erasing themselves!" Ruby protested.

"Understandable." Ozpin closed his eyes, in their position he'd have a similar reaction probably.

"**W-what do you mean!?" Ruby looked to Jaune aghast.**

"**Y-you'll be erased if I succeed! Both of you! How can you be fine with this!?"**

"**Is it that surprising?" Salem tilted her head quizzically, not seeing anything wrong with the situation.**

"**I'm old Ruby. I've lived for too long." Jaune said, his expression belying his true age for once.**

"**Immortality is suffering child, unending suffering. You offer the both of us a chance to escape this hell. Trust me, erasing us is the greatest favour you could do for us." Salem continued.**

"**But!" Ruby sputtered, still unconvinced.**

"**Would you prefer we continue existing in this world of nothing for the rest of eternity?" Jaune asked, and Ruby had no answer for that. **

"**I… is there no other way?" She asked in a small voice.**

"**Even if there was…" Salem began.**

"**We'd ask you not to take it." Jaune finished.**

"Immortality is a curse." Ozpin spoke up, speaking from personal experience.

"Is there no other way?" Nora asked.

"None that ends happily for Jaune. That's it. He's… he's tired of living." Pyrrha said, the thing that had been bugging her earlier finally clicking into place.

"He doesn't want to go on anymore."

"Can't say I blame him." Qrow shrugged.

"He's outlived everyone else. And… there's no out other than this is there?"

"Indeed. He is functionally banished from death the same way Salem is." Blank said.

**Ruby stood by solemnly as a squad of Apathy shifted the last piled of dust into place. With the Grimm under Jaune and Salem's joint control, progress on the portal site had been expedient. Even with a few minor setbacks in locating functional equipment and having to manufacture the pieces that no longer existed, construction was still finished in a month.**

**Once the final calibrations were complete, it would be time to recreate the accident that sent Ruby to the future. This time, with a little help from magic and Atlas's aura experiments, they would be able to lock on to Ruby's aura signature in the distant past and send her back to the point where it vanished.**

**Ruby surveyed the ruined city of Mantle around her, taking it all in and searing the sight into her memories. This was what she was going back to avoid, to prevent this cursed place from becoming reality.**

"**It's done. The final preparations are complete, all that's left is to start the chain reaction." Jaune reported and flipped a switch, causing the machinery to rumble to life.**

"**Lock on her aura signature is holding steady. All good on this end." Salem said shortly afterwards.**

**Ruby breathed in deeply and walked into the centre of the array. It was time.**

"**Wait." Jaune strode over and gave Ruby a big hug before releasing her.**

"**For luck."**

"**Thanks Jaune." Ruby nodded resolutely, letting her doubts drain away.**

"**See you on the flip side Crater Face." Jaune cracked a small smile, one that Ruby returned. Then he hit the final switch. Sparks and explosions flared and the reaction was underway.**

"**I won't let you down Vomit Boy." Ruby shot back and then activated her semblance, the flurry of rose petals swirled in place as the reaction grew more and more violent. Until suddenly, there was a blinding flash and she was gone.**

"D-did it work?" Weiss blanched at the size of the explosion, worrying about Ruby being right at ground zero.

"I hope so." Blake said.

**The two immortals left behind watched as their month's worth of work vanished in a massive explosion, uncaring about the burning debris that rained down on them.**

"**I noticed what you did. You gave her a permanent boost with your semblance, didn't you?" Salem's question was more a statement of fact than anything else.**

"**I did. You didn't stop me." Jaune replied.**

"**Hmmm, didn't see a need to. Maybe it'll even help her win against the me of the past. But you know what? I don't mind. Freedom from this cursed existence doesn't sound so bad." Salem shrugged.**

"She doesn't mind losing because of this?" Ren raised an eyebrow.

"No. She believes she wins either way." Ozpin said.

"Headmaster?" His students turned to him.

"If Salem wins the next time around, then she wins. If she loses and Ms Rose finds a way to put her down for good, then she is freed from her cursed immortality. And in the worst case scenario, things simply don't change." Ozpin explained.

"**Yes…" Jaune felt the world shift every so slightly and smiled.**

"**Doesn't sound bad at all." Jaune agreed. They were beginning to fade away, a sign that Ruby had succeeded in changing the past after all.**

**Vision blurry, Jaune could just barely make out the outlines of the new reality replacing their failed one. It might have been nothing more than wishful thinking, but he was pretty sure the ruined city was slowly being overwritten by a thriving one, full of life and good cheer.**

"**Farewell to the last immortals, and may the world never see our kind again." Salem intoned.**

"**Heh." Jaune chuckled softly.**

**Then they were gone.**

The screen went black and the lights came back on.

"So she succeeded in changing the past." Cinder stated.

"Oh come on! We nearly saw what kind of future replaced it, show us!" Nora whined.

"Hmm… no, I don't think I will." Blank chuckled at the subsequent boos he received.

"Time travel… could-" Ironwood began but Blank interrupted instantly.

"No. Messing with time travel is dangerous business. Even aside from the fact that this method of travel is only possible for Ruby Rose, it is not a solution to all your problems."

"But if you could go back in time, you could fix all your mistakes before you even make them." Qrow said.

"One, the butterfly effect does exist. Two, repeatedly tampering with the timestream can cause time itself to break. That fate isn't… pretty to say the least. Don't even think about it." Blank said.

"Damn, so much for that." Qrow shook his head.

"Well, I let you all go refresh yourselves while I go prepare the next viewing." Blank said and his audience filed out.

* * *

Author's notes: I've been writing this for over a year now. Time flies.

* * *

Inspiration list:

Jaune Arc and Salem as Vandal Savage

Ruby Rose as Superman


End file.
